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Thomas Jefferson Speaks to Today's America from the grave.
eaching American History.org ^ | 1816 | Thomas Jefferson

Posted on 02/07/2011 8:04:00 AM PST by Bigun

"To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses, and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they now do, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account, but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers."

Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816. ME 15:39

(Excerpt) Read more at teachingamericanhistory.org ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: debt; government; jefferson; liberty; servitude; thomasjefferson
Precedent? You bet your boots he was!
1 posted on 02/07/2011 8:04:06 AM PST by Bigun
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To: Bigun

As human nature has not changed in the 200+ years since Jefferson’s time, his warnings are as valid now as they were then.


2 posted on 02/07/2011 8:16:15 AM PST by GladesGuru (In a society predicated upon freedom, it is essential to examine principles,)
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To: GladesGuru

Yes indeed and I thought this one particularly so for the present moment!


3 posted on 02/07/2011 8:19:40 AM PST by Bigun ("The most fearsome words in the English language are I'm from the government and I'm here to help!")
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To: Bigun
"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our selection between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat in our drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labors and in our amusements, for our callings and our creeds...our people.. must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live.. We have not time to think, no means of calling the mis-managers to account, but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow suffers. Our landholders, too...retaining indeed the title and stewardship of estates called theirs, but held really in trust for the treasury, must...be contented with penury, obscurity and exile.. private fortunes are destroyed by public as well as by private extravagance.

This is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle becomes a precedent for a second; that second for a third; and so on, till the bulk of society is reduced to mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering... And the fore horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression." Thomas Jefferson

4 posted on 02/07/2011 8:53:07 AM PST by DJ MacWoW (America! The wolves are at your door! How will you answer the knock?)
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To: Bigun

There is a reason Obama no longer has a license to practice law. he subjugates it.

he knows all this stuff and studied it all in order to “get around” it i am waiting for him to abolish the congress any day now because “they interfere with his elbowroom”


5 posted on 02/07/2011 10:02:16 AM PST by Munz (All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.)
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To: Munz

Obama is a symptom. He is NOT the problem.

To quote the old cartoon character POGO “I have seen the enemy and he is US!”

WE need to get our act together sooner rather than later or this great Republic will be nothing more than a memory!


6 posted on 02/07/2011 10:40:11 AM PST by Bigun ("The most fearsome words in the English language are I'm from the government and I'm here to help!")
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To: Bigun

I can not disagree. Obama would never risen to the power he has if this republic had not been distorted and twisted enough to allow it. Our enemies have been in power too long for us to easily define friend or foe from first glance anymore.

We need to get back to basics.


7 posted on 02/07/2011 11:10:36 AM PST by Munz (All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.)
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