Last updated: January 2026

10 Most Powerful Thomas Jefferson Quotes (With Freedom & Leadership Lessons for 2026)

Thomas Jefferson’s words – from letters, the Declaration, and his presidency – shaped America and still challenge us today. Here are the ten that matter most today, with direct links to original sources.

1. “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

Attributed (widely accepted)
Founders Online – Jefferson Papers
Lesson: The eternal balance of power.

2. “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”

Letter to Thomas Cooper, 1802
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Limited government in an age of overreach.

3. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Letter to William Stephens Smith, 1787
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Freedom isn’t free.

4. “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

Letter to James Madison, 1787
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Education as the foundation of democracy.

5. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.”

Letter to Archibald Stuart, 1791
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Freedom over safety.

6. “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

Letter to Nathaniel Macon, 1819
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Integrity as the root of all virtue.

7. “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”

Letter to John Adams, 1808
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Government’s true purpose.

8. “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”

Attributed (widely accepted)
Founders Online – Jefferson Papers
Lesson: Flexibility vs conviction.

9. “The earth belongs to the living.”

Letter to James Madison, 1789
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Progress over tradition.

10. “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”

Letter to Peter Carr, 1787
Founders Online – Original Letter
Lesson: Reason over dogma.

Why a Thomas Jefferson Bust Is the Perfect Daily Freedom Reminder

These words hit harder when the man who wrote them is watching you work. Our Jefferson bust is inspired by Rembrandt Peale’s famous portraits, available in Antique Bronze or Stone White.

Source

All quotes from the National Archives Founders Online collection: Founders Online – Thomas Jefferson Papers