. The magazine of American history with notes and queries. emand only brief notice. He wasthe son of a planter; had practiced law with great success, though hewas almost incapable of making a speech in public ; and entering theBurgesses when he was twenty-six, had become one of the extreme * The curious questions connected with this subject, so elaborately discussed in Mr. RandallsLife of Jefferson, cannot be noticed here for want of space. 392 THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE leaders. From the constitution of his mind he was a radical in his socialand political opinions. His Summary V
. The magazine of American history with notes and queries. emand only brief notice. He wasthe son of a planter; had practiced law with great success, though hewas almost incapable of making a speech in public ; and entering theBurgesses when he was twenty-six, had become one of the extreme * The curious questions connected with this subject, so elaborately discussed in Mr. RandallsLife of Jefferson, cannot be noticed here for want of space. 392 THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE leaders. From the constitution of his mind he was a radical in his socialand political opinions. His Summary View, of 1774, is as resolute asthe Declaration of 1776; and it is the grand illustration of the hesitationof the time that the author of the former should, more than a year after-ward, have written that he preferred a redress of grievances to inde-pendence. In person Jefferson was tall and slender, and his manners wereplain and cordial. He was a tender husband, an affectionate father, akind master, and personally beloved by his neighbors and friends, who. were as warm in his praise as his political foes were rancorous in theirabuse of him. Sent to Congress in the critical year 1776, when allthings were narrowing to the crisis, Jefferson at once took his place amongthe leaders. His ability as a writer was seen from his Summary View,and, when Lee was called away, the task of preparing the Declarationwas assigned to him. It is impossible to read this famous paper withoutobserving the resemblance of many of its phrases to those employed inMasons Declaration of Rights, and Pendletons resolutions to proposeindependence. A comparison will show this similarity. THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 393 MASON.— All men are by nature equally free and independent, andhave certain inherent rights of which they cannot divest their poster-ity, namely the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of pursuingand obtaining happiness and safety. JEFFERSON.—All men arecreated equal . .
Size: 1547px × 1615px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublishernewyorkasbarnes
