Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) did write, in the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, the following: “...in questions of power then, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution.”
   
Jefferson did not write the following quotation that is frequently credited to him: “The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”
 
The Jefferson misquotation appears in April 2000 in an essay, “Rule by Brute Force,” by Steve Kubby of the American Medical Marijuana Association.
 
   
Wikipedia: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States. Jefferson envisioned America as the force behind a great “Empire of Liberty” that would promote republicanism and counter the imperialism of the British Empire.
   
Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
“The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.” So far we have been unable to locate such a statement in any of Jefferson’s writings. He did employ the phrase “chains of the Constitution” at least once, however, in the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798: “...in questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution…” (from draft)
   
Bogus Quotes Attributed to the Founders
The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.
—- Falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson.
   
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson - Kentucky Resolutions
I. Jefferson’s Draft
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 30: 1 January 1798 to 31 January 1799
(Princeton University Press, 2003), 536-43
[before 4 Oct. 1798]
...in questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution:[23] that this commonwealth does therefore call on it’s co-states for an expression of their sentiments on the acts concerning aliens and for the punishment of certain crimes, herein before specified, plainly declaring whether these acts are, or are not, authorised by the federal compact?...
(...)
[23]The long insertion ends here, TJ placing a line of flourishes and then the words “that this” to confirm the resumption of his original text.
       
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From: “Mark2101”
Date: 2000/04/24
Subject: AMMA -TALK: OPED: Rule by Brute Force
 
RULE BY BRUTE FORCE
by Steve Kubby, The American Medical Marijuana Association
(...)
Thomas Jefferson once noted, “The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”
     
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From: Frank Lorvik
Date: 2000/04/26
Subject: Krigen mot uønskede substanser og aktiviteter
 
Thomas Jefferson once noted, “The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.” 
       
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From: “CDH”