---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our liberty depends on freedom of the…"
description: "\"Our liberty depends on freedom of the press.\" — Thomas Jefferson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/thomas-jefferson-43_depends_our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-pr_1532216.jpg"
---

#  Our liberty depends on freedom of the press.

![“Our liberty depends on freedom of the press.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/thomas-jefferson-43_depends_our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-pr_1532216.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/thomas-jefferson-43_depends_our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-pr_1532216.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/thomas-jefferson-43_depends_our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-pr_1532216.jpg)

> “Our liberty depends on freedom of the press.”

[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.

Freedom of the press is essential for protecting liberty.

**In simple terms:** Press freedom safeguards liberty.

Key Takeaway

Support and defend press independence.

Themes

freedom press democracy

Mood

serious optimistic

Type

political principled

When to use this quote

- journalism
- government oversight
- public discourse

Key Concepts

political theory civil rights

Questions to Reflect On

- What responsibilities accompany press freedom?
- How does a free press prevent tyranny?

A Different Perspective

Press can be misused; balance needed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom of the press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-the-press/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/)

## Related quotes

> [Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-liberty-depends-on-the-freedom-of-the-press-and-that-cannot-be/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [I want to make a toast to all at this press event who agree with Thomas Jefferson, who said that our liberty depends on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/i-want-to-make-a-toast-to-all-at-this-press-event-who-agree-with/)

[Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/)

> [Considering the great importance to the public liberty of the freedom of the press, and the difficulty of submitting it to very precise rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/considering-the-great-importance-to-the-public-liberty-of-the-freedom/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [I think that in today's world the right to privacy and freedom of the press are set on a collision course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-think-that-in-today-s-world-the-right-to-privacy-and-freedom-of-the/)

[Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/)

> [We have more freedom of the press than any other country in a similar position. Even way back in the frightened '50s, Communists, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/we-have-more-freedom-of-the-press-than-any-other-country-in-a-similar/)

[Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/)

> [But now, I, August Comte, have discovered the truth. Therefore, there is no longer any need for freedom of thought or freedom of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/but-now-i-august-comte-have-discovered-the-truth-therefore-there-is/)

[Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/)

> [Freedom of press and freedom of speech: What a blessing for a country while in the hands of honest, patriotic men; what a curse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/freedom-of-press-and-freedom-of-speech-what-a-blessing-for-a-country/)

[William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/)

> [When freedom of the press is threatened, the United States should be leading efforts to protect it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/when-freedom-of-the-press-is-threatened-the-united-states-should-be/)

[Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/)

> [I recognize the need to provide the press - and, through you, the American people - with information to the fullest extent possible. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-recognize-the-need-to-provide-the-press-and-through-you-the/)

[Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/)

> [I get a little nauseated, perhaps, when I hear the phrase 'freedom of the press' used as freely as it is, knowing that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-wilson/i-get-a-little-nauseated-perhaps-when-i-hear-the-phrase-freedom-of/)

[Harold Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-wilson/)

> [The freedom of the press is on of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by a despotic government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-freedom-of-the-press-is-on-of-the-great-bulwarks-of-liberty-and/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Nothing depends upon the death of an individual, be he ever so great, but much depends upon the freedom of India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nothing-depends-upon-the-death-of-an-individual-be-he-ever-so-great/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Trade liberty for safety or money and you'll end up with neither. Liberty, like a grain of salt, easily dissolves. The power of questioning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/trade-liberty-for-safety-or-money-and-you-ll-end-up-with-neither/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/no-experiment-can-be-more-interesting-than-that-we-are-now-trying-and/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/were-it-left-to-me-to-decide-whether-we-should-have-a-government/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

## 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 Depends quotes

> [It all depends on you. You can go on sleeping forever, you can wake up right this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/it-all-depends-on-you-you-can-go-on-sleeping-forever-you-can-wake-up/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/)

[David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/)

> [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [India may be overtaking China as the world's most polluted country. Even now, which country is worse depends on the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/india-may-be-overtaking-china-as-the-world-s-most-polluted-country/)

[Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/)

> [What my day is like depends on where I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniela-pestova/what-my-day-is-like-depends-on-where-i-am/)

[Daniela Pestova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniela-pestova/)

> [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/)

[Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/)

> [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/)

> [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/)

[Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/)

> [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/)

[Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/)

> [Every crucial experience can be regarded either as a setback, or the start of a wonderful new adventure, it depends on your perspective!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/every-crucial-experience-can-be-regarded-either-as-a-setback-or-the/)

[Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/)

> [Unless we are prepared to search our souls to discover what to say, and then how to say it effectively, we cannot expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-case/unless-we-are-prepared-to-search-our-souls-to-discover-what-to-say/)

Everett Case

> [What you can do and what it became the Depends are Only your Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/what-you-can-do-and-what-it-became-the-depends-are-only-your-attitude/)

Mak\_786

> [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/)

[Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/)

Browse all 3,689 Depends quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Our liberty depends on freedom of the press.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Jefferson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-press/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Depends"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-press/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/thomas-jefferson-43_depends_our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-pr_1532216.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/thomas-jefferson-43_depends_our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-pr_1532216.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/thomas-jefferson-43_depends_our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-pr_1532216.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Our liberty depends on freedom of the press.” — 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": "Our liberty depends on freedom of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-press/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-liberty-depends-on-freedom-of-the-press/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
