I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe.

Thomas Jefferson

Read this letter at the National Archives website

More information about this quote

Topic

Rural vs. urban

Author

Thomas Jefferson

Medium

Letter

Statement Type

Prophecies and predictions

Language

English

Time

1787 1780s 18th century

Era

American Revolutionary Period

Occupation

Founding Father American President National leader Politician

From

United States

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. Letter to James Madison. 20 Dec. 1787.

Current Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. "James Madison, Dec. 20, 1787." The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Including the Autobiography, The Declaration of Independence & His Public and Private Letters, edited by Adrienne Koch and William Peden. Modern Library, 1998.

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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Thomas Jefferson

It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.

Thomas Jefferson

Notes on the State of Virginia

More information about this quote
Topic
Freedom of religion

Author

Thomas Jefferson
Source
Notes on the State of Virginia
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1787 1780s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Jefferson, Thomas [published anonymously]. Notes on the State of Virginia. Paris: Philippe Denis Pierres, 1785, query 17.

Current Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia, edited by Frank Shuffelton. Penguin Classics, 1998, query 17.

Another quote from the 1780s

The due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.

George Washington

More information about this quote
Topic
Good government Political theory Politics

Author

George Washington
Source
Letters of George Washington
Medium
Letter
Language
English
Time
1789 1780s 18th century
Era
American Revolutionary Period
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Washington, George. Letter to Edmund Randolph. 28 Sept. 1789.

Current Citation

Washington, George. "From George Washington to Edmund Randolph, 28 September 1789." George Washington: Writings, edited by John H. Rhodehamel. Library of America, 1997.

Another quote of the following type Prophecies and predictions

In proportion as the antagonism between classes within the nation vanishes, the hostility of one nation to another will come to an end.

Karl Marx

The Communist Manifesto

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Read The Communist Manifesto at marxists.org
More information about this quote
Topic
Class conflict End of war Political theory

Author

Karl Marx
Source
The Communist Manifesto
Medium
Pamphlet
Genre
Political literature Economic literature
Statement Type
Prophecies and predictions
Language
German
Time
1848 1840s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei [Manifesto of the Communist Party]. London, 1848, pt. 2.

Current Citation

Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto, translated by Samuel Moore and edited by Gareth Stedman Jones. Penguin Classics, 2015, pt. 2.