Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people (Spurious Quotation)

Although it is a generally accurate paraphrase of his views, Jefferson never wrote "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people."

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?!"

Quotation: "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people."

Variations: None known.

Sources consulted:

  1. Founders Online
  2. Retirement Papers
  3. Thomas Jefferson: Papers and Biographies Collections, Hathi Trust Digital Library

Earliest known appearance in print: 20131

Other attributions: None known.

Status: This exact quotation has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson, although it is a generally accurate paraphrase of Jefferson's views on education.

- Anna Berkes, 3/30/10; revised 8/24/11, 1/24/20

Further Sources

Footnotes

  1. Remington, Nancy, and Ronald Remington, Alternative Pathways to the Baccalaureate (Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2013): 188. Accessed 1/24/20. Note that the authors do not put this sentence in quotes in the text.