Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
NUMBER:
396
AUTHOR:
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
QUOTATION:
We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independant, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.
ATTRIBUTION:
THOMAS JEFFERSON, “‘Original Rough Draught’ of the Declaration of Independence,” June 1776.—The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Julian P. Boyd, vol. 1, p. 423 (1950).
