History and Belonging: Thomas Jefferson's Descendants, Lincoln's Quotes, and the Fourth of 2026

https://abcnews.com/video/134481691/ Thomas Jefferson's descendants wrestle with complicated family legacy Descendants of America's third president, Thomas Jefferson, grapple with history and belonging. July 4, 2026 [1856] You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. He will have to learn, I know, that all people are not just- that all men and women are not true. Teach him that for every scoundrel there is a hero that for every enemy there is a friend. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest people to lick. I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back. I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know who his grandson will be. As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Among free men there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet...The ballot is stronger than the bullet. Abe Lincoln https://fords.org/my-10-favorite-lincoln-quotes/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1118823/quotes/