Thomas Jefferson Quotes
To remove as much as possible the occasions of making war, it might be better for us to abandon the ocean altogether, that being the element whereon we shall be principally exposed to jostle with other nations
This quotation illustrates Jefferson’s isolationist streak. He would have abandoned all American oceangoing ships and thereby avoid war. When he became President, however, he rethought his earlier position and was aggressive in developing the American Navy, using it at the risk of war.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, 3rd President of the United States (Democratic Republican, VA), Notes on Virginia Q.XXII, 1782
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The documentation of this quotation comes from a memorandum summarizing the meeting written by Presidential aide Harry Hopkins.
His appeal was also in the name of concurring heads of state of Finland, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Luxemburg, and Sweden.
There were many who thought that the Russians would view the Mutual Security Act as aggressive and they might respond with some kind of aggressive retaliation and this could lead to war. Others felt that containment would reduce the likelihood of war.
3rd Earl Russell of Kingston. The military weak nations agreed with him, but the militarily strong ones did not—especially America and England which had the Atomic Bomb when others did not.
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation; he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national levels.
