Many writers through the ages have attempted to express the meaning of a plethora of concepts. Others explain what they intended to say in a previous writing. One writer to do both is Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson was the author of one of the most magnificent documents in the annals of liberty, The Declaration of Independence, the birth certificate of the United States.
Saturday we celebrate the 233rd anniversary of the ratification of the declaration. As the 50th anniversary approached in 1826, Jefferson was asked to attend a celebration in Washington D.C.
Roger C. Weightman, then the mayor of D.C. asked the aging Jefferson to come to the city.
On June 24 of that year, Jefferson declined in a letter that said:
“May [the Declaration of Independence] be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.
“That form which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds of hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”
Ironically, Jefferson died 10 days later, on July 4, 1826.
The letter restates and reaffirms some fundamental concepts that the founding fathers were bringing to light in ways never before acknowledged, concepts of self government, the rights of man, “that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs.”
In short, the concept the founders brought forth and raised to a new height was that of liberty. Their attempts were flawed. They failed to deal with the issue of slavery, of expanding the condition of liberty to women, blacks and Indians, but they set the wheels in motion for future seekers of liberty to continue the necessary work.
But they set up a system where men were free to work, to build and to create. It was not a system that guaranteed anything except the opportunity to take a risk. And with that risk came the chance of failure, but along with that risk came an equal opportunity to succeed, to build wealth and prosperity. A system that came to see millions of people coming to these shores, not forced, chained in slave ships, but voluntarily in the lowest places and highest of steamships just for that unique chance of starting a new life where they would be free from government oppression and tyranny.
There was a time here when people didn’t need a license or any government permission to start a business. There was no governmental entity telling them how much of their earnings they could keep. There was no government interference to building a life.
The concept we acknowledge this Saturday is that of liberty, a condition in which all men and women are free to express their rights as long as they do not interfere with the equal rights of others. Liberty is also a condition under which the only proper role of government is to make sure those rights are not violated.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...
Re your commentary on Jefferson’s letter where you write:
” But they set up a system where men were free to work, to build and to create. It was not a system that guaranteed anything except the opportunity to take a risk. And with that risk came the chance of failure, but along with that risk came an equal opportunity to succeed…”
This is you !
It was you taking a chance when you successfully founded and edited the “Chadds Ford Post”. And it is you again taking a giant leap of faith in creating “Chadds Ford Live”.
And it is your courage in these pursuits that beautifully demonstrates your belief in the basic and simple truths as outlined in our Consitution.
Our nation has somehow lost its vision, and the concept that the government owes us all the trappings of an ideal life has become part of the American mentality. How could this have happened to the greatest country on earth ?
Keep up the good fight Rich.
Dear Richard,
Thanks for injecting a much needed breath of freedom into our ever increasingly government controlled life. All ones needs to understand the REAL America is to read the Declaration of Independence.