--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ultimate arbiter is the people of the…" description: "\"The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union.\" — Thomas Jefferson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/thomas-jefferson-43_arbiter_the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-th_2344533.jpg" --- # The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union. ![“The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/thomas-jefferson-43_arbiter_the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-th_2344533.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/thomas-jefferson-43_arbiter_the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-th_2344533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/thomas-jefferson-43_arbiter_the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-th_2344533.jpg) > “The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union.” [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 ultimate authority lies with the people of the Union, emphasizing democratic sovereignty. **In simple terms:** People are the final authority. Key Takeaway Uphold democratic principles. Themes democracy sovereignty people government Mood inspirational political foundational Type political democratic When to use this quote - civic education - voter engagement - policy advocacy Key Concepts constitutional law citizen participation political theory Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens effectively exercise this authority? - What safeguards protect this principle? A Different Perspective May be idealistic in practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arbiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbiter/) [Arbiter People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbiter-people-2063001/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-union-5639342/) [Ultimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate/) [Ultimate Arbiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate-arbiter-2063000/) [Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/union/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) ## Related quotes > [But the Chief Justice says, 'There must be an ultimate arbiter somewhere.' True, there must; but does that prove it is either party? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/but-the-chief-justice-says-there-must-be-an-ultimate-arbiter/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The job of the critic, as it might have been conceived in the 1950's or 1960's, was some kind of role of moral arbiter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/the-job-of-the-critic-as-it-might-have-been-conceived-in-the-1950-s/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-leader-of-armies-is-the-arbiter-of-the-people-s-fate-the-man-on/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Wisdom may be the ultimate arbiter, but is seldom the immediate agent in human affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/wisdom-may-be-the-ultimate-arbiter-but-is-seldom-the-immediate-agent/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [Put two or three men in positions of conflicting authority. This will force them to work at loggerheads, allowing you to be the ultimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/put-two-or-three-men-in-positions-of-conflicting-authority-this-will/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Time, the ultimate arbiter of what is of value in life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-david-miller/time-the-ultimate-arbiter-of-what-is-of-value-in-life/) [Aaron David Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-david-miller/) > [Today, for many people, being a union member simply means paying dues, but in the early days there were so few of us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-schneiderman/today-for-many-people-being-a-union-member-simply-means-paying-dues/) [Rose Schneiderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-schneiderman/) > [Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. ... With hearts fortified ... we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare that... we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-cause-is-just-our-union-is-perfect-with-hearts-fortified-we-most/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“20. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/20-thus-it-may-be-known-that-the-leader-of-armies-is-the-arbiter-of/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Nullification is the Jeffersonian idea that the states of the American Union must judge the constitutionality of the acts of their agent, the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-woods/nullification-is-the-jeffersonian-idea-that-the-states-of-the/) [Thomas Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-woods/) > [To consider judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/to-consider-judges-as-the-ultimate-arbiters-of-all-constitutional/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Civil union is less than marriage. Marriage is a sacred and valued institution and ought to be afforded equal protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgreevey/civil-union-is-less-than-marriage-marriage-is-a-sacred-and-valued/) [James McGreevey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgreevey/) > [Many people have mixed views about unions, but unions used to give people some measure of control at work. They gave them a social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/many-people-have-mixed-views-about-unions-but-unions-used-to-give/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [The new and most powerful union of all will be a union of one one man, one woman, one worker with special skills, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-new-and-most-powerful-union-of-all-will-be-a-union-of-one-one-man/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [I ended up an actor, did my first professional union gig in 1974, and I've been doing it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ironside/i-ended-up-an-actor-did-my-first-professional-union-gig-in-1974-and-i/) [Michael Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ironside/) ## 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 Arbiter quotes > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [The point I wish plainly to bring before you on this occasion is the individuality of each human soul--our Protestant idea, the right of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-point-i-wish-plainly-to-bring-before-you-on-this-occasion-is-the/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [The director is the ultimate creative arbiter of what's going to happen. And as a director myself, you really appreciate collaborating with people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-coppola/the-director-is-the-ultimate-creative-arbiter-of-what-s-going-to/) [Roman Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-coppola/) > [Only In America can a renowned and devoted terrorism supporter like Peter King be the arbiter of national security and treason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/only-in-america-can-a-renowned-and-devoted-terrorism-supporter-like/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“It is a rash man indeed who would set himself up as final arbiter on all that happened the incredible night the Titanic went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/it-is-a-rash-man-indeed-who-would-set-himself-up-as-final-arbiter-on/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [Even those who, like me, believe that Roe v. Wade and the decisions elaborating on reproductive rights were constitutionally correct must recognize that, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-tribe/even-those-who-like-me-believe-that-roe-v-wade-and-the-decisions/) [Laurence Tribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-tribe/) > [The single despot stands out in the face of all men, and says: I am the State: My will is law: I am your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-single-despot-stands-out-in-the-face-of-all-men-and-says-i-am-the/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If your only arbiter of anything is money, really you should... go and rob banks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/if-your-only-arbiter-of-anything-is-money-really-you-should-go-and/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [The gratitude ... should be commensurate with the boundless blessings which we enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-polk/the-gratitude-should-be-commensurate-with-the-boundless-blessings/) [James K. Polk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-polk/) > [To vest a few fallible men — prosecutors, judges, jurors — with vast powers of literary or artistic censorship, to convert them into what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-frank/to-vest-a-few-fallible-men-prosecutors-judges-jurors-with-vast-powers/) [Jerome Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-frank/) > [Wisdom may be the ultimate arbiter, but is seldom the immediate agent in human affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/wisdom-may-be-the-ultimate-arbiter-but-is-seldom-the-immediate-agent/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [Taking the decision-making process away from people disempowers them. It also makes them much less likely to buy into the decision, however right it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/taking-the-decision-making-process-away-from-people-disempowers-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The great arbiters of language are the women who speak it in the presence of children... What the women pass on to the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/the-great-arbiters-of-language-are-the-women-who-speak-it-in-the/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) > [The word 'truth' itself ceases to have its old meaning. It describes no longer something to be found, with the individual conscience as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-word-truth-itself-ceases-to-have-its-old-meaning-it-describes-no/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Modern science kills God and takes his place on the vacant throne. Science is the sole legitimate arbiter of all relavent truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/modern-science-kills-god-and-takes-his-place-on-the-vacant-throne/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) [Browse all 97 Arbiter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbiter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-the-union/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arbiter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-the-union/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/thomas-jefferson-43_arbiter_the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-th_2344533.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/thomas-jefferson-43_arbiter_the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-th_2344533.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ec/thomas-jefferson-43_arbiter_the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-th_2344533.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union.” — 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": "The ultimate arbiter is the people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-the-union/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-ultimate-arbiter-is-the-people-of-the-union/#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 } } ] } ```