“ The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson was a big contribution to The Declaration of Independence and Shays’ Rebellion. He wrote many letters to his friends about the topic with many of his quotes used today. Not only that but, people believed that Thomas Jefferson would likely support modern day protest and that the idea of a weaker government and Shays’ Rebellion was a marvelous approach for the United states. Jefferson felt this way due the controversy with the British Government. It was a mistake that someone else had made that you had to learn from, but there was still a was a form of repetition and a sense that the government had not already learned from