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Freedom is lost gradually...(Spurious Quotation)

Quotation: "Freedom is lost gradually from an uninterested, uninformed, and uninvolved people."

Variations:

  1. "Freedom is lost gradually from uninterested, uninformed, and uninvolved people."

Sources consulted:[1]

  1. Founders Online
  2. Thomas Jefferson retirement correspondence

Earliest known appearance in print: 2014[2]

Earliest known appearance in print, attributed to Jefferson: see above

Status: This quotation has not been found in the writings of Thomas Jefferson. Although its first known appearance in print was in 2014, it appeared online at least as early as 2011 (although not, at that point, attributed to Jefferson).[3] It was first attributed to Jefferson in January 2012 on Twitter.[4] This second occurrence with attribution to Jefferson propagated quickly on Twitter and is still being repeated.

- Anna Berkes, 1/12/21

Further Sources

The Words of Thomas JeffersonAvailable in Our Online Shop: The Words of Thomas Jefferson

References

  1. ^ These sources were searched for the phrase "freedom is lost gradually," and individually for the words "uninterested" and "uninvolved," both of which appear only a handful of times in Jefferson's writings.
  2. ^ Allen West and Michele Hickford, Guardian of the Republic: An American Ronin's Journey to Faith, Family, and Freedom (New York: Crown Forum, 2014), 79.
  3. ^ JST DAVID (@realjstdavid), "Freedom is lost gradually by an uninterested, uninformed, and uninvolved people," Twitter, May 3, 2011, 10:22 p.m., https://twitter.com/realjstdavid/status/65602184963821568.
  4. ^ urawesome21 (@marinokaren21), "'Freedom is lost gradually from an uninterested, uninformed, and uninvolved people.' Thomas Jefferson," Twitter, January 30, 2012, 11:04 a.m., https://twitter.com/marinokaren21/status/164016063439314944.

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