--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The provisions we have made [for our…" description: "\"The provisions we have made [for our government] are such as please ourselves; they answer the substantial purposes of government and of justice, and o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/thomas-jefferson-43_answers_the-provisions-we-have-made-for-our-gove_1082584.jpg" --- # The provisions we have made \[for our government\] are such… ![“The provisions we have made [for our government] are such as please ourselves; they answer the substantial purposes of government and of justice, and other purposes than these should not be answered.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/thomas-jefferson-43_answers_the-provisions-we-have-made-for-our-gove_1082584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/thomas-jefferson-43_answers_the-provisions-we-have-made-for-our-gove_1082584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/thomas-jefferson-43_answers_the-provisions-we-have-made-for-our-gove_1082584.jpg) > “The provisions we have made \[for our government\] are such as please ourselves; they answer the substantial purposes of government and of justice, and other purposes than these should not be answered.” [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. Jefferson claims government should serve its own defined purposes, not external demands. **In simple terms:** Government should focus on its own goals, not others'. Key Takeaway Prioritize core governmental functions over external pressures. Themes government justice purpose policy law null Mood reflective critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - policy review - judicial decisions - public debates Key Concepts political philosophy public administration legal theory Questions to Reflect On - Are government purposes truly self‑contained? - What happens when external needs clash with internal goals? A Different Perspective It may ignore minority needs and broader societal impacts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-of-government/) ## Related quotes > [The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-very-nature-and-purposes-of-government-make-it-impossible-for/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The chief purpose of government is to protect life. Abandon that and you have abandoned all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-chief-purpose-of-government-is-to-protect-life-abandon-that-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. 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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. 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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 Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. 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It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. 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