Thomas Jefferson

On April 30, 1811, Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Duane from Monticello about political compromise and the role of journalists in the political process:

“I thin an Editor [of a newspaper] should be independent, that is, of personal influence, & should not be moved from his opinions on the mere authority of any individual. But, with respect to the general opinion of the political section with which he habitually accords, his duty seems very like that of a member of Congress. Some of these indeed think that independence requires them to follow always their own opinion, without respect for that of others. This has never been my opinion, nor my practice, when I have been of that, or any other body. Differing, on a particular question, from those whom I knew to be of the same political principles with myself, and with whom I generally thought & acted, a consciousness of the fallibility of the human mind, & my own in particular, with a respect for the accumulated judgment of my friends, has induced me to suspect erroneous impressions on myself, to suppose my own opinion wrong, & to act with them on theirs.”

On April 18, 1790, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Francis Willis, Jr., from New York:

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.”

On April 11, 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette:

“I am constantly roving about to see were I have never seen before and shall never see again. In the great cities, I go to see what travelers think alone worthy of being seen, but I make a job of it and generally gulp it all down in a day.”

Thomas Jefferson had a lot to say about taxation and the American republic. His main objection was that taxes were much too complicated. In 1784, he wrote to James Madison:

“Would it not be better to simplify the system of taxation rather than to spread it over such a variety of subjects and pass the money through so many new hands?”

Almost twenty years later, Jefferson was still dissatisfied with the way taxes were being assessed. He also worried that collecting taxes could make the government unpopular with the people. In 1813, he wrote to John Wayles Eppes:

“The public contributions should be as uniform as practicable from year to year, that our habits of industry and of expense may become adapted to them; and that they may be duly digested and incorporated with our annual economy.”

Those of us who have attempted to work our way through complex tax forms would probably agree with Jefferson that taxes should be simpler—or maybe even that we shouldn’t have to pay income taxes at all!

On March 28, 1811, Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Duane from Monticello:

“The last hope of human liberty in this world rests on us. We ought, for so dear a stake, to sacrifice every attachment & every enmity.”