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In Matters Of Religion, I Have Considered That Its Free Exercise Is Placed By The Constitution Independent Of The Powers Of The General Government. I Have Therefore Undertaken On No Occasion To Prescribe The Religious Exercises Suited To It; But Have Left Them As The Constitution Found Them, Under The Direction And Discipline Of State Or Church Authorities Acknowledged By The Several Religious Societies.
-Thomas Jefferson
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In Matters Of Religion,

Thomas Jefferson
In Matters Of Religion, I Have Considered That Its Free Exercise Is Placed By The Constitution Independent Of The Powers Of The General Government. I Have Therefore Undertaken On No Occasion To Prescribe The Religious Exercises Suited To It; But Have Left Them As The Constitution Found Them, Under The Direction And Discipline Of State Or Church Authorities Acknowledged By The Several Religious Societies.
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Topic
Religious
Independent
Exercise
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Let Our Countrymen Know That The People Alone Can Protect Us Against These Evils Of Misgovernment.
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When Two Parties Make A Compact, There Results To Each A Power Of Compelling The Other To Execute It.
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I Duly Acknowledge That I Have Gone Through A Long Life, With Fewer Circumstances Of Affliction Than Are The Lot Of Most Men. Uninterrupted Health, A Competence For Every Reasonable Want, Usefulness To My Fellow-citizens, A Good Portion Of Their Esteem, No Complaint Against The World Which Has Sufficiently Honored Me, And Above All, A Family Which Has Blessed Me By Their Affections, And Never By Their Conduct Given Me A Moment's Pain.
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The Mass Of The Citizens Is The Safest Depositary Of Their Own Rights.
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On Every Question Of Construction (of The Constitution) Let Us Carry Ourselves Back To The Time When The Constitution Was Adopted, Recollect The Spirit Of The Debates, And Instead Of Trying What Meaning May Be Squeezed Out Of The Text, Or Invented Against It, Conform To The Probable One In Which It Was Passed.
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Every State Has A Natural Right In Cases Not Within The Compact (casus Non Faederis) To Nullify Of Their Own Authority All Assumptions Of Power By Others Within Their Limits. Without This Right, They Would Be Under The Dominion, Absolute And Unlimited, Of Whosoever Might Exercise This Right Of Judgment For Them.
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No Experiment Can Be More Interesting Than That We Are Now Trying, And Which We Trust Will End In Establishing The Fact, That Man May Be Governed By Reason And Truth. Our First Object Should Therefore Be, To Leave Open To Him All The Avenues To Truth. The Most Effectual Hitherto Found, Is The Freedom Of The Press. It Is, Therefore, The First Shut Up By Those Who Fear The Investigation Of Their Actions.
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I Think It Is A Great Error To Consider A Heavy Tax On Wines As A Tax On Luxury. On The Contrary, It Is A Tax On The Health Of Our Citizens.
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No Generation Has A Right To Contract Debts Greater Than Can Be Paid Off During The Course Of Its Own Existence.
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For The Power Given To Congress By The Constitution Does Not Extend To The Internal Regulation Of The Commerce Of A State (that Is To Say, Of The Commerce Between Citizen And Citizen,) Which Remain Exclusively With Its Own Legislature; But To Its External Commerce Only, That Is To Say, Its Commerce With Another State, Or With Foreign Nations, Or With The Indian Tribes.
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The More A Subject Is Understood, The More Briefly It May Be Explained.
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But Every State, Says An Inquisitor, Has Established Some Religion. No Two, Say I, Have Established The Same. Is This A Proof Of The Infallibility Of Establishments?
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The Fantastical Idea Of Virtue And The Public Good Being A Sufficient Security To The State Against The Commission Of Crimes, Which You Say You Have Heard Insisted On By Some, I Assure You Was Never Mine.
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Difference Of Opinion Leads To Enquiry, And Enquiry To Truth; And I Am Sure...we Both Value Too Much The Freedom Of Opinion Sanctioned By Our Constitution, Not To Cherish Its Exercise Even Where In Opposition To Ourselves.
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Anarchy [is] Necessarily Consequent To Inefficiency.
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The Following [addition To The Bill Of Rights] Would Have Pleased Me: The People Shall Not Be Deprived Or Abridged Of Their Right To Speak, To Write, Or Otherwise To Publish Anything But False Facts Affecting Injuriously The Life, Liberty Or Reputation Of Others, Or Affecting The Peace Of The [united States] With Foreign Nations.
Writing
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Rejecting All Organs Of Informationbut My Senses, I Rid Myself Of The Pyrrhonisms With Which An Indulgence In Speculations Hyperphysical And Antiphysical So Uselessly Occupy And Disquiet The Mind.
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The Last Hope Of Human Liberty In This World Rests On Us.
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The Purse Of The People Is The Real Seat Of Sensibility. Let It Be Drawn Upon Largely, And They Will Then Listen To Truths Which Could Not Excite Them Through Any Other Organ.
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I Enclose To You A Copy Of The Declaration Of Independence As Agreed To By The House, And Also, As Originally Framed. You Will Judge Whether It Is The Better Or Worse For The Critics.
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You Have Never By A Word Or A Deed Given Me One Moment's Uneasiness; On The Contrary I Have Felt Perpetual Gratitude To Heaven Forhaving Given Me, In You, A Source Of So Much Pure And Unmixed Happiness.
