Thomas Jefferson Quotes


The wealth acquired by speculation and plunder, is fugacious in its nature, and fills society with the spirit of gambling.


Context

This is another example of Jefferson’s bias against economic sectors other than agriculture and husbandry. There is a small American population that sees business, trade, financing, as less desirable an morally suspicious enterprises.


Citations

Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, 3rd President of the United States (Democratic Republican, VA), Letter to George Washington, 1787

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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The military had made a mess of the Argentine economy and inflation was rampant. Some Argentines turned their Argentine pesos into dollars betting that the Argentine economic situation would get worse, This run from the peso would make it worse. If Argentina stabilized the peso, speculators in dollars would lose money. The Minister trying to discourage a run from the peso, warned Argentinians against the dollar investment. A days later the dollar went up over 30%. Those who had listened to the minister lost much of their money, He was soon forced to resign by the military dictators who controlled the government.


The sense of the word affair is the general purpose, and Smith was referring to the fact when he investigated any proposed or implemented public scheme or law, there was an objective of someone obtaining money as a consequence. As journalists say in covering politics, “follow the money.”


Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
  • Born: April 13, 1743
  • Died: July 4, 1826
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: President

Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation; he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national levels.