“ History has informed us that bodies of men, as well as individuals, are susceptible of the spirit of tyranny. ”
Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774). copy citation
| Author | Thomas Jefferson |
|---|---|
| Source | A Summary View of the Rights of British America |
| Topic | history tyranny |
| Date | 1774 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/jeffsumm.asp |
Context
“But that, upon the restoration of his majesty king Charles the second, their rights of free commerce fell once more a victim to arbitrary power; and by several acts (2) of his reign, as well as of some of his successors, the trade of the colonies was laid under such restrictions, as shew what hopes they might form from the justice of a British parliament, were its uncontrouled power admitted over these states. History has informed us that bodies of men, as well as individuals, are susceptible of the spirit of tyranny. A view of these acts of parliament for regulation, as it has been affectedly called, of the American trade, if all other evidence were removed out of the case, would undeniably evince the truth of this observation.”
source
Meaning and analysis
