In a letter that President Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Charles
Jarvis in 1820, he stated "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power."
Thomas Jefferson reminds us that in our constitutional republic, the people are ultimately sovereign, for good or for ill, and therefore it is incumbent on schools to educate citizens and inculcate within them the capacity for self-governance.
Education, he insists, serves both as a safeguard against and a remedy for the abuse of power, a problem inherent in popular government. In this spirit, universities like University of West Florida bear a dual responsibility, not only to advance knowledge but also to stand as fortresses defending the democratic ideals envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
At the University of West Florida, we are committed to ensuring that every graduate leaves with both the ability and the dedication to participate meaningfully in civic life.
Continue the celebration of America's 250th here: america250fl.com
and here.