--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What has been the effect of coercion? To…" description: "\"What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth…..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/thomas-jefferson-43_coercion_what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to_238945.jpg" --- # What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the… ![“What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth… [Instead] reason and persuasion are the only practicable instruments. To make way for these, free enquiry must be indulged; and how can we wish…” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/thomas-jefferson-43_coercion_what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to_238945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/thomas-jefferson-43_coercion_what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to_238945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/thomas-jefferson-43_coercion_what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to_238945.jpg) > “What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth… \[Instead\] reason and persuasion are the only practicable instruments. To make way for these, free enquiry must be indulged; and how can we wish others to indulge it while we refuse it ourselves?” [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. Coercion creates fools and hypocrites; reason and persuasion are better tools, requiring free inquiry. **In simple terms:** Force breeds deception; truth needs open discussion. Key Takeaway Promote open dialogue. Themes politics ethics reason Mood thoughtful inspirational Type historical political When to use this quote - legislative debates - public policy formation - education curricula Key Concepts coercion hypocrisy free inquiry Questions to Reflect On - How can society protect honest discourse? - What role does education play in fostering reason? A Different Perspective Free inquiry can be suppressed by power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Hypocrite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrite/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Persuasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasion/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/millions-of-innocent-men-women-and-children-since-the-introduction-of-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burned, tortured, fined, and imprisoned, yet we have not advanced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/millions-of-innocent-men-women-and-children-since-the-introduction-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ What has been the effect of \[religious\] coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-has-been-the-effect-of-religious-coercion-to-make-one-half-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Difference of opinion is advantageous in religion. The several sects perform the office of a Censor morum over each other. Is uniformity attainable? Millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/difference-of-opinion-is-advantageous-in-religion-the-several-sects-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ What has been the effect of coericion \[sic\]? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-has-been-the-effect-of-coericion-sic-to-make-one-half-the-world/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We should respect each other as rational beings by trying to achieve our goals through reason and persuasion rather than threats and coercion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/we-should-respect-each-other-as-rational-beings-by-trying-to-achieve/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [In a republican nation whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-a-republican-nation-whose-citizens-are-to-be-led-by-reason-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In a republican nation whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-a-republican-nation-whose-citizens-are-to-be-led-by-reason-and-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is not one redeeming feature in our superstition of Christianity. It has made one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-not-one-redeeming-feature-in-our-superstition-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I have examined all of the known superstitions of the world and i do not find our superstitions of Christianity one redeeming feature. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-examined-all-of-the-known-superstitions-of-the-world-and-i-do/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If a hundred or a thousand people, all of the same age, of the same constitution and habits, were suddenly seized by the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/if-a-hundred-or-a-thousand-people-all-of-the-same-age-of-the-same/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [One half the world must sweat and groan that the other half may dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/one-half-the-world-must-sweat-and-groan-that-the-other-half-may-dream/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Capitalism under democracy has a further advantage: its enemies, even when it is attacked, are scattered and weak, and it is usually easily able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/capitalism-under-democracy-has-a-further-advantage-its-enemies-even/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Great political questions stir the deepest nature of one-half the nation, but they pass far above and over the heads of the other half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/great-political-questions-stir-the-deepest-nature-of-one-half-the/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Giving is only one-half of the law of increase. Receiving is the other half. We can give and give but we may unbalance the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/giving-is-only-one-half-of-the-law-of-increase-receiving-is-the-other/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) ## 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 Coercion quotes > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) Joel McDurmon > [“Therapy requires a collaborative working relationship in which both partners act on the basis of their implicit confidence in the value and efficacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/therapy-requires-a-collaborative-working-relationship-in-which-both/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [There’s one thing that’s been 'learned' maybe from Tunisia and Egypt that I think is a mistake. And that is that the existing ruler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/there-s-one-thing-that-s-been-learned-maybe-from-tunisia-and-egypt/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economic-freedom-is-an-essential-requisite-for-political-freedom-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“Men are moral beings in their untrammelled nature. If constraint and coercion can once be removed they will be happy and if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/men-are-moral-beings-in-their-untrammelled-nature-if-constraint-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“If you require force to promote your ideal, there is something wrong with your ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jsb-morse/if-you-require-force-to-promote-your-ideal-there-is-something-wrong/) JSB Morse > [The idea of painless, nonthreatening coercion is an illusion. Fear is the inseparable companion of coercion, and its inescapable consequence. If you think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/the-idea-of-painless-nonthreatening-coercion-is-an-illusion-fear-is/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [To say that we mutually agree to coercion is not to say that we are required to enjoy it, or even to pretend we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/to-say-that-we-mutually-agree-to-coercion-is-not-to-say-that-we-are/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [“There are always a dozen reasons for doing nothing," Ann liked to say--it was a favourite apologia, indeed, for many of her misdemeanours. "There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/there-are-always-a-dozen-reasons-for-doing-nothing-ann-liked-to-say/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The state is the only institution entitled to apply coercion and compulsion and to inflict harm upon individuals. This tremendous power cannot be abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-state-is-the-only-institution-entitled-to-apply-coercion-and/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [So what is government?... Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion - such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/so-what-is-government-very-simply-it-is-an-agency-of-coercion-of/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [“Coercing attitude drains your strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/coercing-attitude-drains-your-strength/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) [Browse all 310 Coercion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth… [Instead] reason and persuasion are the only practicable instruments. To make way for these, free enquiry must be indulged; and how can we wish others to indulge it while we refuse it ourselves?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to-make-one-half-the-world-fools/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coercion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to-make-one-half-the-world-fools/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/thomas-jefferson-43_coercion_what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to_238945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/thomas-jefferson-43_coercion_what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to_238945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/thomas-jefferson-43_coercion_what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to_238945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To…” — 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": "What has been the effect of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to-make-one-half-the-world-fools/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-has-been-the-effect-of-coercion-to-make-one-half-the-world-fools/#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 } } ] } ```