Louise,
There is a subtle twist in what Thomas Jefferson wrote.
In the end he is right and also in the end he has made a powerful argument for classical liberalism.
FA Hayek has made a very persuasive argument that we must keep governments span of control to a minimum because central planners and politicians are incapable of running a government that attempts to do very much. "Too Much" isn't very much at all.
All you need to do to be persuaded is to compare the performance of classical liberal governments and any strong central government.
Ron