Business Quote by Jeffrey Rosen
![“[Tomas] Jefferson is more out of fashion, both because of his views on race, where he's properly questioned, that part of his legacy, but also because the libertarian critique of bigness in business and government, the idea that size is a danger is something that's shared on the right when it…” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a93/jeffrey-rosen-13180_business_tomas-jefferson-is-more-out-of-fashion-b_1977431.jpg)
“[Tomas] Jefferson is more out of fashion, both because of his views on race, where he's properly questioned, that part of his legacy, but also because the libertarian critique of bigness in business and government, the idea that size is a danger is something that's shared on the right when it comes to government and on the left when it comes to corporations, but not both.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Public commentary by Jeffrey Rosen, 2023
Jefferson's legacy is challenged by modern views on race and the shared belief that large institutions pose risks, a view held across political spectra but applied differently to government and corporations.
In simple terms: Jefferson is controversial for race views and concerns about big institutions.
Key Takeaway
Recognize nuanced critiques of historical figures.
Themes
history
politics
legacy
race
institutional size
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
analytical
thought‑provoking
When to use this quote
- academic debates
- public policy discussions
- media analysis
- educational curricula
Key Concepts
libertarianism
critical reassessment
political ideology
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we balance historical achievements with modern values?
- Should size always be seen as a danger?
A Different Perspective
Critiques may overlook positive contributions.
![“[John] Adams was the best and most colorful stylist among the Founders. Although [Tomas] Jefferson is widely regarded as the smoothest writer, Adams is by far the most engaging and imaginative.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/782/gordon-s-wood-13199_colorful_john-adams-was-the-best-and-most-colorfu_244163.jpg)
![“More than any other figure in our history [Tomas] Jefferson is responsible for the idea of American exceptionalism.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc4/gordon-s-wood-13199_american-exceptional_more-than-any-other-figure-in-our-histor_2886209.jpg)
![“I think [John's Adams] descriptions of the personalities of [Benjamin] Franklin and [Tomas] Jefferson and others were pretty accurate. It is only when he felt he was wronged by them that he lets loose his anger and resentment.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/394/gordon-s-wood-13199_accurate_i-think-john-s-adams-descriptions-of-the_2774163.jpg)
![“[John Adams and Tomas Jefferson] shared experience in 1775 - 1776 in bringing about the separation from Britain and their service in Europe cemented a friendship that in the end withstood the most serious political and religious differences that one could imagine, especially their differences over…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/61b/gordon-s-wood-13199_becoming_john-adams-and-tomas-jefferson-shared-ex_2533475.jpg)
![“The Declaration [of Independence] was a committee report, and [Tomas] Jefferson was simply the draftsman. [John] Adams's crucial role in bringing about independence in the Continental Congress has tended to get forgotten.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/121/gordon-s-wood-13199_committees_the-declaration-of-independence-was-a-co_2442911.jpg)
![“[John Adams] always felt that his contribution to bringing about independence went unappreciated, especially after the 1790s when [Tomas] Jefferson began to be lauded as the "author" of the Declaration of Independence.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5be/gordon-s-wood-13199_books_john-adams-always-felt-that-his-contribu_2260931.jpg)
![“[John Adams] is impressed with [Tomas] Jefferson's learning, but noted his silence during the debates in the Congress: "I never heard him utter three Sentences together."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/77f/gordon-s-wood-13199_congress_john-adams-is-impressed-with-tomas-jeffe_1569958.jpg)
![“After [Tomas] Jefferson's defeat of [John] Adams in the presidential election of 1800, they didn't communicate with one another for more than a decade.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/12a/gordon-s-wood-13199_communicate_after-tomas-jefferson-s-defeat-of-john-a_1528979.jpg)
![“[Tomas] Jefferson believed that the United States was a chosen nation with a special responsibility to spread democracy around the world.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/702/gordon-s-wood-13199_around-the-world_tomas-jefferson-believed-that-the-united_1396704.jpg)
![“The relationship between [John] Adams and [Tomas] Jefferson was extraordinary. They differed on every conceivable issue, except on the Revolution and the love of their country.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/423/gordon-s-wood-13199_country_the-relationship-between-john-adams-and_1333640.jpg)
![“A mutual friend, Benjamin Rush, brought [Tomas Jefferson and John Adams] together in 1812, and they went on to exchange letters for the rest of their lives. But in their correspondence they tended to avoid the most controversial issues, such as slavery.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/be3/gordon-s-wood-13199_controversial_a-mutual-friend-benjamin-rush-brought-to_487463.jpg)
![“Again and again [Tomas] Jefferson deftly sidesteps many of [John] Adams's often provocative remarks. They both felt the correspondence, which was written for posterity, was too important to risk by being too candid with one another.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3e9/gordon-s-wood-13199_again-and-again_again-and-again-tomas-jefferson-deftly-s_3050053.jpg)
![“I'd say that [Louis] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you start with the paradigm case, which in the case of the Fourth Amendment was these general warrants or writs of assistance, but you define it at a level of abstraction…” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aeb/jeffrey-rosen-13180_abstraction_i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a_73138.jpg)
![“Louis Brandeis really inspired me to write this book [Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet]. It was a crazy deadline. The editor said I'd miss the hundredth anniversary unless I pumped the thing out in six months, because I'd been delaying and dilly dallying for so long. So he both inspired me to…” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0f3/jeffrey-rosen-13180_anniversary_louis-brandeis-really-inspired-me-to-wri_110490.jpg)
![“He's [Louis Brandais] so suspicious of bigness in government as well as business that he mistrusts even really top-down reforms at the state level. The most inspiring part of his legacy to me is his belief in the imperative and duty of self-education on behalf of citizens.” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/da1/jeffrey-rosen-13180_behalf_he-s-louis-brandais-so-suspicious-of-big_113363.jpg)
![“They said, OK, nine [Louis] Brandeis's is too much, but one is OK. So, with friends like that, and so forth. But, yes, the idea that because he was Jewish he would rule a particular way was an ugly undercurrent of the hearings, which resonates with current claims that a judge can't be impartial…” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/950/jeffrey-rosen-13180_backgrounds_they-said-ok-nine-louis-brandeis-s-is-to_526142.jpg)
![“Basically [Louise] Brandeis was a Jeffersonian. And you say the timing is great, and it is in a lot of senses, except not for [Tomas] Jefferson, because this is a Hamiltonian moment, and he's the rock star of the minute with a great musical.” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/494/jeffrey-rosen-13180_great-music_basically-louise-brandeis-was-a-jefferso_603281.jpg)
![“It's unfortunate that [Louis] Brandeis was not able to translate or abstract his devotion to cultural pluralism and racial equality as he put it for Jews to enslave people and their descendants and to African Americans.” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f6c/jeffrey-rosen-13180_able_it-s-unfortunate-that-louis-brandeis-was_603580.jpg)
![“[Louis Brandeis] at the age of 57 decided to become the head of the American Zionist movement was more influential than anyone else in the 20th century in persuading Woodrow Wilson to recognize a Jewish homeland in Palestine.” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0fd/jeffrey-rosen-13180_20th-century_louis-brandeis-at-the-age-of-57-decided_726968.jpg)
![“For [Louis] Brandeis, you know, ethnicity and background are much less important than facts and reason. And he believes that far from wanting to efface our diversity of perspectives, we have to embrace it because that makes us more American, not less. In that sense, he's incredibly modern in an…” quote by Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8db/jeffrey-rosen-13180_age_for-louis-brandeis-you-know-ethnicity-an_755034.jpg)
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)