- 7/2/2025
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) unveils a statue of Thomas Jefferson in Monticello, Florida.
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00:00We're here. Please have a seat. We are going to unveil. Where is it at? Right? Okay. It's up on
00:07the stairs. So we're here as part of Florida's commitment to celebrate America's 250th
00:16anniversary, which will be basically a year from now, July 4th, 2026. And so we've worked with
00:24the legislature. We've worked with our secretary of state, who's here with us,
00:28Cord Bird, to say that Florida really wants to celebrate this. It's a chance for young people
00:35to understand what it means to be an American, how our country came into existence, what are some
00:41of the principles that the country was based upon, but also give credit to the people that helped make
00:49that happen in our founding generation. So we were able to get on loan from Mount Vernon a statue of
00:57George Washington that we placed in the Florida Capitol. Amazing statue. And that symbolizes our
01:05affection for the founder of our country, for Washington's virtues and his leadership,
01:11and really was the glue that held the whole experiment together because it likely would
01:18never have gotten off the ground without Washington. So that was something that was
01:22very significant. We do believe that there's there's remaking of the Rose Garden at the White House,
01:29and there's been a request to whether that could go up to DC. And so obviously, we would honor that.
01:35But we will be given approval to do a replica from Mount Vernon, I guess you got to get the approval from
01:42Mount Vernon. So one way or another, we will have that. But what we wanted to do was make sure that we are
01:49working with because we've got a lot of counties in Florida named after founding fathers, we of course
01:56have a Washington County, we have a Monroe County, we have a Madison County, we have a Hamilton County,
02:02we have a Franklin County, and yes, we have here a Jefferson County. And so we want to make sure,
02:08particularly in those counties, that we are providing what we can from the state to have commemorations of
02:16those namesakes. And so what we'll be able to unveil today is a statue that the Secretary of State was
02:24able to acquire of the namesake of this county, Thomas Jefferson. And I think that that's something
02:30that's appropriate. We know that when we celebrate the 250th next July, that we will be reflecting a lot on
02:41the Declaration of Independence, not only what is written there, but what what those words mean, and
02:47and also what went into it. And if you think about back then, when you know, they had had skirmishes
02:54with the colony in the colonial times, with Britain, over the Stamp Act, you had the tea in Boston Harbor,
03:03you had a lot of things that built up over probably more than a decade. But for most of that,
03:10they basically just viewed themselves as being treated as second class citizens, they basically just wanted to
03:16be viewed as first class Englishmen treated no different than if they were across the pond. I don't think
03:22initially, it was going to be as grand. I think these were protests where they were trying to assert their
03:29rights as Englishmen. And they felt that they were not getting that as colonists. And I think that that that's
03:35probably true. But as it built, it really got momentum. And so they then met in Philadelphia
03:42in 1776, to determine what would be the course of action that they would ultimately take. And to be honest,
03:50if you look at some of the things that they dealt with some of these state, these taxes and everything,
03:56honestly, they were compared to how we're taxed today was kind of modest. But they were very sensitive
04:02about if government could tax them, and they had no say in it, even if it was a small amount,
04:08that they were basically get consigning their rights away, and they'd end up in the dustbin of
04:13history. And so they had to assert their right to govern themselves and to have a say into how these
04:19things are done. So they meet there and they make this momentous decision to actually declare
04:26independence. And that wasn't something that's done willy nilly. I mean, you see now these people
04:32like anything happens, people go out and virtue signal, and they'll say this and that. And a lot
04:37of it just hollow, right? Because you can go out and pop off on social media, you can do this, nobody
04:43cares. Well, back then, when they took that step, they were pledging their lives, their fortunes, and
04:50their sacred honor. And every single person that signed that declaration on July 4th, 1776,
04:58effectively were signing their own death warrant. Because if the revolution was not effective,
05:04they all assuredly would have been put to death. So they had a lot on the line. And probably isn't
05:12surprising how, you know, we know even today it's similar. You had most people at that time were
05:18apathetic. So you had some that were in favor of independence, you had some that were in favor
05:24of remaining colonies of Great Britain. And you had a lot of people that, you know, they just didn't
05:28want to be bothered by it. They didn't, maybe they wanted independence, but they didn't want to risk
05:32anything, all this stuff. And that's just normal. That's how human nature is. So these guys were
05:38really putting themselves out there. And so when it became time to explain why they were asserting
05:45independence, they had an opportunity to articulate these reasons in a way that would really mark a
05:53turning point in human history. And so they turned to Thomas Jefferson, who was 33 years old at the
05:59time. Now look, 33 then is a lot older than it's considered now. But even then he was on the younger
06:05side of some of the of some of the delegates there. And so they turned to him to be able to put into words
06:14the reason for why they were doing this and to articulate the rationale. And Jefferson didn't come up
06:21with the rationales. There were ideas that were nurtured over many centuries that led to the
06:26American Revolution. But he was the one that was able to distill that into really powerful statements
06:35that live to this day. John Adams said that in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson words
06:43gave voice to a revolution that will echo through the ages. And that's actually that's been 100% true.
