The Constitution on which our Union rests, shall be administered by me [as President] according to the safe and honest meaning contemplated by the plain understanding of the people of the United States at the time of its adoption - a meaning to be found in the explanations of those who advocated, not those who opposed it, and who opposed it merely lest the construction should be applied which they denounced as possible.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes interpreting the Constitution based on the original intent of its supporters rather than the critiques of its opponents.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson articulates his belief that the Constitution should be understood and implemented based on the intentions and interpretations of its framers rather than the objections raised by those who opposed its creation. He stresses the importance of a faithful adherence to the original understanding of the document by aligning with the explanations of its advocates, reinforcing the notion that governance should reflect the foundational principles established at the time of its adoption.
In practice
During a debate on constitutional interpretation, this quote can be used to advocate for a historically grounded approach.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
I want to make a policy statement. I am unabashedly in favor of women.
U.S. analysts estimate that Russian military expenditures have tripled during the Bush-Putin years, in large measure a predicted reaction to the Bush administration's militancy and aggressiveness.
I have against me the bourgeois, the military and the diplomats, and for me, only the people who take the Metro.
Government isn't there just to administer life support to failing markets. Without the government, many of those markets would not even exist.
From the earliest ages of history to the present day there never have been thirteen millions of people associated in one political body who enjoyed so much freedom and happiness as the people of these United States. You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad... It is from within, among yourselves - from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition and inordinate thirst for power.
Face the truth squarely. In politics that is always the best and the only correct attitude.
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