--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bind them down by the chains of the…" description: "\"Bind them down by the chains of the Constitution where they can do no mischief.\" — Thomas Jefferson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-jefferson-43_can-do_bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-cons_1980133.jpg" --- # Bind them down by the chains of the Constitution where… ![“Bind them down by the chains of the Constitution where they can do no mischief.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-jefferson-43_can-do_bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-cons_1980133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-jefferson-43_can-do_bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-cons_1980133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-jefferson-43_can-do_bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-cons_1980133.jpg) > “Bind them down by the chains of the Constitution where they can do no mischief.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Constitutional limits should restrain government power to prevent misuse. **In simple terms:** Chains limit government. Key Takeaway Enforce constitutional limits. Themes government constitution freedom Mood critical analytical Type political historical When to use this quote - policy drafting - civic education - legal advocacy - public debate Key Concepts political theory law civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - How should limits be balanced with flexibility? - What mechanisms ensure accountability? A Different Perspective Rigid limits may hinder necessary action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bind/) [Bind Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bind-chains-3376642/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Chains Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains-constitution-360971/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Mischief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-mischief-3376641/) [Mischief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mischief/) ## Related quotes > [All authority belongs to the people... In questions of power let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/all-authority-belongs-to-the-people-in-questions-of-power-let-no-more/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-enemies-of-the-people-are-criminals-and-government-so-let-us/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-questions-of-power-let-no-more-be-heard-of-confidence-in-man-but/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“While I pray that public awareness and debate will lead to reform, bear in mind that the policies of men change in time, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/while-i-pray-that-public-awareness-and-debate-will-lead-to-reform/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Like the government, corporations must be bound with the chains of the Constitution, and especially of the Bill of Rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/like-the-government-corporations-must-be-bound-with-the-chains-of-the/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [One generation cannot bind another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/one-generation-cannot-bind-another/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The movements of nature are in a never ending circle. The animal species which has once been put into a train of motion, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-movements-of-nature-are-in-a-never-ending-circle-the-animal/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For if one link in nature's chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-if-one-link-in-nature-s-chain-might-be-lost-another-might-be-lost/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [What but education has advanced us beyond the condition of our indigenous neighbors? And what chains them to their present state of barbarism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-but-education-has-advanced-us-beyond-the-condition-of-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I have asked Centre for scheduled caste status to 13 backward classes including Kewat, Kahar, Kashyap, Mallah, Nishad, Lonia, Kumhar, Dheevar, Bind, Machhiara, Lohia-Chauhan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/i-have-asked-centre-for-scheduled-caste-status-to-13-backward-classes/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [I can score the ball a little bit. But sometimes I put myself in a bind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/collin-sexton/i-can-score-the-ball-a-little-bit-but-sometimes-i-put-myself-in-a-bind/) [Collin Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/collin-sexton/) > [I feel art has the power to bind us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhika-apte/i-feel-art-has-the-power-to-bind-us/) [Radhika Apte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhika-apte/) > [My day job finds me in a double-bind often, and it's an ideal position for anyone interested in becoming highly reactive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drumm/my-day-job-finds-me-in-a-double-bind-often-and-it-s-an-ideal-position/) [Kevin Drumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drumm/) > [If I were the rain that bind together the earth and sky, who in all eternity will never mingle, would I be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/if-i-were-the-rain-that-bind-together-the-earth-and-sky-who-in-all/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Bind quotes > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [If I were the rain that bind together the earth and sky, who in all eternity will never mingle, would I be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/if-i-were-the-rain-that-bind-together-the-earth-and-sky-who-in-all/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [My day job finds me in a double-bind often, and it's an ideal position for anyone interested in becoming highly reactive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drumm/my-day-job-finds-me-in-a-double-bind-often-and-it-s-an-ideal-position/) [Kevin Drumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drumm/) > [I feel art has the power to bind us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhika-apte/i-feel-art-has-the-power-to-bind-us/) [Radhika Apte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhika-apte/) > [I can score the ball a little bit. But sometimes I put myself in a bind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/collin-sexton/i-can-score-the-ball-a-little-bit-but-sometimes-i-put-myself-in-a-bind/) [Collin Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/collin-sexton/) > [I have asked Centre for scheduled caste status to 13 backward classes including Kewat, Kahar, Kashyap, Mallah, Nishad, Lonia, Kumhar, Dheevar, Bind, Machhiara, Lohia-Chauhan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/i-have-asked-centre-for-scheduled-caste-status-to-13-backward-classes/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [“Promise me that you’ll never cut me out. Promise me that you’ll never walk away—no matter how badly I fuck up.” I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-winters/promise-me-that-you-ll-never-cut-me-out-promise-me-that-you-ll-never/) [Pepper Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-winters/) > [The rise of digital technology put marketers in a bind. No longer a captive audience, consumers were splitting their time across devices, social networks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/the-rise-of-digital-technology-put-marketers-in-a-bind-no-longer-a/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [“Bind your fate to mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/bind-your-fate-to-mine/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [I have never tried to bind myself in some kind of an image on screen. I have always tried to do different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/i-have-never-tried-to-bind-myself-in-some-kind-of-an-image-on-screen/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [Externally China desires independence, internally she seeks to maintain her existence as a nation; China therefore strives to loose the bonds that bind her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiang-kai-shek/externally-china-desires-independence-internally-she-seeks-to/) [Chiang Kai-shek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiang-kai-shek/) > [“If you bind too strongly to things and people, when they disappear, it will not go maybe even a part of ourselves?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/if-you-bind-too-strongly-to-things-and-people-when-they-disappear-it/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [We continue to have nuclear weapons relied on as a weapon of choice. If that policy were to continue, we continue to have countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/we-continue-to-have-nuclear-weapons-relied-on-as-a-weapon-of-choice/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [If I bind the future I bind my will. If I bind my will I strangle creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-i-bind-the-future-i-bind-my-will-if-i-bind-my-will-i-strangle/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [That whole business of having two homes, and that divided loyalty bind that kids get into. I mean, my parents were divorced - though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/that-whole-business-of-having-two-homes-and-that-divided-loyalty-bind/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) [Browse all 50 Bind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bind them down by the chains of the Constitution where they can do no mischief.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-constitution-where-they-can-do-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-constitution-where-they-can-do-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-jefferson-43_can-do_bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-cons_1980133.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-jefferson-43_can-do_bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-cons_1980133.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/thomas-jefferson-43_can-do_bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-cons_1980133.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bind them down by the chains of the Constitution where they can do no mischief.” — Thomas Jefferson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Jefferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Bind them down by the chains...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-constitution-where-they-can-do-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/bind-them-down-by-the-chains-of-the-constitution-where-they-can-do-no/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```