Thomas Jefferson was a great man of principle. He followed his own beliefs completely, and wasn't afraid to speak his mind. According to his epitaph, he wanted to remembered for three things. Founding the University of Virginia, that state's act of religious toleration, and writing the Declaration of Independence. Besides his epitaph, his legacy to America was remembered best by three events. First, he articulated the myth of a New World, an argrarian utopia. He viewed farmers as the backbone of the nation, and was as weary about the new industry as he was of the aristocracy. Secondly, he gave great authority to the idea of state's rights. He countered the Alien and Sedition Acts with the Kentucky Resolution, which led to him once again facing opposition from Alexander Hamilton, who was a strong supporter of the government's implied powers. A division among the founders of this idea led to Jefferson's victory in the election of 1800, heading a new party, the Democratic Party. His last gift was the document that would guide the new nation's guiding principles, the Declaration of Independance. Most of the document was about grievances against the British Crown. However the most highly quoted piece, and rightly so, is the passage stating the "truths we hold to be self-evident." The basic idea stated that if your government isn't serving your needs, then you have the right to get rid of it and make a new one.
Jefferson's ideals should be given due credit for setting the model of the America to come. While it took a Civil War to secure those rights to colored men, and another fifty years to remove the male favoritism. What we can learn from this is Jefferson's firm and unwavering belief in the unalienable rights of man. His heavily quoted speech, "We hold these truths to be self evident", should be recognized by all Americans. Not just recognized, but understood as well. We have to take something from this passage. It has formed a central core to the morals of the American society, that prejudice against race or religion is unjust. Summed up in a single word, it is the idea of liberty for all. It is a word that we as Americans say and use proudly, for it is a cornerstone of our very country to this day. While Jefferson's ideas and beliefs on natural rights was far from an original idea, he brought it much clearer to the American people. It is important that we recognize what Jefferson did when he drafted the Declaration of Independance, for without his beliefs, America would never be the same as it is to this very day.
Nutshell #1 - Bill of Rights- Constitutional amendments, ratified 1791
http://narnaraptor.blogspot.com/2011/03/bill-of-rights.html
Nutshell #3 “Old Hickory”
http://stephanie-meyers20.blogspot.com/2011/03/old-hickory.html
