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When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.

— Thomas Jefferson Misattributed

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Variants

Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty.

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More quotes by Thomas Jefferson

I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.

I have ever deemed it more honorable and profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one.

For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well organized and armed militia is their best security.

The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.

Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Thomas Jefferson (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.