06:50When they sat down to sign the Declaration of Independence, the standard in government was that
06:58kings and autocrats would determine whether you had freedom or not, what your privileges were. And
07:06anything that you were able to do was basically a courtesy of the state. They believed in a divine
07:15right of kings, basically. So God is endowing the ruler with power. And then the ruler can kind of parcel
07:22out little crumbs to the citizenry as the ruler sees fit. And our and that was that really wasn't
07:29questioned for for much of human history. The founding fathers in the Declaration with Jefferson
07:35wrote, they turned that on its head. And they said, No, our rights do not come from government. Our rights as
07:42people come directly from what Jefferson said, the creator, which is God. And so God given rights are
07:49there. The role of government is not to give you rights, but to protect the rights that you already
07:56possess naturally. So he articulated that and the purpose of government and saying how we hold these
08:05truths to be self evident that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights among these life,
08:11liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that that all men are created equal. Now that was an
08:17aspirational statement at the time. But it was a revolutionary statement, because they were asserting
08:23that the power ultimately resided with we the people, not not with the government. So Jefferson puts
08:30pen to paper on that, that ends up getting published. And the Declaration of Independence really
08:38was the the clarion call for the revolution. And it underlied everything they did when they got to
08:46Philadelphia a decade later, and hashed out the Constitution at the federal convention in 1787. So
08:54so Jefferson being able to articulate that the way he did was absolutely essential. And ultimately,
09:01how you say things, how you articulate how people gravitate really is important. And those words have
09:09really reverberated throughout history. He also, as governor of Virginia, was responsible for Virginia
09:17statute of religious freedom in 1786. You know, even when we had the Constitution ratified in 1787,
09:271788, and you had the government start in 1789, even after they ratified the Bill of Rights,
09:33when the First Amendment, which says government shall not risk no law respecting establishment
09:38of religion, you actually had a lot of established churches throughout the country, particularly in New
09:44England, there was a particular state church. So Virginia had been Anglican Church was the state
09:52church. And Jefferson disestablished that and he basically said it's not government's role to choose
09:58one denomination over the other. People have a right to believe the way they want. And so they don't
10:05have to pay taxes to one particular denomination, a church, they're free to use their money how they see
10:12fit, and they're free to worship how they see fit. And that was really a lot of the reason why you ended up
10:17having the First Amendment written the way that it was. He then became when George Washington became
10:23president, he made Jefferson Secretary of State. So as they were debating the Constitution in
10:29Philadelphia, Jefferson was a diplomat in France, not really much influence directly from Jefferson
10:37on the structure of our Constitution. I mean, obviously, the declaration informed what the delegates
10:42were doing. But he was not among the delegates that were hashing out the separation of powers, checks and
10:47balances all these other things. He was over in France. And I think he had a very good time over
10:53in Paris and France at the time. And who knows what was going on then. But but he comes back,
10:59Washington brings him back and makes him Secretary of State. And he obviously had a lot of diplomatic
11:05experience at that point. And so was able to help really help navigate the country away from getting
11:11drawn into a European war, because you had France and Britain were were at each other's
11:17throats. France had helped us in the revolution. But you know, you had mostly in the country had
11:22affinities for England because that most people were English. So it was a delicate situation. And
11:28Washington really tried to navigate it and Jefferson was doing it. But the main thing that happened when
11:32he was Secretary of State was he had a huge philosophical clash with another of Washington's cabinet
11:41secretaries, his secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and it the the rupture occurred over
11:49whether you could charter a national bank, and whether the federal government had the authority to do
11:54that under the Constitution. Jefferson said, Hey, I'm reading the Constitution. It's limited enumerated
12:02powers. Government doesn't have any authority unless it's specifically listed here. Hamilton said,
12:08Well, no, yeah, you have enumerated powers. And then you also have a clause that says
12:13anything that's necessary and proper for bringing that into account, you can also do. And so it really
12:19created the first two party system because when Washington got elected, there were no political
12:25parties, they viewed that as very bad. And honestly, there's a lot bad about it even today. But they
12:31viewed it as very bad. But you had Hamilton's vision, which was, you know, more urban, more industrial.
