America Quote by Thomas Jefferson
“No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.”
About This Quote
Source Letter: To James Madison, 1802
Constitution should prioritize protecting individual conscience over governmental power.
In simple terms: Protect conscience against government overreach.
Key Takeaway
Defend personal conscience.
Themes
law
rights
government
Mood
serious
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- court cases
- policy debates
- human advocacy
Key Concepts
individual liberty
conscience
civil authority
Questions to Reflect On
- What limits should government have on conscience?
- How to protect conscience without harming others?
A Different Perspective
Balancing rights with public safety can be complex.
![“[O]ur rules can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c72/thomas-jefferson-43_authority_o-ur-rules-can-have-authority-over-such_2895951.jpg)
![“[States and the Federal government are] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch of the same government.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/401/thomas-jefferson-43_branches_states-and-the-federal-government-are-co_2619.jpg)
![“Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing [a people] to slavery.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/00c/thomas-jefferson-43_change_single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-t_5515.jpg)
![“Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear their leading you out of [any difficult situation] in the easiest manner possible...” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ebe/thomas-jefferson-43_difficult_though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one_9828.jpg)
![“I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. [salutes]” quote by Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3d2/bill-hicks-970_america_i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumor_655.jpg)