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Nature [has] Implanted In Our Breasts A Love Of Others, A Sense Of Duty To Them, A Moral Instinct, In Short, Which Prompts Us Irresistibly To Feel And To Succor Their Distresses.
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Responsibility Is A Tremendous Engine In A Free Government.
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He Does Most In God's Great World Who Does His Best In His Own Little World.
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I Feel... An Ardent Desire To See Knowledge So Disseminated Through The Mass Of Mankind That It May, At Length, Reach Even The Extremes Of Society: Beggars And Kings.
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We Figure Great Careers Aren't Made. They're Experienced.
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With The Same Honest Views, The Most Honest Men Often Form Different Conclusions.
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Almighty God Hath Created The Mind Free. All Attempts To Influence It By Temporal Punishments Or Burthens...are A Departure From The Plan Of The Holy Author Of Our Religion...no Man Shall Be Compelled To Frequent Or Support Religious Worship Or Ministry Or Shall Otherwise Suffer On Account Of His Religious Opinions Or Belief, But All Men Shall Be Free To Profess And By Argument To Maintain, Their Opinions In Matters Of Religion. I Know But One Code Of Morality For Men Whether Acting Singly Or Collectively.
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Preach, My Dear Sir, A Crusade Against Ignorance; Establish & Improve The Law For Educating The Common People.
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I Pledge Undying Hostility To Any Government Restrictions On The Free Minds Of The People.
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Laws Abridging The Natural Right Of The Citizen Should Be Restrained By Rigorous Constructions Within Their Narrowest Limits.
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The Selfish Spirit Of Commerce, Which Knows No Country, And Feels No Passion Or Principle But That Of Gain.
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Where The Law Of The Majority Ceases To Be Acknowledged, There Government Ends; The Law Of The Strongest Takes Its Place, And Life And Property Are His Who Can Take Them.
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If Our Country, When Pressed With Wrongs At The Point Of The Bayonet, Had Been Governed By Its Heads Instead Of Its Hearts, Where Should We Have Been Now? Hanging On A Gallows As High As Haman's.
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I Find As I Grow Older That I Love Those Most Whom I Loved First.
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Question With Boldness Even The Existence Of A God; Because, If There Be One, He Must More Approve The Homage Of Reason, Than That Of Blindfolded Fear.... Do Not Be Frightened From This Inquiry From Any Fear Of Its Consequences. If It Ends In The Belief That There Is No God, You Will Find Incitements To Virtue In The Comfort And Pleasantness You Feel In Its Exercise.
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No Man Has Done Everything He Can Who Has Done Only His Best.
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The Man Who Loves His Country On Its Own Account, And Not Merely For Its Trappings Of Interest Or Power, Can Never Be Divorced For It, Can Never Refuse To Come Forward When He Finds That She Is Engaged In Dangers Which He Has The Means Of Warding Off.
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Men Of Energy Of Character Must Have Enemies; Because There Are Two Sides To Every Question, And Taking One With Decision, And Acting On It With Effect, Those Who Take The Other Will Of Course Be Hostile In Proportion As They Feel That Effect.
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It Is A Wise Rule And Should Be Fundamental In A Government Disposed To Cherish Its Credit, And At The Same Time To Restrain The Use Of It Within The Limits Of Its Faculties, "never To Borrow A Dollar Without Laying A Tax In The Same Instant For Paying The Interest Annually, And The Principal Within A Given Term; And To Consider That Tax As Pledged To The Creditors On The Public Faith."
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If You Are Obliged To Neglect Any Thing, Let It Be Your Chemistry. It Is The Least Useful And The Least Amusing To A Country Gentleman Of All The Ordinary Branches Of Science.
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I Am For Relying For Internal Defense On Our Militia Solely Till Actual Invasion, And For Such A Naval Force Only As May Protect Our Coasts And Harbors From Such Depredations As We Have Experienced; And Not For A Standing Army In Time Of Peace Which May Overawe The Public Sentiment; Nor For A Navy Which, By Its Own Expenses And The Eternal Wars In Which It Will Implicate Us, Will Grind Us With Public Burthens And Sink Us Under Them.
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When The Heart Is Right, The Feet Are Swift.
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All... Natural Rights May Be Abridged Or Modified In [their] Exercise By Law.
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It Is My Disposition To Maintain Peace Until Its Condition Shall Be Made Less Tolerable Than That Of War Itself.
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I Fancy It Must Be The Quantity Of Animal Food Eaten By The English Which Renders Their Character Insusceptible To Civilization. I Suspect It Is In Their Kitchens And Not In Their Churches That The Reformation Must Be Worked.
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Convinced That The People Are The Only Safe Depositories Of Their Own Liberty, And That They Are Not Safe Unless Enlightened To A Certain Degree, I Have Looked On Our Present State Of Liberty As A Short-lived Possession Unless The Mass Of The People Could Be Informed To A Certain Degree.
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We Are Firmly Convinced, And We Act On That Conviction, That With Nations As With Individuals Our Interests Soundly Calculated Will Ever Be Found Inseparable From Our Moral Duties, And History Bears Witness To The Fact That A Just Nation Is Trusted On Its Word When Recourse Is Had To Armaments And Wars To Bridle Others.
