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.


letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787, in Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1955) vol. 12

Thomas Jefferson Quotes

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...