Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

Dissent is the highest form of patriotism (Spurious Quotation)

Find out if Thomas Jefferson ever said or wrote, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism".

A modern-day portrait of Thomas Jefferson in early 19-century attire with a speech bubble next to his head that says, "I said what?!"

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but to date we have found no evidence that he said or wrote this. Its true origins are uncertain, but the saying may have entered popular culture during the Vietnam era.

The earliest usage of the phrase we have found is in a 1961 publication, The Use of Force in International Affairs: "If what your country is doing seems to you practically and morally wrong, is dissent the highest form of patriotism?"1

The phrase was used repeatedly during the Vietnam era, and this may be when it came into general currency. On October 15, 1969, in a speech at Columbia University, Mayor John Lindsay of New York City stated, "We cannot rest content with the charge from Washington that this peaceful protest is unpatriotic. ... The fact is that this dissent is the highest form of patriotism."2

- Anna Berkes, 2008

Footnotes

  1. The Use of Force in International Affairs (Philadelphia: Friends Peace Committee, 1961), 6.
  2. As reported by Bernard Weinraub, "Bells Toll and Crosses Are Planted Around U.S. as Students Say 'Enough!' to War: Campuses Remember Slain G.I.'s," The New York Times, October 16, 1969, 19.