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It Would Reduce The Whole Instrument To A Single Phrase, That Of Instituting A Congress With Power To Do Whatever Would Be For The Good Of The United States; And As They Would Be The Sole Judges Of The Good Or Evil, It Would Be Also A Power To Do Whatever Evil They Please . . . . Certainly No Such Universal Power Was Meant To Be Given Them. It [the Constitution] Was Intended To Lace Them Up Straightly Within The Enumerated Powers And Those Without Which, As Means, These Powers Could Not Be Carried Into Effect.
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A Little Patience, And We Shall See The Reign Of Witches Pass Over, Their Spells Dissolve, And The People, Recovering Their True Sight, Restore Their Government To Its True Principles. It Is True That In The Meantime We Are Suffering Deeply In Spirit, And Incurring The Horrors Of A War And Long Oppressions Of Enormous Public Debt...if The Game Runs Sometime Against Us At Home, We Must Have Patience Till Luck Turns, And Then We Shall Have An Opportunity Of Winning Back The Principles We Have Lost, For This Is A Game Where Principles Are At Stake.
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It Behooves Every Man Who Values Liberty Of Conscience For Himself, To Resist Invasions Of It In The Case Of Others: Or Their Case May, By Change Of Circumstances, Become His Own.
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Let Those Flatter Who Fear; It Is Not An American Art .
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I Suppose, Indeed, That In Public Life, A Man Whose Political Principles Have Any Decided Character And Who Has Energy Enough To Give Them Effect Must Always Expect To Encounter Political Hostility From Those Of Adverse Principles.
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What Is True Of Every Member Of The Society, Individually, Is True Of Them All Collectively; Since The Rights Of The Whole Can Be No More Than The Sum Of The Rights Of The Individuals.
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And For The Support Of This Declaration, With A Firm Reliance On The Protection Of Divine Providence, We Mutually Pledge To Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes And Our Sacred Honor.
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Law Is Often The Tyrant's Will, And Always So When It Violates The Right Of An Individual.
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Taxation Is, In Fact, The Most Difficult Function Of Government And That Against Which Their Citizens Are Most Apt To Be Refractory.
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Amplification Is The Vice Of Modern Oratory.
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My Confidence Is That There Will For A Long Time Be Virtue And Good Sense Enough In Our Countrymen To Correct Abuses.
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An Acre Of The Best Ground For Hemp, Is To Be Selected And Sewn In Hemp And Be Kept For A Permanent Hemp Patch.
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The Republican Is The Only Form Of Government Which Is Not Eternally At Open Or Secret War With The Rights Of Mankind.
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Creeds Have Been The Bane Of The Christian Church ... Made Of Christendom A Slaughter-house.
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I Am Not Afraid Of The Priests. They Have Tried Upon Me All Their Various Batteries, Of Pious Whining, Hypocritical Canting, Lying And Slandering, Without Being Able To Give Me One Moment Of Pain.
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I Sincerely Join You In Abjuring All Political Connection With Every Foreign Power; And Tho I Cordially Wish Well To The Progress Of Liberty In All Nations, And Would Forever Give It The Weight Of Our Countenance, Yet They Are Not To Be Touched Without Contamination From Their Other Bad Principles. Commerce With All Nations, Alliance With None, Should Be Our Motto.
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The Right Of Self-government Does Not Comprehend The Government Of Others.
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The Application Requisite To The Duties Of The Office I Hold [governor Of Virginia] Is So Excessive, And The Execution Of Them After All So Imperfect, That I Have Determined To Retire From It At The Close Of The Present Campaign.
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We Have The Wolf By The Ears, And We Can Neither Hold Him, Nor Safely Let Him Go. Justice Is In One Scale, And Self-preservation In The Other.
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Justice
Ears
Agriculture, Manufactures, Commerce, And Navigation, The Four Pillars Of Our Prosperity, Are The Most Thriving When Left Most Free To Individual Enterprise.
Agriculture
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A Strict Observance Of The Written Laws Is Doubtless One Of The Highest Virtues Of A Good Citizen, But It Is Not The Highest. The Laws Of Necessity, Of Self-preservation, Of Saving Our Country When In Danger, Are Of Higher Obligation. To Lose Our Country By A Scrupulous Adherence To Written Law Would Be To Lose The Law Itself, With Life, Liberty, Property And All Those Who Are Enjoying Them With Us; Thus Absurdly Sacrificing The End To The Means.
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But Every Difference Of Opinion Is Not A Difference Of Principle. We Have Been Called By Different Names Brethren Of The Same Principle. We Are All Republicans, We Are All Federalists.
Names
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Principles
I Have Ever Deemed It Fundamental For The United States Never To Take Active Part In The Quarrels Of Europe. Their Political Interests Are Entirely Distinct From Ours. Their Mutual Jealousies, Their Balance Of Power, Their Complicated Alliances, Their Forms And Principles Of Government, Are All Foreign To Us. They Are Nations Of Eternal War.
War
Europe
Government
I Am Mortified To Be Told That, In The United States Of America, The Sale Of A Book Can Become A Subject Of Inquiry, And Of Criminal Inquiry Too.
