A Letter from Thomas Jefferson to America

You Keep Using a Word. I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

To my fellow Americans,

With the passage of time, the meaning of words can change. Carefully chosen in one era, some words can evolve to mean something quite different in another.

Fellow countrymen, please consider this: The meaning of the most famous and oft-quoted line of The United States Declaration of Independence, of which I am its principal author, has migrated. My carefully chosen phrase, “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” does not mean for your generation what it meant in mine — and what I wished it still meant for yours. Further, I believe that the rest of the signers of the Declaration of Independence would agree.

Therefore, I am compelled to clarify the intent behind this phrase.

I did not choose the word ‘happiness’ lightly. I was not referring to a fleeting, superficial pleasure derived from worldly possessions, fleeting pleasures, or momentary delights. That is how the word is perceived in your era, the so-called modern times era.

Instead, I had in mind a deeper, more profound understanding of happiness, one rooted in the philosophical concepts from my own era — what you call the “Enlightenment” and ancient Greek wisdom.

I envisioned what the Greeks called ‘eudaimonia’ — a state of flourishing and thriving, of living a life of purpose and meaning. I considered the happiness that comes from discovering and developing one’s talents, engaging in principled activities, contributing to the greater good, and aligning one’s actions with received moral principles.

As Aristotle taught, true happiness is found in leading a purposeful existence in which our human potential is fully realized. Indeed, as Cicero once said, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” Sadly, in your era, the meaning of happiness has experienced a far drift.

Speaking of drift, and to make my point even more cleverly, do you catch mine?

If everyone sought after their own personal happiness as modernly defined, can you imagine the chaos and anarchy that would follow? It would create a nation not unlike ancient Israel, where it was said that “each one did what was right in his own mind.” Can you imagine such a country?

You need not strain your imagination; you now live in such.

I urge you, my fellow Americans, to pursue a different and higher form of happiness — not given to temporary gratification but growth, service, and the continuous betterment of others and yourselves.

Resist the temptation to misinterpret the right to pursue happiness as allowing for the indulgence of desires, individual pleasures, and selfish, so-called needs. Instead, embrace a nobler understanding of happiness, one that is grounded in virtue, purpose, and the realization of our human potential.

When you say happiness, think flourishing.

I want to share another concern with you while I have your attention. I placed these three ideals — life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness — in the highest category possible. I called them “rights” given by God. They are inalienable, meaning they cannot be taken away. They are absolute. I stand by that declaration as long as we understand what kind of happiness is envisioned.

However, please note that I did not identify “happiness” per se as a right. I wrote that the “pursuit” of happiness is a right.

I do not mean that the government is responsible for providing everyone with happiness. Rather, our inalienable right is to pursue it, to seek after it, and to work toward it.

This idea should help clarify the role of government in the United States.

The government is not the purveyor of the good life; its purpose is to ensure the peace, safety, and conditions necessary for every citizen to pursue this high calling according to the dictates of their own conscience.

As long as the state enables and protects the rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the government is fulfilling its purpose. If it cannot protect its citizens and provide for this pursuit, it must be changed at the ballot box.

With sincere regards,
Thomas Jefferson