TDIH: Jefferson on Education
[I]f a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be."
On this day in 1816, Thomas Jefferson stresses the importance of education. How different might our world be today, if modern Americans had done a better job of taking his words to heart?
Here is Jefferson's full quote:
"if a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be. the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty & property of their constituents. there is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe."
Dear regular readers: Full stories return Monday, with Medal of Honor Monday! Have a great weekend.
![Painting of Jefferson with his quote: [I]f a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be." -- Letter to Charles Yancey, January 6, 1816](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61f128c9-78e1-49b1-b5f6-2cf425eab0a3_1503x1500.jpeg "Painting of Jefferson with his quote: [I]f a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be.\" -- Letter to Charles Yancey, January 6, 1816")
And Jefferson’s recommended text book as President and ahead of the school system in DC(yes as president he was superintendent of DC schools)? The Bible!
Not a place for debate on Tara’s wonderful thread, but I understand why you may think that, but you couldn’t be more off. Yes he wrote a summary book of the New Testament and abridged it to help the Indians understand it without the miracles. The misquoting from the American Atheist Society and others is long and unchecked. Jefferson, like all of us, went through stages of being very religious to less religious, but saying he was no fan of the Bible is out right wrong, especially when he advocated it in schools. Happy to discuss elsewhere and you can email. I teach classes on this and am happy to educate you or engage in discussion. As chair of the school board of DC (not superintendent. My bad) he advocated 2 books: the Bible and Watts hymnal. He is on record for advocating Christianity, prayer, Bible Societies, paying for his pew seats at church, donating to church and much more than I can write here.
In a letter to Franklin on 4/21/1803 - “My views… are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti-Christian system imputed to my by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed: but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others.” - Thomas Jefferson