12:39And then Jefferson's vision was more agrarian and rural. And he would say more small d democratic.
12:47Hamilton, he would say was more of an elitist, although Jefferson lived as an elitist and as an
12:52aristocrat. So they were arguing over these things. But if you want to know about debates throughout
12:57American history that we have had about the role of government, almost all those debates trace back
13:03to Hamilton and Jefferson having the clash. And they were both really big intellects,
13:10really big thinkers. And ultimately, Hamilton, I think, won Washington's affection with his vision
13:19more than Jefferson did. But Jefferson ended up getting elected president in 1800. And then he was able
13:26to put his vision into reality. But it's interesting because he was viewing, you know, they say it when
13:34they teach it in school, they say, well, he was a strict constructionist. Hamilton was a loose
13:39constructionist. And maybe that's the right way. But I mean, I think that, you know, a lot of people
13:45view it and say, you know, you want to just accurately interpret the Constitution. And so if there's a robust
13:51power, then then then it's robust. If it's not, then it's not. Be that as it may, the caricature of
13:58Jefferson has been that he was very stingy. He read every single power very narrowly. You couldn't
14:06really move a muscle at the federal level unless it was specifically there in the Constitution.
14:12But then he had an opportunity to do something which no president has been able to do since then. And
14:18that's double the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase. And it created a conundrum for
14:24him. Because if you're going to be very stingy on how you view that, there was no explicit provision
14:32saying that you could buy land. Now, there were powers that would imply that. And that's why a lot of
14:40people were fine with what he did. But you know, he had to really wrestle with this. Ultimately, he pulled the
14:44trigger. It's got to be one of the best land acquisition, real estate acquisitions in world
14:49history that he was able to do. And it really set the stage for the country to expand and ultimately
14:56become what it is. He reduced the federal debt when he was in. That's something that I think a lot of
15:04people, you know, appreciate this day and age. I don't think the founders would ever have imagined that
15:10we would have ended up having a debt to GDP ratio that's like 130% of our economy. So he really was
15:19fiscally responsible. And he did believe in limited government. He didn't want government micromanaging. He
15:25really wanted the states to be the leader and be in control of this. Now, some people looked at his
15:32presidency. You know, there were definitely some missteps, the embargo of 1807, all this stuff. And I think it was
15:39Benjamin Rush that said, you know, he loved Jefferson, but Jefferson may have had a little bit more
15:44genius than judgment on some of these core issues. So that's something that people have criticized him
15:50for. And he's also, of course, been criticized for having written the Declaration of Independence,
15:56saying that all men are created equal and yet continue all the way until the end to own a lot of
16:03slaves. And people say, you know, you were in Virginia, you know, it was a plantation type society
16:09before the Declaration. But you know, even other people that were in that like George Washington
16:14eventually freed all his slaves, Jefferson never did that. It was always a big struggle with him. And
16:20he would kind of agonize in these letters. But a lot of people have said, okay, he he asserted everyone's
16:26equal, he said that we're small d democratic, but he really did live as an aristocrat, and didn't
16:33totally fulfill in his personal life, the principles that he put down. And so so he's criticized for that.
