Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence

MoonHowler

Thomas Jefferson was only 33 years old when he drafted the Declaration of Independence.  He began June  June 11, 1776.  The Committee of five made a few revisions and the entire document was presented to the Continental Congress July 2, 1776.  They voted for independence and made a few more revisions before releasing the Declaration of Independence to be read to the colonies.  It was read from town to town for the benefit of those who could not read.

The Declaration of Independence stands as America’s most noble  document.  It defines the very essence of the spirit of America.   In 1822, John Adams wrote a response to Timothy Pickering who had asked a number of questions about the writing of the Declaration.  It was published in 1850:

You inquire why so young a man as Mr. Jefferson was placed at the head of the committee for preparing a Declaration of Independence? I answer: It was the Frankfort advice, to place Virginia at the head of everything. Mr. Richard Henry Lee might be gone to Virginia, to his sick family, for aught I know, but that was not the reason of Mr. Jefferson’s appointment. There were three committees appointed at the same time, one for the Declaration of Independence, another for preparing articles of confederation, and another for preparing a treaty to be proposed to France. Mr. Lee was chosen for the Committee of Confederation, and it was not thought convenient that the same person should be upon both. Mr. Jefferson came into Congress in June, 1775, and brought with him a reputation for literature, science, and a happy talent of composition. Writings of his were handed about, remarkable for the peculiar felicity of expression. Though a silent member in Congress, he was so prompt, frank, explicit, and decisive upon committees and in conversation – not even Samuel Adams was more so – that he soon seized upon my heart; and upon this occasion I gave him my vote, and did all in my power to procure the votes of others. I think he had one more vote than any other, and that placed him at the head of the committee. I had the next highest number, and that placed me the second. The committee met, discussed the subject, and then appointed Mr. Jefferson and me to make the draft, I suppose because we were the two first on the list.

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Curriculum, Texas Style

MoonHowler

Quoted from Huffingtonpost.com:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said school officials “should keep politics out” of curriculum debates.

“We do a disservice to children when we shield them from the truth, just because some people think it is painful or doesn’t fit with their particular views,” Duncan said in a statement. “Parents should be very wary of politicians designing curriculum.”

Most of us agree with Secretary Duncan. And this statement works both ways, whether it is from the Democrats, the Republicans, or whatever else is deemed politically correct at the time. Social Studies seems to get the brunt of being tossed around political alley and this time, Texas has really re-invented history.

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Thomas Jefferson is a Rock Star

MoonHowler

Somehow, everyone wants to claim my hometown’s founding father, Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson was born on April 13,  1743 in Shadwell, Virginia.   Shadwell was actually a plantation.  It burned around 1770 and Jefferson moved to Monticello Mountain outside of Charlottesville.  He is truly Virginia’s native son. 

Jefferson is claimed by Democrats, libertarians  and Republicans alike.  Certainly the Jefferson Jackson Dinner Fling put on the Democrats each year speaks to their affinity for Jefferson.  The Tea Party people seem mighty fond of Jefferson also.  He was quoted all over the place today during the rallies.  Some quotes are included below. 

Jefferson was an inventor, an author, he wrote the Declaration of Independence, he was a farmer, a building, a statesman, an educator, a diplomat, a scientist, a musician, a visionary, a philosopher…the list goes on. He founded and built the University of Virginia towards the end of his life.  His ‘academical village’ is one of the top universities in the nation. 

You have to be doing something right when that many different people coming from that many points of view think you are a rock star.  Exactly what is it about Jefferson that people find so appealing?

Some quotes from Jefferson might help illustrate his popularity:

“A wise and frugal government – A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government…”

“On every unauthoritative exercise of power by the legislature must the people rise in rebellion or their silence be construed into a surrender of that power to them? If so, how many rebellions should we have had already?”

“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”

“The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife.”

“I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.”