--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The principles on which we engaged, of…" description: "\"The principles on which we engaged, of which the charter of our independence is the record, were sanctioned by the laws of our being, and we but obeyed..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/thomas-jefferson-43_charter_the-principles-on-which-we-engaged-of-wh_2058786.jpg" --- # The principles on which we engaged, of which the charter… ![“The principles on which we engaged, of which the charter of our independence is the record, were sanctioned by the laws of our being, and we but obeyed them in pursuing undeviatingly the course they called for. It issued finally in that inestimable state of freedom which alone can ensure to man…” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/thomas-jefferson-43_charter_the-principles-on-which-we-engaged-of-wh_2058786.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/thomas-jefferson-43_charter_the-principles-on-which-we-engaged-of-wh_2058786.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/thomas-jefferson-43_charter_the-principles-on-which-we-engaged-of-wh_2058786.jpg) > “The principles on which we engaged, of which the charter of our independence is the record, were sanctioned by the laws of our being, and we but obeyed them in pursuing undeviatingly the course they called for. It issued finally in that inestimable state of freedom which alone can ensure to man the enjoyment of his equal rights.” [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. The quote asserts that the nation's founding principles, rooted in natural law, guarantee freedom and equal rights for all. **In simple terms:** Founding principles guarantee freedom and equality. Key Takeaway Uphold natural law to protect rights. Themes freedom equality natural law rights Mood reflective inspirational Type historical political When to use this quote - government formation - civil rights movements - legal reforms - education on citizenship Key Concepts political philosophy human rights social contract Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure modern laws reflect these original principles? - What challenges arise when natural law conflicts with contemporary values? A Different Perspective Implementation can be hindered by differing interpretations of natural law. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Declaration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/declaration/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Equal rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-rights/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Inalienable rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inalienable-rights/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Natural rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-rights/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) ## Related quotes > [ A free people \[claim\] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-free-people-claim-their-rights-as-derived-from-the-laws-of-nature-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Questions of natural right are triable by their conformity with the moral sense and reason of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/questions-of-natural-right-are-triable-by-their-conformity-with-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ The evidence of \[the\] natural right \[of expatriation\], like that of our right to life, liberty, the use of our faculties, the pursuit of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-evidence-of-the-natural-right-of-expatriation-like-that-of-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ We were born with natural rights. We don't need civil rights. \[African-Americans\] don't need civil rights. They don't need them. They have inalienable rights… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-woolery/we-were-born-with-natural-rights-we-don-t-need-civil-rights-african/) [Chuck Woolery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-woolery/) > [“The very notion of “natural rights” is a mere fiction, and the antitraditional and subversive use of that is well documented. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/the-very-notion-of-natural-rights-is-a-mere-fiction-and-the/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [“The rights of men, that is to say, the natural rights of mankind, are indeed sacred things; and if any public measure is proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-rights-of-men-that-is-to-say-the-natural-rights-of-mankind-are/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Good laws, if they are not obeyed, do not constitute good government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/good-laws-if-they-are-not-obeyed-do-not-constitute-good-government/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“MMA RAMOTSWE observed speed limits for two reasons. One of these was that she believed that laws were there to be obeyed, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mma-ramotswe-observed-speed-limits-for-two-reasons-one-of-these-was/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [An equal application of law to every condition of man is fundamental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/an-equal-application-of-law-to-every-condition-of-man-is-fundamental/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“MOST legislators have been men of inferior capacity whom chance exalted over their fellows, and who took counsel almost exclusively of their own prejudices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montesquieu/most-legislators-have-been-men-of-inferior-capacity-whom-chance/) [Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montesquieu/) > [Some of us do not accept the Establishment myth that bad laws must be obeyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-driberg/some-of-us-do-not-accept-the-establishment-myth-that-bad-laws-must-be/) Tom Driberg > [In America, no other distinction between man and man had ever been known but that of persons in office exercising powers by authority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-america-no-other-distinction-between-man-and-man-had-ever-been/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The people become more observant of justice, and do not refuse to submit to the laws when they see them obeyed by their enactor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudius-claudianus/the-people-become-more-observant-of-justice-and-do-not-refuse-to/) [Claudius Claudianus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudius-claudianus/) > [If you believe in science, like I do, you believe that there are certain laws that are always obeyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/if-you-believe-in-science-like-i-do-you-believe-that-there-are/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Nature's laws must be obeyed, and the period of decline begins, and goes on with accelerated rapidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-de-la-rue/nature-s-laws-must-be-obeyed-and-the-period-of-decline-begins-and/) Warren De la Rue ## 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 Charter quotes > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [For all the civilians saved thanks to the presence of peacekeepers, there have been those who were lost - the United Nations personnel who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-eliasson/for-all-the-civilians-saved-thanks-to-the-presence-of-peacekeepers/) [Jan Eliasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-eliasson/) > [ They \[Mc Donalds\] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/they-mc-donalds-take-people-and-give-them-a-first-job-which-enables/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/peace-does-not-rest-in-the-charters-and-covenants-alone-it-lies-in/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [The U.N. guards the vital principles entrenched in its charter, notably the sovereign equality of states and the inadmissibility of interference in their internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/the-u-n-guards-the-vital-principles-entrenched-in-its-charter-notably/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [The Olympic Charter says winter sports must be played on snow or ice, so the Chess Federation says they'll play with ice pieces. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sagal/the-olympic-charter-says-winter-sports-must-be-played-on-snow-or-ice/) [Peter Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sagal/) > [Our liberties do not come from charters; for these are only the declaration of pre-existing rights. They do not depend on parchments or seals;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/our-liberties-do-not-come-from-charters-for-these-are-only-the/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [From the time of the North Briton of the unprincipled Wilkes , a notion has been entertained that the moral spine in Scotland is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galt/from-the-time-of-the-north-briton-of-the-unprincipled-wilkes-a-notion/) [John Galt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galt/) > [I would argue that the charter schools are really good at building programming and curriculum around the issues and the interests of the kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-baker/i-would-argue-that-the-charter-schools-are-really-good-at-building/) [Charlie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-baker/) > [We should totally ban for-profit charters. For-profit's first obligation is to its stockholders, not to its children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/we-should-totally-ban-for-profit-charters-for-profit-s-first/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [Science is properly more scrupulous than dogma. Dogma gives a charter to mistake, but the very breath of science is a contest with mistake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/science-is-properly-more-scrupulous-than-dogma-dogma-gives-a-charter/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The Society is based on that great bottom law of human right, that nothing but crime can forfeit liberty. That no condition of birth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dwight-weld/the-society-is-based-on-that-great-bottom-law-of-human-right-that/) Theodore Dwight Weld > [Let me tell you something: I have members in my charter who, after paying their rent and house bills and taking care of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-zito/let-me-tell-you-something-i-have-members-in-my-charter-who-after/) [Chuck Zito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-zito/) > [Charter schools are not a panacea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beckel/charter-schools-are-not-a-panacea/) [Bob Beckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beckel/) > [The Senate, compared to the House, is where things are supposed to slow down, by design, Founding Father design. The Founding Fathers were hell-bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-senate-compared-to-the-house-is-where-things-are-supposed-to-slow/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) Browse all 219 Charter quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The principles on which we engaged, of which the charter of our independence is the record, were sanctioned by the laws of our being, and we but obeyed them in pursuing undeviatingly the course they called for. 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