16:39And I think it's totally fair. And I think it's fair to criticize any of the founders for the decisions
16:44and actions they make. But I do think it's wrong to demonize them and act like somehow 250 years later,
16:51like, oh, you you know, did this. So take them for all the pluses and minuses. And and even when he
16:58retired, you know, he founded one of the great universities in this country University of Virginia,
17:03he designed the University of Virginia, he was an architect, and was able to do that. Honestly,
17:08this building is similar to kind of Jefferson style of architecture. So he was a very multifaceted guy,
17:16not just the statesman, he was a scholar, he was a writer, he was an inventor,
17:20he did a lot of things that you know, you really probably wouldn't see too many people
17:25who were able to do that in this day and age. And so so I think it's appropriate that the state
17:31of Florida is recognizing, you know, all the people that help bring up bring into fruition
17:36our country. But I think here in Jefferson County, I think it's appropriate to be able
17:41to have a statute that that's been provided by the state of Florida. So people can see the namesake
17:47and really study. And particularly for young people think about, you know, some of the major issues
17:52that they were dealing with at the time, how he navigated independence, how we navigated some of
17:57these things, really, really significant history. So I want to thank cord bird for helping make this
18:03happen. You know, we met at the end of last year. And I was like, we really want to do well here,
18:08we want to get this done. And I think we're really ahead of the curve with where other states are going.
18:14We've done the Washington, we have the the Jefferson will unveil here. And I know we're working on
18:20Hamilton, Madison, I think Franklin's in the works. We have that come in, which will be really, really
18:26good. And, and on and on it goes. And you know, we're not just going to only do counties that have
18:32namesakes. We think that America's 250 is important to celebrate in a wide variety of ways across all of
18:39Florida. And that's exactly what we're going to do. So cord, do you want to come up here and we'll get this done?
18:45There he is, right there.
18:56That's nice, isn't it?
19:04Well, good morning and thank you for being here. Thank you, governor. I'm secretary of state cord bird.
19:24I have to think that Thomas Jefferson is smiling down from heavens seeing that we are in Monticello
19:29in Jefferson County at the courthouse in a statute celebrating his life. And as we celebrate American
19:35independence this week, it is fitting to unveil the statue of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the
19:40Declaration of Independence. I do want to take a moment. I see my good friends, Senator Corey Simon,
19:44representative Allison Tantor here, and I know secretary or supervisor of election Michelle Milligan.
19:49Y'all have great representation here in Jefferson. But adopted on July 4th, 1776,
19:54the Declaration is more than a historic relic. It is a living testament to the ideals of liberty and
20:00self-governance. And the governor touched on some of those. And one of my favorite
20:06understandings of the Declaration is by Abraham Lincoln, when he said that the Declaration is a
20:12golden apple surrounded by the Constitution's frame of silver. Because it was, as the governor said,
20:17it's the Declaration that set out those ideals of liberty and self-governance. And I think that's just
20:23an amazing way to look at it. The Declaration propelled the revolution. And almost 250 years later,
20:28we continue to draw strength and inspiration from its words. Thomas Jefferson considered the
20:33Declaration of Independence to be one of his greatest achievements. And he spent his life
20:37defending liberty and inspiring Americans to cherish and protect our freedoms. As we prepare for America's
20:43250th birthday, this statue represents not just our history, but our ongoing civic duty to remain
20:49vigilant in defense of liberty, a value that continues to shine brightly in Florida. And I was thinking
20:55that as we get prepared, this is Independence Week and we'll celebrate America's independence on the
21:004th, you know, under Governor DeSantis' leadership every day in Florida's Independence Day. So thank you,
21:04Governor, for that. As chair of the America 250 Florida Advisory Commission, I am proud to lead our
21:10state's America 250 celebration. And this ceremony is part of that. The commission is planning events in
21:15all 67 Florida counties leading up to and throughout 2026, ensuring every Floridian can participate.
