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Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson

by Thomas Jefferson

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 467 ratings · 23 reviews

During his remarkable lifetime, Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) served his country in many capacities — among them, as President of the United States. But ultimately, this great and talented man — an accomplished architect, naturalist, and linguist — wished to be remembered primarily as the author of the Declaration of Independence.
In his autobiography, begun in 1821 at the a ...more

Paperback , 112 pages

Published June 3rd 2005 by Dover Publications (first published 1821)

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Feb 04, 2009 Ilyn Ross rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just finished reading the Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson . I dearly worship Mr. Jefferson. It is exceptionally wonderful to read his own words about his life. As I expected, he treasured his privacy - he said very little about his private life. He lovingly spoke of his wife in one sentence - he said he lived with her in "unchequered happiness".

Mr. Jefferson clearly admired Mr. George Washington and Dr. Benjamin Franklin. I love these:

"I served with General Washington in the legislature of V ...more

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Jan 03, 2013 John Martindale rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography , history

In light of what were taught about about Thomas Jefferson, how he was a racist and a slave holder, I think the following quotes from his autobiography are interesting.

“In 1769, I became a member of the legislature by the choice of the county in which I live, & continued in that until it was closed by the revolution. I made one effort in that body for the permission of the emancipation of slaves, which was rejected: and indeed, during the regal government, nothing liberal could expect success In light of what were taught about about Thomas Jefferson, how he was a racist and a slave holder, I think the following quotes from his autobiography are interesting.

“In 1769, I became a member of the legislature by the choice of the county in which I live, & continued in that until it was closed by the revolution. I made one effort in that body for the permission of the emancipation of slaves, which was rejected: and indeed, during the regal government, nothing liberal could expect success. Our minds were circumscribed within narrow limits by an habitual belief that it was our duty to be subordinate to the mother country in all matters of government, to direct all our labors in subservience to her interests, and even to observe a bigoted intolerance for all religions but hers."
Notice who inherited his slaves, wanted their emancipation, but his request was rejected.

In the original draft of the declaration of independence, Jefferson wrote:
"This piratical warfare, the opprobium of INFIDEL powers, is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce. And that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us,"

But sadly,
"The clause too, reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the importation of slaves, and who on the contrary still wished to continue it. Our northern brethren also I believe felt a little tender under those censures; for tho' their people have very few slaves themselves yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others."

"I have found no mention of negroes in the colony until about 1650. The first brought here as slaves were by a Dutch ship; after which the English commenced the trade and continued it until the revolutionary war. That suspended, ipso facto, their further importation for the present, and the business of the war pressing constantly on the legislature, this subject was not acted on finally until the year 78. when I brought in a bill to prevent their further importation. This passed without opposition, and stopped the increase of the evil by importation, leaving to future efforts its final eradication."

"Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free. Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion has drawn indelible lines of distinction between them. It is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation and deportation peaceably and in such slow degree as that the evil will wear off insensibly, and their place be pari passu filled up by free white laborers. If on the contrary it is left to force itself on, human nature must shudder at the prospect held up."

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Mar 12, 2015 Rosa Ramôa rated it 4 of 5 stars

***
"Eu acredito demais na sorte. E tenho constatado que, quanto mais duro eu trabalho, mais sorte eu tenho".
(Thomas Jefferson)
***

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Oct 05, 2014 Lora rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history , non-fiction , autobiography

Once I got used to paragraphs that ran on and on, and no chapters, I got used to Thomas Jefferson, maybe. It may have been nothing more than a Dover edition trying to save money! The book is slim and doesn't talk about Jefferson so much as about the huge events in his life. He discusses his experience drawing together the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and events from the French Revolution. He warns of future problems with out of control judges, or a populace that has abandoned m ...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Shane rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read the "Memoir" portion of the "Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson" available on project gutenburg.

It is clear that Jefferson was for the emancipation of slaves, he even attempted to put through emancipation prior to the independence as a member of the county legislature where we lived.

"In 1769, I became a member of the legislature by the choice of the county in which I live, and so continued until it was closed by the Revolution. I made one effort I read the "Memoir" portion of the "Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson" available on project gutenburg.

It is clear that Jefferson was for the emancipation of slaves, he even attempted to put through emancipation prior to the independence as a member of the county legislature where we lived.

"In 1769, I became a member of the legislature by the choice of the county in which I live, and so continued until it was closed by the Revolution. I made one effort in that body for the permission of the emancipation of slaves, which was rejected: and indeed, during the regal government, nothing liberal could expect success. Our minds were circumscribed within narrow limits, by an habitual belief that it was our duty to be subordinate to the mother country (England) in all matters of government, to direct all our labors in subservience to her interests, and even to observe a bigoted intolerance for all religions but hers."

However, I was surprised to find that while he was clearly for the emancipation of slaves, he didn't believe that they could live together, and suggested that after emancipation they be deported.

"It is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation and *deportation*, peacebly, and in such slow degree, as that the evil will wear off insensibly, and their place be, pari passu, filled up by free white laborers."

He was clearly for religious freedom for all religions:

"The bill for establishing religious freedom, [...] I had drawn in all the latitude of reason and right. It still met with opposition; but, with some mutilations in the preamble, it was finally passed; and a singular proposition proved, that its protection of opinion was meant to be universal.

Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the words 'Jesus Christ', so that it should read, 'a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the hold author of our religion;' the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of is protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination."

