Quotation: "If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Variations:
Sources consulted: Searching on the phrase "guard against ignorance"
Earliest known appearance in print: 1981[2][3]
Other attributions: None known.
Status: We currently have no evidence to confirm that Thomas Jefferson ever said or wrote, "If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Comments: This quotation probably originated with Ronald Reagan's statement for National Library Week in 1981, in which he said, "If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, as Jefferson cautioned, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed." Reagan does not specifically attribute this wording to Jefferson, so we believe that Reagan's paraphrase has become mistaken for Jefferson's exact words.
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