21:22Our goal will be to engage as many citizens and visitors as possible to educate our children about
21:27America 250 and the events and people that have made our country great. I want to recognize the
21:32Department of State's Division of Historical Resources who played an important role in acquiring the
21:36statue and working with Jefferson County Administrator Shannon Meddy on the logistics of bringing this
21:41important symbol to Monticello. I especially want to recognize the Museum of Florida's History Design
21:46and Fabrication Shop for transporting and installing the statue here at the courthouse. He weighs about
21:51a thousand pounds, so it was quite an achievement to get it here. Finally, as we prepare to celebrate
21:56America's birthday this weekend, let's take a moment to appreciate Thomas Jefferson and all the founding
22:01fathers who sacrificed their security and comfort for the cause of freedom. I also encourage you to stay
22:06tuned for a slate of America 250 celebrations being held across the state in the coming year. They will be
22:11family-friendly, patriotic, and educational events celebrating the birth of the greatest nation
22:16in the world. So I want you to party like at 1776, have a great Independence Day, and thank you so much
22:22for letting us be here. I'll announce it to them. So since we're here for this, we want to do so this will be
22:32the official unveiling of Florida's America 250 logo.
22:42So we're going to be doing a lot on this. We think it's really important and particularly, as I said,
22:47for young people. We want our young people to understand what went into this country being formed.
22:54Jefferson, you know, he really provided the lyrics that has allowed a lot of people to do very well
23:04as a result of the principles that he articulated. But we've also been – we're not just like a one-trick
23:10pony America 250. We've done more to stress American civics since I've been governor than we've ever done in
23:17the history of Florida. And I want to thank – I know we've got a couple of our legislators here. Senator
23:23Simon, I mean, this guy gets more stuff in the budget for you guys than almost anybody. I mean, it's amazing.
23:32And you did pretty good, too, on some stuff. You did some good legislation, too. So, you know,
23:36they've both been very effective in helping you guys. But I'm like, you know, because they do the budget,
23:42and, you know, they were like 45 days late. So, I only had like a certain number of days. I think
23:46I had like two weeks to do it. But, you know, there's each individual part I got to either sign
23:50or veto, right, or prove or veto. And so, you're going and it's like, Simon this, Simon that. I'm
23:56like, man, this guy gets so – he works really hard to get all this stuff done. I'll tell you,
24:01you can see it there. But one of the things that they have continued to support is our Civic Seal of
24:08Excellence program. So, we made the insight that, yes, we're going to say, you got to do civics.
24:15You got to teach the Declaration and the federal – all this. Yes, you do need to do that.
24:19And you got to have high standards, and you got to make sure people know. But you also have to have
24:24teachers that are well-versed and passionate about this stuff, too. And the reality is that if you're
24:31going to a lot of universities in this country right now, you're probably not going to get a very
24:37good education on the foundations of America. It's almost viewed as passe. It doesn't fit into their
24:43ideological agenda. Obviously, people, they villainize some of these – you know, the
24:49ideological warriors in these universities have villainized the founding – so you end up
24:54where even if this is something you want, you just may not have access. So, we created – working
24:59with the Florida Department of Education, as well as a bunch of scholars around the country,
25:04people from, like, Hillsdale College, people from all these great organizations.
