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Quotation from Notes on the State of Virginia, Selected Letters, and The Jefferson Bible by Thomas Jefferson
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants”
Notes on the State of Virginia, Selected Letters, and The Jefferson Bible, Letter to William Stephens Smith, November 13, 1787
Jefferson defends periodic resistance in a letter written after Shays' Rebellion.
Citation: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants" — Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Selected Letters, and The Jefferson Bible, Letter to William Stephens Smith, November 13, 1787. (id jefferson-selected-writings-q1)
Portrait: Rembrandt Peale - Thomas Jefferson, Rembrandt Peale, Public domain.