Book
Thinking
America
I Shall Often Go Wrong Through Defect Of Judgment. When Right, I Shall Often Be Thought Wrong By Those Whose Positions Will Not Command A View Of The Whole Ground. I Ask Your Indulgence For My Own Errors, Which Will Never Be Intentional, And Your Support Against The Errors Of Others, Who May Condemn What They Would Not If Seen In All Its Parts.
Often Is
Views
Errors
Had The Doctrines Of Jesus Been Preached Always As Pure As They Came From His Lips, The Whole Civilized World Would Now Have Been Christians.
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Christian
Jesus
Your Own Reason Is The Only Oracle Given You By Heaven, And You Are Answerable For, Not The Rightness, But The Uprightness Of The Decision
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Above All I Hope That The Education Of The Common People Will Be Attended To So They Won't Forget The Basic Principles Of Freedom.
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Common
Sir,-your Letter Of February The 18th Came To Hand On The 1st Instant; And The Request Of The History Of My Physical Habits Would Have Puzzled Me Not A Little, Had It Not Been For The Model With Which You Accompanied It, Of Doctor Rush's Answer To A Similar Inquiry. I Live So Much Like Other People, That I Might Refer To Ordinary Life As A History Of My Own. Like My Friend The Doctor, I Have Lived Temperately, Eating Very Little Animal Food, And That Not As An Aliment, So Much As A Condiment For The Vegetables, Which Constitute My Principle Diet.
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No Man Has A Natural Right To Commit Aggression On The Equal Rights Of Another; And This Is All From Which The Laws Ought To Restrain Him.
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What But Education Has Advanced Us Beyond The Condition Of Our Indigenous Neighbors? And What Chains Them To Their Present State Of Barbarism And Wretchedness But A Bigoted Veneration For The Supposed Superlative Wisdom Of Their Fathers And The Preposterous Idea That They Are To Look Backward For Better Things And Not Forward, Longing, As It Should Seem, To Return To The Days Of Eating Acorns And Roots Rather Than Indulge In The Degeneracies Of Civilization?
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Civilization
Ideas
If The Game Runs Sometimes Against Us At Home We Must Have Patience Till Luck Turns, And Then We Shall Have An Opportunity Of Winning Back The Principles We Have Lost, For This Is A Game Where Principles Are At Stake.
Running
Home
Winning
We Must Use A Good Deal Of Economy In Our Wood, Never Cutting Down New, Where We Can Make The Old Do.
Cutting
Environmental
Use
To The Corruptions Of Christianity I Am Indeed Opposed; But Not To The Genuine Precepts Of Jesus Himself.
Jesus
Christianity
Corruption
War Is An Instrument Entirely Inefficient Toward Redressing Wrong; And Multiplies, Instead Of Indemnifying Losses.
Peace
War
Loss
The Same Political Parties Which Now Agitiate The Us Have Existed Through All Time. And In Fact The Terms Of Whig And Tory Belong To Natural As Well As To Civil History. They Denote The Temper And Constitution And Mind Of Different Individuals.
Party
History
Political
Educate And Inform The Whole Mass Of The People. Enable Them To See That It Is Their Interest To Preserve Peace And Order, And They Will Preserve Them.
Meaningful
Order
People
The Happiness Of The Domestic Fireside Is The First Boon Of Heaven; And It Is Well It Is So, Since It Is That Which Is The Lot Of The Mass Of Mankind.
Family
Heaven
Being Thankful
[t]he Opinion Which Gives To The Judges The Right To Decide What Laws Are Constitutional And What Not, Not Only For Themselves, In Their, Own Sphere Of Action, But For The Legislature And Executive Also In Their Spheres, Would Make The Judiciary A Despotic Branch.
Government
Law
Judging
Would It Not Be Better To Simplify The System Of Taxation Rather Than To Spread It Over Such A Variety Of Subjects And Pass Through So Many New Hands.
Hands
Taxation
Simplify
Our Wish Is That...[there Be] Maintained That State Of Property, Equal Or Unequal, Which Results To Every Man From His Own Industry Or That Of His Fathers.
Father
Men
Wish
If, Then, The Control Of The People Over The Organs Of Their Government Be The Measure Of Its Republicanism, And I Confess I Know No Other Measure, It Must Be Agreed That Our Governments Have Much Less Of Republicanism Than Ought To Have Been Expected; In Other Words, That The People Have Less Regular Control Over Their Agents, Than Their Rights And Their Interests Require.
Rights
Government
People
We Should Talk Over The Lessons Of The Day, Or Lose Them In Music, Chess, Or The Merriments Of Our Family Companions.
Lessons
Chess
Should
Government As Well As Religion Has Furnished Its Schisms, Its Persecutions And Its Devices For Fattening Idleness On The Earnings Of The People.
Government
People
Politics
His [calvin's] Religion Was Demonism. If Ever Man Worshiped A False God, He Did. The Being Described In His Five Points Is ... A Demon Of Malignant Spirit. It Would Be More Pardonable To Believe In No God At All, Than To Blaspheme Him By The Atrocious Attributes Of Calvin
Religious
Believe
Men
The Only Way To Win Money Out Of A Casino Is To Own One.
Wisdom
Winning
Casinos
For An Unarmed Man May Be Attacked With Greater Confidence Than An Armed Man.