25:08And we created a 50-hour course. And so, if you go through that, you get a $3,000 bonus for going
25:14through it. It's not just for civics teachers. If you're a history teacher, by all means, English
25:19teacher. Heck, if you're a science teacher, we want you to do – because we think it's important,
25:24because the insight is basically – we can sit here and say, you know, this kid needs to go to college and
25:29become a doctor. This kid needs to go to college and go to business. This kid maybe go to trade
25:34school and will do this or that. Great. There's a whole bunch of different pathways. But every single
25:38person that comes out of our K-12 system in Florida will be called upon to exercise the responsibilities
25:45of being an American citizen and being somebody that is – that has agency over the future of the
25:51republic. And so, we take that obligation seriously to make sure we're not just graduating a bunch of
25:58blank slates, that they actually have a foundation to understand what all these ideas mean, what went
26:04into it. Because I said, Jefferson wrote the words, and he deserves immense credit, but there were ideas
26:10that were centuries in the making that informed how the founding fathers viewed liberty and government
26:16and all these things. And there's a whole bunch of different intellectuals. So, we provide that for these
26:21teachers to be able to go. We've also done civics and debate initiative. Every county in Florida now
26:27has the the civics and debate where they do these these contests. I think it was like seven counties
26:33out of 67 had it six years ago. So, now we have all of them do and we host the national debate in Orlando
26:40usually every year. But you know, the thing about debate, you got – yes, it's important if you can get
26:46comfortable speaking in front of people. That is a good skill to have in life. And it's not easy. And
26:52you know, you get used to it after a while. I mean, you know, a lot of people like in Corey's chamber
26:58love to hear themselves talk, and they talk a lot. But – and so, some people really like – but not
27:05everyone's – so, I think it's good to get young people comfortable. Get on your feet and be able to
27:11to make a point and make an argument. And especially in an age where everyone's buried in their phones
27:17and thinks that that's the way you communicate and deal with other people. No, actually,
27:22the way you deal with people is in the flesh. And that can't become a lost art. So, I do think that
27:27that's important. But I also think in terms of sharpening people's mind, the good thing about
27:33speech and debate is you're given a topic and then they tell you which side you have to argue.
27:41So, for example, I'm a big believer in term limits for Congress. And I think we need it. And I've
27:47gone around the country and helped other states do what Florida's done to try to push forward on it.
27:51But maybe I get assigned to argue against term limits. Now, I personally don't find the arguments
27:58very persuasive, but it would cause me to have to maybe get out of my cocoon a little bit, look at an
28:03issue from somebody else's perspective, and then make some arguments about why something that I
28:09personally believe deeply in. Actually, what are the counter arguments to that? How can you
28:14articulate something? So putting students in a position where they got to see both sides of an
28:19issue. And I think one of the terrible things that's happened in a lot of our higher education
28:24around the country is when they're trying to impose orthodoxy, you end up graduating students that
28:29never have their assumptions questioned. And so they go and everyone kind of toes the same party
28:36line. They all have the same assumptions. And then you come out and you've never really been challenged
28:41on that. And I think speech and debate, your assumptions get challenged. You got to think more
28:46deeply about why do you believe what you believe? Why does someone else believe something that you may
28:50not think is right? Can you articulate that? So they've provided support for that. And I approved
28:56it in the budget that I signed the other day. And I think it's very, very important. So that is the
29:00foundation to then take us into the 250 that is really important. But as we have this 250, I do think
29:08that there's great opportunities to educate our younger generation about these principles, about the
29:14ideals, about the sacrifices that were made. Because you know, it's one thing to sit here and say, Oh,
29:20you know, I believe in this. But you know, how many people would risk everything in defense of the
29:25principles that you believe in? They did that. They knew that there was no turning back. Once they signed
29:30that document, they knew that that they were they were on that target list. And they would not have lived to
29:37see their future had they not succeeded. So they went all in on liberty. They went all in on a really big
29:43historical gamble. But the gamble paid off because they were able to establish a new republic based
29:50on principles that were not just unique to 1776 principles that have endured throughout the
29:57centuries. And so that is something that's worth celebrating. That is something we will celebrate.
30:02You will probably be seeing more of this logo in the next year. But our view is, is we're going to
30:08keep celebrating leading up to July 4th of 17 of July 4th of 2026 to commemorate 250. So we will you'll
30:17see us through the balance of this year, and then all in the next year. And we're still we've got a lot
30:22of cooks in the kitchen come up with great ideas to be able to really make this special in the state of
30:28Florida. Some states may not lean into this. Some states may just do their own what I can only imagine
30:33what like California is going to do. I mean, I just I I can only imagine what New York City will do if
30:39this guy gets elected mayor, I can tell you that. So I don't know what they're going to do. But I know
30:43we are going to do where we're proud of the heritage of this country. We're proud of the ideals that were
30:50founded upon. We are still trying to fully live up to those and what we do, you know, all across the
30:57country. But it's a great, great standard to strive for. So God bless everyone. Have a happy 4th of July. Thank you.
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