“As government grows, liberty decreases”

“as government grows/increases, liberty decreases/recedes/yields” is frequently credited to Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), but he never wrote it. Jefferson did write in 1788:
 
“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yeild, and government to gain ground.”
 
“As government grows bigger, individual freedoms grow smaller” was cited in print in 1965, when it was attributed to Walter Knott (1889-1981). “As Thomas Jefferson observed: ‘It is in the natural course of events that liberty recedes and government grows’” was cited in print in 1973. “Jefferson said, ‘The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases’” was cited in print in 1999. “Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have” (Jefferson didn’t say this, either) often comes directly before “The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
 
“As government expands, liberty contracts” is a similar saying that dates from the 1940s and was popularly used by Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen” is another similar saying that was written by conservative radio talk show host Dennis Prager in 2009.
 
 
Monticello.org (Thomas Jefferson)
The natural progress of things… (Quotation)
“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yeild, and government to gain ground.” - Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, Paris, May 27, 1788
Note: This sentence is sometimes mis-quoted as, “The natural progress of things is for the government to gain ground and for liberty to yield.”
 
18 July 1965, San Diego (CA) Union, “The American Dream: The Life and Legend Of Walter Knott” by Edward Niciejewski, pg. B2, col. 2:
“As government grows bigger, individual freedoms grow smaller.”
 
4 December 1973, Warren (PA) Times Observer, “Day of Vigilance” (editorial), pg. 4, cols. 1-2:
As Thomas Jefferson observed: “It is in the natural course of events that liberty recedes and government grows.”
 
18 January 1975, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, “Reagan Scores CIA Probe Critics At Meeting Here” by Lawrence Hilliard, pg. 1, col. 1:
And as government grows, personal freedoms are lost, according to Reagan.
 
30 August 1975, Augusta (GA) Chronicle, “Miller addresses Rotarians,” pg. 2B, col. 1:
MARIETTA, Ga. (UPI)—Lt. Gov. Zell Miller said Friday big government is threatening to “legislate and regulate away our own freedom” and that Americans are coming to believe that “government has all the answers.”
 
Addressing a Rotary Club luncheon, Miller quoted Thomas Jefferson that “As government grows, liberty recedes.”
 
27 September 1975, Mobile (AL) Register & Press, “Freedom has perished in various ways” by Paul Harvey, pg. 4-A, col. 3:
Tom Jefferson said it 200 years ago: “As government grows, freedom recedes.”
 
23 March 1977, Lubbock (TX) Avalanche-Journal, “One Man’s Opinion” by Kenneth May, pg. A4, col. 1:
From the Quote Wrack: “As government grows, liberty recedes.”—Thomas Jefferson, circa 1776.
 
Google Books
America by the Throat:
The Stranglehold of Federal Bureaucracy
By George Charles Roche
Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale College Press
1985
Pg. 194:
“George Roche launches one of the most effective assaults on government waste, abuse and regulation in years, reminding us that Jefferson was correct 200 years ago when he said ‘as government grows, liberty recedes.’” Jack Kemp, member of Congress
   
Google Groups: bc.politics
I don’t care anymore.
Court Jester™/The Voltairian
9/22/99
Libertarianism is Garbage
(...)
Yes but government must be limited.  To do for those what they can not do for themselves.  Jefferson said, “The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
 
Google Books
Restoring the Heart of America:
A Return to Government by the People
By Clyde J. Cleveland and Edward F. Noyes
Fairfield, IA: Better Books
2002
Pg. 19:
“A government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have… The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” — Thomas Jefferson
 
Monticello.org (Thomas Jefferson)
Government big enough to give you everything you want…(Quotation)
(...)
This quotation was not attributed to Jefferson until relatively recently.  It is sometimes followed by, “The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases,” which is most likely a misquotation of Jefferson’s comment, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yeild, and government to gain ground.”
- Anna Berkes, 2007; revised 1/21/13
 
Google Books
Hope For Economic Hopelessness:
Your Hand Up, Not Hand Out
By Brig Hart
Dallas, TX: ISB Publishing
2012
Pg. 27:
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
—Gerald Ford, 1974, 38th President
 
Twitter
JennySook
‏@JennySook
The course of history shows us as Government increases, Liberty decreases #occupywallstreet
1:11 PM - 25 Jan 2012
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The Transformation of America As Government Grows Liberty Yields.
Author: Pfautsch, George E
Publisher: Authorhouse 2013.
Edition/Format:   Book : English
 
Twitter
Jeff Moore
‏@jeffdmoore
Agree with this from Senator Colburn’s. http://amzn.com/k/EqFCDkn-QV-NyZWyTreNzg … as government increases, liberty decreases.
12:59 PM - 24 Jan 2013
 
Twitter
Murray Rothbard
‏@LibertarianView
The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases - Thomas Jefferson
2:02 PM - 27 Jan 2014