Gun
Men
Strong Arms
[i]n Great-britain It Is Said That Their Constitution Relies On The House Of Commons For Honesty, And The Lords For Wisdom; Whichwould Be A Rational Reliance If Honesty Were To Be Bought With Money, And If Wisdom Were Hereditary.
Honesty
Government
House
Where Everyman Is Participator In The Government Of Affairs, Not Merely At An Election One Day In The Year But Everyday, He Will Let The Heart Be Torn Out Of His Body Sooner Than His Power Be Wrested From Him By A Caesar Or A Bonaparte.
Heart
Government
Years
Music, Drawing, Books, Invention & Exercise Will Be So Many Resources To You Against Ennui.
Educational
Book
Exercise
The Reflections That The Boys Of This Age Are To Be The Men Of The Next; That They Should Be Prepared To Receive The Holy Charge Which We Are Cherishing To Deliver Over To Them; That In Establishing An Institution Of Wisdom For Them, We Secure It To All Our Future Generations; That In Fulfilling This Duty, We Bring Home To Our Own Bosoms The Sweet Consolation Of Seeing Our Sons Rising Under A Luminous Tuition, To Destinies Of High Promise; These Are Considerations Which Will Occur To All.
Sweet
Home
Son
The Religion Of Jesus Is Founded In The Unity Of God, And This Principle Chiefly Gave It Triumph Over The Rabble Of Heathen Gods Then Acknowledged. Thinking Men Of All Nations Rallied Readily To The Doctrine Of One Only God, And Embraced It With The Pure-morals Which Jesus Inculcated.
Jesus
Men
Thinking
Nothing Betrays Imbecility So Much As The Being Insensible Of It.
Betray
Imbecility
Insensible
Do Not Be Too Severe Upon The Errors Of The People, But Reclaim Them By Enlightening Them.
Errors
People
Revolution
No Nation Is Drunken Where Wine Is Cheap, And None Sober Where The Dearness Of Wine Substitutes Ardent Spirits As The Common Beverage
Wine
Alcohol
Vineyards
The Contest Is Not Between Us And Them, But Between Good And Evil, And If Those Who Would Fight Evil Adopt The Ways Of Evil, Evil Wins.
Fighting
Winning
Evil
The Multiplication Of Public Offices, Increase Of Expense Beyond Income, Growth And Entailment Of A Public Debt Are Indications Soliciting The Employment Of The Pruning Knife.
Knives
Government Debt
Office
To Your Request Of My Opinion Of The Manner In Which A Newspaper Should Be Conducted, So As To Be Most Useful, I Should Answer, "by Restraining It To True Facts & Sound Principles Only." Yet I Fear Such A Paper Would Find Few Subscribers. It Is A Melancholy Truth, That A Suppression Of The Press Could Not More Completely Deprive The Nation Of It's Benefits, Than Is Done By It's Abandoned Prostitution To Falsehood.
Media Control
Sound
Principles
Government Can Do Something For The People Only In Proportion As It Can Do Something To The People.
Government
People
Voting
The Unsuccessful Strugglers Against Tyranny Have Been The Chief Martyrs Of Treason Laws In All Countries.
Country
Law
Unsuccessful
There Is A Natural Aristocracy Among Men. The Grounds Of This Are Virtue And Talents.
Short Life
Men
Hair
Our Constitution... Has Not Left The Religion Of Its Citizens Under The Power Of Its Public Functionaries, Were It Possible That Any Of These Should Consider A Conquest Over The Conscience Of Men Either Attainable Or Applicable To Any Desirable Purpose.
Men
Atheism
Citizens
I Thank Heaven That The 4th. Of July Is Over. It Is Always A Day Of Great Fatigue To Me, And Of Some Embarrassments From Improper Intrusions And Some From Unintended Exclusions.
4th Of July
Heaven
Exclusion
The Functionaries Of Every Government Have Propensities To Command At Will The Liberty And Property Of Their Constituents.
Government
Liberty
Command
The Minority Possess Their Equal Rights, Which Equal Law Must Protect, And To Violate Would Be Oppression.
Rights
Law
Majority Rule
The Christian God Is A Being Of Terrific Character - Cruel, Vindictive, Capricious And Unjust.
Christian
Character
Religion
I Do Not Like [in The New Federal Constitution] The Omission Of A Bill Of Rights Providing Clearly And Without The Aid Of Sophisms For... Protection Against Standing Armies
Army
Rights
Omission
The Idea Of Creating A National Bank I Do Not Concur In, Because It Seems Now Decided That Congress Has Not That Power (although I Sincerely Wish They Had It Exclusively), And Because I Think There Is Already A Vast Redundancy Rather Than A Scarcity Of Paper Medium.
Thinking
Ideas
Creating
Experience Hath Shewn, That Even Under The Best Forms Of Government Those Entrusted With Power Have, In Time, And By Slow Operations, Perverted It Into Tyranny.
Trust
Time
Democracies Have
One Travels More Usefully When Alone, Because He Reflects More.
Single
Travel
Loneliness
[an] Act Of The Congress Of The United States... Which Assumes Powers... Not Delegated By The Constitution, Is Not Law, But Is Altogether Void And Of No Force.
Law
Void
United States
The People Cannot Be All, And Always Well Informed. The Part Which Is Wrong Will Be Discontented In Proportion To The Importance Of The Facts They Misconceive.
