"Were it left to me to decide..." - Quote by Thomas Jefferson

“I set out on this ground which I suppose to be self-evident, that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living. . . . We seem not to perceive that, by the law of nature, one generation is to another as one independent nation is to another. . . . The earth belongs always to the living generations.”

“There is a fulness of time when men should go, and not occupy too long the ground to which others have a right to advance.”

“Students of reading, writing and common arithmetick . . . Graecian [Greek], Roman, English and American history . . . should be rendered . . . worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens.”

“If I had to choose between government and a free press, I would choose a free press.”

“I would rather have newspapers without a government than a government without newspapers.”

“The liberty of speaking and writing guards our other liberties.”

“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.”

“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government.”

“For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, "hold office"; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”