I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.
I am increasingly persuaded that the earth belongs exclusively to the living and that one generation has no more right to bind another to it’s laws and judgments than one independent nation has the right to command another.
If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions.
![Thomas Jefferson Quote - Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/whenever-any-form-of-government-becomes-destructiv-683x1024.jpg)