Patriotic
Tyrants
People
If I Am To Meet With A Disappointment, The Sooner I Know It, The More Of Life I Shall Have To Wear It Off.
Disappointment
Disappointing
Knows
A Government Held Together By The Bands Of Reason Only, Requires Much Compromise Of Opinion.
Government
Together
Band
I Am Persuaded Myself That The Good Sense Of The People Will Always Be Found To Be The Best Army. They May Be Led Astray For A Moment, But Will Soon Correct Themselves. The People Are The Only Censors Of Their Governors; And Even Their Errors Will Tend To Keep These To The True Principles Of Their Institution.
Army
Errors
People
Question With Boldness Even The Existence Of A God.
Religious
Atheist
Faith Religion
Traveling Makes Men Wiser, But Less Happy.
Travel
Men
Wiser
Man Once Surrendering His Reason, Has No Remaining Guard Against Absurdities The Most Monstrous, And Like A Ship Without Rudder, Is The Sport Of Every Wind. With Such Persons, Gullibility, Which They Call Faith, Takes The Helm From The Hand Of Reason, And The Mind Becomes A Wreck.
Sports
Men
Hands
Hemp Is Of First Necessity To The Wealth & Protection Of The Country.
Weed
Country
Marijuana
The Constitution On Which Our Union Rests, Shall Be Administered By Me [as President] According To The Safe And Honest Meaning Contemplated By The Plain Understanding Of The People Of The United States At The Time Of Its Adoption - A Meaning To Be Found In The Explanations Of Those Who Advocated, Not Those Who Opposed It, And Who Opposed It Merely Lest The Construction Should Be Applied Which They Denounced As Possible.
People
Adoption
Understanding
Leave All The Afternoon For Exercise And Recreation, Which Are As Necessary As Reading. I Will Rather Say More Necessary Because Health Is Worth More Than Learning.
Motivational
Fitness
Workout
The Small Landholders Are The Most Precious Part Of A State.
Farming
States
Farmers
I Have Seen Enough Of One War Never To Wish To See Another.
War
Wish
Enough
Never Use One Word When Two Will Do.
Two
Use
One Word
History, I Believe, Furnishes No Example Of A Priest-ridden People Maintaining A Free Civil Government.
Religious
Believe
Government
I Think By Far The Most Important Bill In Our Whole Code Is That For The Diffusion Of Knowlege Among The People. No Other Sure Foundation Can Be Devised For The Preservation Of Freedom, And Happiness.
Educational
Knowledge
Thinking
The Judiciary Of The United States Is The Subtle Corps Of Sappers And Miners Constantly Working Under Ground To Undermine The Foundations Of Our Confederated Fabric. They Are Construing Our Constitution From A Co-ordination Of A General And Special Government To A General And Supreme One Alone.
Government
Special
Foundation
The People Are Not Always Well-informed, But Is Better That They Have Misconceptions That Make Them Restless Than That They Be Lethargic-for Lethargy In The People Means Death For Republics.
Mean
People
Republic
You Have Lived Longer Than I Have And Perhaps May Have Formed A Different Judgment On Better Grounds; But My Observations Do Not Enable Me To Say I Think Integrity The Characteristic Of Wealth. In General I Believe The Decisions Of The People, In A Body, Will Be More Honest And More Disinterested Than Those Of Wealthy Men.
Integrity
Believe
Men
It Is Not By The Consolidation Or Concentration Of Powers But By Their Distribution That Good Government Is Effected.
Government
Political
Concentration
The Spirit Of 1776 Is Not Dead. It Had Only Been Slumbering. The Body Of The American People Is Substantially Republican.
People
Body
Spirit
On The Dogmas Of Religion, As Distinguished From Moral Principles, All Mankind, From The Beginning Of The World To This Day, Have Been Quarrelling, Fighting, Burning And Torturing One Another, For Abstractions Unintelligible To Themselves And To All Others, And Absolutely Beyond The Comprehension Of The Human Mind.
Religious
Fighting
Faith Religion
An Equal Application Of Law To Every Condition Of Man Is Fundamental.
Equality
Men
Law
We Love And We Value Peace; We Know Its Blessings From Experience. We Abhor The Follies Of War, And Are Not Untried In Its Distresses And Calamities.
Peace
War
Blessing
The Man Who Reads Nothing At All Is Better Educated Than The Man Who Reads Nothing But Newspapers.
Business
Book
Reading
At The Time We Were Funding Our National Debt, We Heard Much About "a Public Debt Being A Public Blessing"; That The Stock Representing It Was A Creation Of Active Capital For The Aliment Of Commerce, Manufactures And Agriculture. This Paradox Was Well Adapted To The Minds Of Believers In Dreams.
Dream
Wisdom
Blessing
The Main Objects Of All Science, The Freedom And Happiness Of Man. . . . [are] The Sole Objects Of All Legitimate Government. A Plaque With This Quotation, With The First Phrase Omitted, Is In The Stairwell Of The Pedestal Of The Statue Of Liberty.
Men
Liberty
Pedestal
I Tolerate With The Utmost Latitude The Right Of Others To Differ From Me In Opinion Without Imputing To Them Criminality.
