--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is one principle more deeply…" description: "\"If there is one principle more deeply rooted in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest.\" — Thomas Jefferson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/thomas-jefferson-43_conquest_if-there-is-one-principle-more-deeply-ro_3172302.jpg" --- # If there is one principle more deeply rooted in the mind… ![“If there is one principle more deeply rooted in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/thomas-jefferson-43_conquest_if-there-is-one-principle-more-deeply-ro_3172302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/thomas-jefferson-43_conquest_if-there-is-one-principle-more-deeply-ro_3172302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/thomas-jefferson-43_conquest_if-there-is-one-principle-more-deeply-ro_3172302.jpg) > “If there is one principle more deeply rooted in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest.” [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. Americans fundamentally oppose imperialist ambitions, preferring self‑determination over conquest. **In simple terms:** Americans dislike conquest. Key Takeaway Respect sovereignty and avoid imperialism. Themes politics ethics nationalism Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - foreign policy - military intervention - international relations - education curricula Key Concepts imperialism self‑determination principles Questions to Reflect On - Is non‑conquest always feasible? - How do we balance security with anti‑conquest values? A Different Perspective Idealism may clash with geopolitical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [If there be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in the mind of every American, it is, that we should have nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-there-be-one-principle-more-deeply-rooted-than-any-other-in-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Of course all such conclusions about appropriate actions against the rich and powerful are based on a fundamental flaw: This is us, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/of-course-all-such-conclusions-about-appropriate-actions-against-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [To the revolutionary mind the American vista must have been almost as incredible as Genghis Khan's first view of China - so rich, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garet-garrett/to-the-revolutionary-mind-the-american-vista-must-have-been-almost-as/) [Garet Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garet-garrett/) > [When I am designing, I keep in mind more the American woman than the French woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-de-givenchy/when-i-am-designing-i-keep-in-mind-more-the-american-woman-than-the/) [Hubert de Givenchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-de-givenchy/) > [My mind may be American but my heart is British.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/my-mind-may-be-american-but-my-heart-is-british/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/conquest-is-not-in-our-principles-it-is-inconsistent-with-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If we move in mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break into squads, everyone pursuing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-we-move-in-mass-be-it-ever-so-circuitously-we-shall-attain-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We did not raise armies for glory or for conquest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-did-not-raise-armies-for-glory-or-for-conquest/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It is my principle that the will of the majority should always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-is-my-principle-that-the-will-of-the-majority-should-always-prevail/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Principle will, in... most... cases open the way for us to correct conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/principle-will-in-most-cases-open-the-way-for-us-to-correct-conclusion/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [My principle is to do whatever is right, and leave the consequences to Him who has the disposal of them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/my-principle-is-to-do-whatever-is-right-and-leave-the-consequences-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [If love is the quest, then marriage is the conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-love-is-the-quest-then-marriage-is-the-conquest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) ## 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 Conquest quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. 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If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [By the age of three, the child has already laid down the foundations of his personality as a human being, and only then does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/by-the-age-of-three-the-child-has-already-laid-down-the-foundations/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [I refer to the misunderstanding of Soviet Russia as an aggressive power, militaristically and ideologically bent upon world domination 'seeing', to quote a recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/i-refer-to-the-misunderstanding-of-soviet-russia-as-an-aggressive/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The film The Conquest will be seen on many different levels and the American point of view is always more technical. The French are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-durringer/the-film-the-conquest-will-be-seen-on-many-different-levels-and-the/) [Xavier Durringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-durringer/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [In scientific thought, the concept functions all the better for being cut off from all background images. In its full exercise, the scientific concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-scientific-thought-the-concept-functions-all-the-better-for-being/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. 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