Thomas jefferson quotes from Jefferson in Paris (1995)

James Hemings

  I was wantin' to say, Master—

Thomas jefferson

  Wanting to say what, James?  I like finished sentences.

James Hemings

  Yes, Master.  And what it is I was wantin' to finish is, I wants to get paid.  Master, I wants money.

Thomas jefferson

  In our present circumstances, your request is not unreasonable.  I shall tell Monsieur Petit that on the first of each month, you are to receive twenty-four francs by the way of salary.  You realise that this arrangement holds good only in Paris, and that in Monticello, we shall revert to our own system.

James Hemings

  Yes, Master.  Thank you.

Maria Cosway

  Is your daughter here to learn French manners and morals?

Thomas jefferson

  Manners, to some extent, but when it comes to morals, we should keep to our own.

Maria Cosway

  Why?  Are your better than ours?

Thomas jefferson

  They are better for us, that is, for us Americans.

Maria Cosway

  Tell me about America.

Thomas jefferson

  Madame, the subject is as large as the land itself.

  [reading from the Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas jefferson]  "WE hold theſe Truths to be ſelf-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights".

  Tous les hommes naissent-ils vraiment égaux, Monsieur Jefferson?

  Are all men created equal, Mister Jefferson?

  Ou serait-il plus légitime de dire, « tous les blancs naissent-ils égaux »?

  Or should this read, "all white men are created equal"?

Thomas jefferson

  We allowed for certain differences that are not caused by the laws of men, but by those of nature.  And though the Negro may or may not be inferior, his status in no way alters the wrongness of slavery.  It is evil.

  Yet your first draft, I believe, contained a clause on the abolition of slavery.

Thomas jefferson

  I considered it essential, but Congress struck it out of the final Declaration as being too particular.

  La question de l'esclavage reste donc ouverte et non resolve, chez vous?

  So the question remains open with you and unresolved.

  Votre révolution, Monsieur Jefferson, nous apparait comme incomplete.

  Your revolution, Mister Jefferson, appears to be incomplete.

  Why did you omit the notion of property as one of those rights?

Thomas jefferson

  Well, while I hold the right of the individual to possess property as basic, I consider it as a means to human happiness, but not as an end in itself.

Thomas jefferson

  I kept having a debate between my head and my heart.

Maria Cosway

  Which in your case the head always wins.

Thomas jefferson

  Not this time.  My poor head was simply whirled around by my unruly heart.

Maria Cosway

  Oh, by your heart!

Thomas jefferson

  It kept telling me, "I love the lady, and will continue to love her forever.  If she were on one side of the globe, and I on the other, I would pierce through the whole mass of the world to reach her."

All they want is their liberty, their right to freedom. ~ Thomas Jefferson's character
See also: French Revolution

Thomas jefferson

  The people are making their voice heard.  There's nothing to fear in the triumph of the people.

Maria Cosway

  Not even you are safe.  Come on.  Come away!

Thomas jefferson

  All they want is their liberty, their right to freedom.

Maria Cosway

  I've seen such horrible, horrible sights in the streets.  It makes me fear that men are not good, not kind by nature, but cruel.

Thomas jefferson

  No.  No.  They have been warped by generations of tyranny, but they're naturally good.  If I were not sure of that, sure of the goodness inherent in the natural man, I would no longer want to be alive.

Thomas jefferson

  You still scared of me, Sally?

  I ain't scared of you, Massa.

Thomas jefferson

  [places hand on Bible]  I swear by Almighty God that upon my return to the state of Virginia, I shall, within a period of not more than two years, give his freedom to James Hemings.  [removed hand from Bible]  Since, however, James was brought to Paris at great expense to me for the purpose of learning the art of French cookery, he shall continue to reside at Monticello in my service until he shall have taught the same art to such persons as I shall place under him.  [holds out Bible]  Do you swear?

James Hemings

  [places hand on Bible]  I swear.

Thomas jefferson

  [withdraws Bible from James Hemings; presumably places his own hand again upon Bible]  I also hereby promise and declare that Sally Hemings, sister of James, shall be freed upon my death.  Likewise all children born to her shall be freed from my ownership, or that of my heirs, upon reaching the age of twenty-one.  Do you swear it, Patsy?

  I swear.