Badges Quote by Thomas Jefferson
![“Of distinction by birth or badge, [Americans] had no more idea than they had of the mode of existence in the moon or planets. They had heard only that there were such, and knew that they must be wrong.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/896/thomas-jefferson-43_badges_of-distinction-by-birth-or-badge-america_767499.jpg){kind=icon}
“Of distinction by birth or badge, [Americans] had no more idea than they had of the mode of existence in the moon or planets. They had heard only that there were such, and knew that they must be wrong.”
About This Quote
Source Letter: Letter to John Adams, 1792
People often assume knowledge without evidence, mistaking ignorance for certainty.
In simple terms: Assuming knowledge without proof leads to error.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions before accepting them.
Themes
ignorance
assumption
knowledge
Mood
skeptical
reflective
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- education
- scientific inquiry
- public discourse
Key Concepts
epistemology
critical thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- What assumptions do you hold without proof?
- How can you test them?
A Different Perspective
Assumptions can be hard to recognize without evidence.
![“The evidence of [the] natural right [of expatriation], like that of our right to life, liberty, the use of our faculties, the pursuit of happiness, is not left to the feeble and sophistical investigations of reason, but is impressed on the sense of every man. We do not claim these under the…” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ad1/thomas-jefferson-43_charter_the-evidence-of-the-natural-right-of-exp_2308565.jpg)
![“That liberty [is pure] which is to go to all, and not to the few or the rich alone.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b52/thomas-jefferson-43_freedom_that-liberty-is-pure-which-is-to-go-to-a_1990032.jpg)
![“Man [is] a rational animal, endowed by nature with rights and with an innate sense of justice.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/456/thomas-jefferson-43_animal_man-is-a-rational-animal-endowed-by-natu_1678399.jpg)
![“A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7a2/thomas-jefferson-43_4th-of-july_a-free-people-claim-their-rights-as-deri_1508457.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)
