Happy Birthday, Thomas Jefferson—and Thank You for Your Moral Endurance

In honor of Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, here’s a subtle yet powerful tribute to him (and men of his kind) from Ayn Rand:

In Atlas Shrugged, I discussed the “pyramid of ability” in the realm of economics. There is another kind of social pyramid. The genius who fights “every form of tyranny over the mind of man” is fighting a battle for which lesser men do not have the strength, but on which their freedom, their dignity, and their integrity depend. It is the pyramid of moral endurance.

Happy birthday, Thomas Jefferson—and thank you for everything your moral endurance created and made possible.

Like this post? Join our mailing list to receive our weekly digest. And for in-depth commentary from an Objectivist perspective, subscribe to our quarterly journal, The Objective Standard.

Related:

• Thomas Jefferson: Word and Deed
• Review: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
• The American Right, the Purpose of Government, and the Future of Liberty

Image: Issues of the Day (Conrad H. Oliver, 1904)

About Craig Biddle

Craig is cofounder and editor of The Objective Standard, cofounder and director of education at Objective Standard Institute, and executive director of Prometheus Foundation. He is the author of Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It; Rational Egoism: The Morality for Human Flourishing; and the forthcoming Moral Truths Your Parents, Preachers, and Teachers Don’t Want You to Know. He is currently working on his fourth book, “Thinking in Principles.”

View all articles by Craig Biddle →