Liberty
Opinion
Latitude
I Consider The Government Of The U.s. As Interdicted By The Constitution From Intermeddling With Religious Institutions, Their Doctrines, Discipline, Or Exercises.
Religious
Exercise
Government
The Firmness With Which The (american) People Have Withstood The... Abuses Of The Press, The Discernment They Have Manifested Between Truth And Falsehood, Show That They May Safely Be Trusted To Hear Everything True And False And To Form A Correct Judgment Between Them.
People
Abuse
True And False
Excessive Taxation . . . Will Carry Reason & Reflection To Every Man's Door, And Particularly In The Hour Of Election.
Reflection
Men
Doors
Every Honest Man Will Suppose Honest Acts To Flow From Honest Principles, And The Rogues May Rail Without Intermission.
Honesty
Men
Principles
We Must Meet Our Duty And Convince The World That We Are Just Friends And Brave Enemies.
Military
Brave
Just Friends
Victory And Defeat Are Each Of The Same Price.
Sports
Victory And Defeat
Victory Defeat
By Nature's Law, Man Is At Peace With Man Till Some Aggression Is Committed, Which, By The Same Law, Authorizes One To Destroy Another As His Enemy.
Men
Law
Enemy
Political Dissension Is Doubtless A Less Evil Than The Lethargy Of Despotism: But Still It Is A Great Evil, And It Would Be As Worthy The Efforts Of The Patriot As Of The Philosopher, To Exclude Its Influence If Possible, From Social Life. The Good Are Rare Enough At Best. There Is No Reason To Subdivide Them By Artificial Lines. But Whether We Shall Ever Be Able So Far To Perfect The Principles Of Society As That Political Opinions Shall, In Its Intercourse, Be As Inoffensive As Those Of Philosophy, Mechanics, Or Any Other, May Well Be Doubted.
Philosophy
Political Opinions
Evil
Congress Errs In Too Much Talking, How Can It Be Otherwise, In A Body To Which The People Send One Hundred And Fifty Lawyers, Whose Trade It Is To Question Everything, Yield Nothing, And Talk By The Hour?
Funny
Yield
Law Students
The Steady Character Of Our Countrymen Is A Rock To Which We May Safely Moor; And Notwithstanding The Efforts Of The Papers To Disseminate Early Discontents, I Expect That A Just, Dispassionate And Steady Conduct, Will At Length Rally To A Proper System The Great Body Of Our Country. Unequivocal In Principle, Reasonable In Manner, We Shall Be Able I Hope To Do A Great Deal Of Good To The Cause Of Freedom & Harmony.
Country
Character
Rocks
Everyone Must Act According To The Dictates Of His Own Reason.
Religion
Liberty
Politics
A Little Revolution Is A Good Thing.
Littles
Revolution
Good Things
I Never Will, By Any Word Or Act, Bow To The Shrine Of Intolerance Or Admit A Right Of Inquiry Into The Religious Opinions Of Others.
Religious
Tolerance
Inquiry
If Science Produces No Better Fruits Than Tyranny... I Would Rather Wish Our Country To Be Ignorant, Honest And Estimable As Our Neighbouring Savages Are.
Country
Ignorant
Wish
Gaming Corrupts Our Disposition And Teaches Us A Habit Of Hostility Against All Mankind.
Gambling
Habit
Disposition
This Interesting Subject, Which, If The Condition Of Man Is To Be Progressively Ameliorated, As We Fondly Hope And Believe, Is To Be The Chief Instrument In Effecting It.
Educational
Believe
Men
My Reason For Fixing Them In Office For A Term Of Years, Rather Than For Life, Was That They Might Have An Idea That They Were At A Certain Period To Return Into The Mass Of The People And Become The Governed Instead Of The Governors Which Might Still Keep Alive That Regard To The Public Good That Otherwise They Might Perhaps Be Induced By Their Independence To Forget.
Years
Ideas
People
So Confident Am I In The Intentions, As Well As Wisdom, Of The Government, That I Shall Always Be Satisfied That What Is Not Done, Either Cannot, Or Ought Not To Be Done.
Government
Done
Intention
The Constitution Has Erected No Such Single Tribunal, Knowing That To Whatever Hands Confided, With The Corruption's Of Time And Party, Its Members Would Become Despots.
Party
Hands
Knowing
To Seek Out The Best [persons To Serve In The Government] Though The Whole Union, We Must Resort To The Information Which From The Best Of Men, Acting Disinterestedly And With Ther Purest Motives, Is Something Incorrect....no Duty The Executive Had To Perform Was So Trying As To Put The Right Man In The Right Place.
Men
Trying
Acting
Men Of High Learning And Abilities Are Few In Every Country; And By Taking In Those Who Are Not So, The Able Part Of The Body Have Their Hands Tied By The Unable.
Country
Men
Hands
I Value Peace, And I Should Unwillingly See Any Event Take Place Which Would Render War A Necessary Resource.
Peace
War
Events
It Is Between Fifty And Sixty Years Since I Read It (i.e. The Book Of Revelations), And I Then Considered It Merely The Ravings Of A Maniac, No More Worthy Nor Capable Of Explanation Than The Incoherence Of Our Own Nightly Dreams.
Dream
Religious
Book
Preachers Dread The Advance Of Science As Witches Do The Approach Of Daylight.
