I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.
Interpretation
Jefferson expresses a strong desire to confront and dismantle the power of wealthy corporations that threaten democratic governance.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson articulates his concern about the rising influence of wealthy corporations and their potential to undermine the democratic process and challenge the authority of government. He emphasizes the importance of addressing and dismantling this 'aristocracy' before it can fully take root, advocating for the protection of the laws and principles upon which the country was founded. Jefferson’s warning serves as a call to action to safeguard democracy from the corrupting power of moneyed interests.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech discussing the need for campaign finance reform.
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.
Nominally left- and right-wing populists differ primarily in their choice of which 'others' to exclude and attack, with the former singling out big corporations and oligarchs, and the latter targeting ethnic or religious minorities.
Don't get mad. Don't get even. Just get elected, then get even.
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
Socialism in Russia has not brought about an improvement in the conditions of the average man which can be compared with the improvement of conditions, during the same period, in the United States.
[It is a basic principle of a tyrant] to unarm his people of weapons, money and all means whereby they resist his power.
The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party.
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