Jefferson was an extremely smart and accomplished man, way ahead of
his time in many respects and totally prescient.

This is borrowed from an EMAIL a friend sent me but was originally
published in the Huffington Post and has been fact checked:

-------------------------

John F. Kennedy
held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds
in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps
the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in
the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined
alone."


"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in
Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe ."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those
who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.
A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the
world."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the
government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of
taking care of them."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"My
reading of history convinces me that most bad government
results from too much government."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and
bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny
in government."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to
time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas
which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
--
Thomas
Jefferson


Thomas
Jefferson said in 1802:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our
liberties than standing armies.

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue
of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the
banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks
will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up
homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."


THOMAS JEFFERSON,

At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

At 23, started his own law practice.

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of
British America" and retired from his law practice.

At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.

At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a
Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick
Henry.

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial
treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.

At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the
American Philosophical Society.

At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of
Republican Party.

At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the nation's size.

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

At 65, retired to Monticello.

At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.

At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and
served as its first president.

At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration
of Independence.

It seems that in spite of these accomplishments, the Texas School
Board voted to virtually eliminate him from the textbooks used by
their school system. This is one of the most egregious of the changes
they made in textbooks that they will use to "teach" their students.

The main problem they found is that Jefferson was a proponent of the
separation of church and state.