Faith Religion
Daylight
Witch
Ignorance Is Preferable To Error, And He Is Less Remote From The Truth Who Believes Nothing Than He Who Believes What Is Wrong.
Truth
Mistake
Believe
Lay Down True Principles And Adhere To Them Inflexibly. Do Not Be Frightened Into Their Surrender By The Alarms Of The Timid, Or The Croakings Of Wealth Against The Ascendency Of The People.
People
Alarms
Principles
Adore God. Reverence And Cherish Your Parents. Love Your Neighbor As Yourself, And Your Country More Than Yourself. Be Just. Be True. Murmur Not At The Ways Of Providence. So Shall The Life Into Which You Have Entered Be The Portal To One Of Eternal And Ineffable Bliss.
Country
Love You
Parent
The Country Is Headed Toward A Single And Splendid Government Of An Aristocracy Founded On Banking Institutions And Moneyed Incorporations And If This Tendency Continues It Will Be The End Of Freedom And Democracy, The Few Will Be Ruling...i Hope We Shall...crush In Its Birth The Aristocracy Of Our Moneyed Corporations Which Dare Already To Challenge Our Government To Trial And Bid Defiance To The Laws Of Our Country. I Sincerely Believe That Banking Establishments Are More Dangerous Than Standing Armies.
Crush
Country
Believe
The True Theory Of Our Constitution Is Surely The Wisest And Best, That The States Are Independent As To Everything Within Themselves, And United As To Everything Respecting Foreign Affairs. Let The General Government Be Reduced To Foreign Concerns Only, And Let Our Affairs Be Disentangled From Those Of All Other Nations, Except As To Commerce, Which The Merchants Will Manage The Better, The More They Are Left Free To Manage For Themselves, And Our General Government May Be Reduced To A Very Simple Organization, And A Very Inexpensive One; A Few Plain Duties To Be Performed By A Few Servants.
Independent
Simple
Government
Without Virtue, Happiness Cannot Be.
Liberty
Virtue
Liberty Is The Great Parent Of Science And Of Virtue; And A Nation Will Be Great In Both In Proportion As It Is Free.
Freedom
4th Of July
Parent
I Candidly Confess That I Have Ever Looked On Cuba As The Most Interesting Addition Which Could Ever Be Made To Our System Of States. The Control Which, With Florida, This Island Would Give Us Over The Gulf Of Mexico, And The Countries And Isthmus Bordering On It, As Well As All Those Whose Waters Flow Into It, Would Fill Up The Measure Of Our Political Well-being.
Country
Islands
Florida
"it Astonishes Me To Find... [that So Many] Of Our Countrymen... Should Be Contented To Live Under A System Which Leaves To Their Governors The Power Of Taking From Them The Trial By Jury In Civil Cases, Freedom Of Religion, Freedom Of The Press, Freedom Of Commerce, The Habeas Corpus Laws, And Of Yoking Them With A Standing Army. This Is A Degeneracy In The Principles Of Liberty... Which I [would Not Have Expected For At Least] Four Centuries."
Army
Law
Liberty
There Is Preparing, I Hope, Under The Auspices Of Heaven, A Way For A Total Emancipation.
Heaven
Way
Emancipation
I Am Sorry They Began Their Deliberations By So Abominable A Precedent As That Of Tying Up The Tongues Of Their Members. Nothing Can Justify This Example But The Innocence Of Their Intentions And Ignorance Of The Value Of Public Discussions. I Have No Doubt That All Their Other Measures Will Be Good And Wise. It Is Really An Assembly Of Demigods.
Wise
Sorry
Ignorance
The Opinions Of Men Are Not The Object Of Civil Government, Nor Under Its Jurisdiction.
Truth
Men
Political
Who Then Can So Softly Bind Up The Wound Of Another As He Who Has Felt The Same Wound Himself.
Volunteer
Felt
Wounds
Paul Was The First Corrupter Of The Doctrines Of Jesus.
Jesus
Historical
Doctrine
We Are Overdone With Banking Institutions, Which Have Banished The Precious Metals, And Substituted A More Fluctuating And Unsafe Medium... These Have Withdrawn Capital From Useful Improvements And Employments To Nourish Idleness... These Are Evils More Easily To Be Deplored Than Remedied.
Wisdom
Evil
Employment
Every Day Is Lost In Which We Do Not Learn Something Useful. Man Has No Nobler Or More Valuable Possession Than Time.
Time
Men
Lost
Whenever You Are To Do A Thing, Though It Can Never Be Known But To Yourself, Ask Yourself How You Would Act Were All The World Looking At You, And Act Accordingly.
Life
Character
World
Congress Has Scarcely Any Thing To Employ Them, And Complain That The Place [washington, D.c.] Is Remarkably Dull.
Complaining
Dull
Congress
Every Generation Needs A New Revolution.
Change
Famous Inspirational
Needs
I Have Nothing But Contempt For Anyone Who Can Spell A Word In Only One Way.
Way
Contempt
Spells
It Is Not To The Moderation And Justice Of Others We Are To Trust For Fair And Equal Access To Market With Out Productions, Or For Our Due Share In The Transportation Of Them; But To Our Own Means Of Independence, And The Firm Will To Use Them.
Mean
Justice
Independence
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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