At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor. At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French. At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages. At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. At 23, started his own law practice. At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America " and retired from his law practice. At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress. At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence . At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom. At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeedingPatrick Henry. At 40, served in Congress for two years. At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams. At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington. At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society. At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party. At 57, was elected the third president of the United States . At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size. At 61, was elected to a second term as President. At 65, retired to Monticello . At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine. At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president. At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence . John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe . Thomas Jefferson The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson 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. Thomas Jefferson My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. Thomas Jefferson The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Thomas Jefferson To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. I guess this means i'm a Jeffersonian...
One of my all-time favorite books is The Federalist Papers. While not written by Jefferson, the men who did write the "chapters," which were printed in newspapers of the day, were some of the brightest individuals who ever walked the Earth. My point here, if you look at the age at which some of these men achieved great things, their counterparts today are still leaching off of their parents and living in their basement playing video games. For the most part, these were educated men, but in general, the public-at-large was far more concerned with the written word. Today, we of course know more science by the 7th grade than those guys, but to be able to read a newspaper that had one of the Federalist chapters it in, or a rebuttal by Cato or the Federal Farmer never ceases to amaze me. People today read on a 4th grade level. Moreover, these people actually cared the direction of their fledgling country was taking. Today, most people could care less just as long as whatever is next doesn't take away their TV. When we complain about how politicians have wrecked this country, I say it is us, the citizen who has wrecked this country by not caring what politicians we elect. By enabling poor behavior and looking the other way when a favored party states an obvious lie, it is us who are now having to deal with our own self-centeredness. It is us, the citizen who rewards the liberal media by continuing to watch, night after night the paucity of real journalism in favor of sensationalism. We deserved Barack Obama. It was a final wake-up call to see if the citizen has enough pride in what was, to care again...to live up to your duty as a citizen and participate in your future and declare that we can do better IF we collectively demand it. So, demand it! Learn as much as you can and engage your friends and neighbors in *civil* discourse about the precipice on which we now stand. We are at the Rubicon my friends; if we don't elect someone like Ron Paul, we will certainly reap what we have sown...which isn't much since the 60s. Publius Sorry...I only meant to talk about what geniuses the Founding Fathers were...that just came out of my fingertips at about 117 wpm.
I thought before I get flamed... When i say "We deserve B.O.," I meant that in the collective. Not me or you. Complacency has allowed this...been in a petri dish since the 60s and has been growing since...the 'too big to fail' attitude is a display of hubris...even with Titantic being a top movie, people don't know their history.
Thomas Jefferson was truly prescient. He saw the dangers this nation would face, the temptations, the greed that could be our downfall. He warned us, and told us how to avoid it. We The People did NOT heed his words. We have shaped our own destiny. We have only ourselves, as a nation, to blame.