I would need to investigate, but I believe that Jefferson has provided some evidence for global warming, on an attempt to travel to France, he attempts to get passage from a ship a few miles from Baltimore, but for over a month the port where he was to board the ship was frozen for over two months?:

"[...] but she (the ship) was then lying a few miles below Baltimore, blocked up in the ice. I remained, therefore, a month in Philadelphia, looking over the papers in the office of State, in order to possess myself of the general state of our foreign relations, and then went to Baltimore, to await the liberation of the frigate from the ice. After waiting there nearly a month [...]".

...more

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Apr 29, 2015 Sabrine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: social-studies

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Thomas Jefferson, author of the American Declaration of Independence and the third president in the U.S , was born on April 13, 1743, at the Shadwell plantation located just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia near the western edge of Great Britain's American Empire.From 1767-1774, Jefferson practiced law in Virginia with great success, trying many cases and winning most of them. During these years, he also met and fell in love with Martha Wayles Skelton, a recent widow and one of the wealthies Thomas Jefferson, author of the American Declaration of Independence and the third president in the U.S , was born on April 13, 1743, at the Shadwell plantation located just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia near the western edge of Great Britain's American Empire.From 1767-1774, Jefferson practiced law in Virginia with great success, trying many cases and winning most of them. During these years, he also met and fell in love with Martha Wayles Skelton, a recent widow and one of the wealthiest women in Virginia. The pair married on January 1, 1772. Thomas and Martha Jefferson had six children together, but only two survived into adulthood: Martha and Mary.In April 1775, American militiamen clashed with British soldiers at the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord, the first battles in what developed into the American Revolutionary War.Thomas Jefferson was one of the earliest and most fervent supporters of the cause of American independence from Great Britain. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1768. In 1774, Jefferson penned his first major political work.In 1777, Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which established freedom of religion and the separation of church and state.

Jefferson owned slaves through his entire life, and his very existence as a gentleman farmer depended on the institution of slavery. Jefferson arrived in Virginia in November 1789 to find George Washington waiting for him with news that Washington had been elected the first president of the United States of America, and that he was appointing Jefferson as his secretary of state.

In 1797, despite Jefferson's public ambivalence and previous claims that he was through with politics, the Republicans selected Jefferson as their candidate to succeed Washington as president. Presiding over the Senate, the vice president had essentially no substantive role in government. After the House of Representative decide to Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the U.S. Jefferson was the most significant accomplishment as president was the Louisiana Purchase. In 1803, he acquired land stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. He then devised the wonderful informative Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore, map out and report back on the new American territories.Jefferson also put an end of Barbary pirates. Notably, both the Louisiana Purchase and the undeclared war against the Barbary pirates conflicted with Jefferson's. Jefferson easily won re-election in 1804, his second term in office proved much more difficult and less productive than his first time.
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May 18, 2012 Lee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is a very good book. Lots of detail into who and how from his years in politics. While it is informative and helpful in understanding the decisions made during that time, it is not what I would call an autobiography. You don't really learn much about the man except that he kept really good notes of everything going on. I would recommend this book but will see if I can't find a better biography to fill in what this one lacks.

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Jan 19, 2013 Lonnieandmelanie Wibberding rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not much personal information. It is more about decisions and processes of building a nation. Of course this is invaluable historically, but one does wish for more self-revealing information.

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Jul 28, 2011 Jeremy Perron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, is one of the most important men in the history of the world and one of the most hard to study. James Madison, Jefferson's secretary of state and successor as president, warned future scholars who would try to study the author of the Declaration of Independence that he was a man of many contradictions and is extremely hard to nail down*. No one who can be in public life as long as Thomas Jefferson was and do so without some sort of inco Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, is one of the most important men in the history of the world and one of the most hard to study. James Madison, Jefferson's secretary of state and successor as president, warned future scholars who would try to study the author of the Declaration of Independence that he was a man of many contradictions and is extremely hard to nail down*. No one who can be in public life as long as Thomas Jefferson was and do so without some sort of inconsistency, since no one stops learning and changing, but Jefferson jumps around more issues then most. Some of his contradictions are extremely famous. Jefferson was a champion of small federal government and more local state power. Nevertheless, he would become one of the presidents most responsible for the increase in federal power with the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson was also a man who detested slavery to the point, as president, abolishing the overseas slave trade in America, and yet he was a man who owned slaves all his life. In this work, Jefferson tells his own story. Unfortunately, like dear Dr. Franklin before him, he does not get to complete his tale.

Jefferson grew up in a world that was changing all around him, born in the middle of the Enlightenment; the old ways were constantly being challenged by new ideas and ways of thinking. Jefferson himself would play a major role in the ever-changing world that he was a part of. As a young man, the American colonies' crisis with their mother country grew larger and Jefferson was a passionate advocate for the American cause. In this work, he lays out the argument of the colonies against mother country.

"In this I took the ground that, from the beginning, I had thought the only one orthodox or tenable, which was, that relation between Great Britain and these colonies was exactly the same as that of England and Scotland, after the accession of James, and until the union, and the same as her present relations with Hanover, having the same executive chief, but no other necessary political connection; and that our emigration from England to this country gave her no more rights over us, than the emigrations of the Danes and the Saxons gave to the present authorities of the mother country over England." p. 7

Basically, what Jefferson brilliantly explains was that the only thing the colonies had in common with Great Britain is that we shared the same king. Other then the shared monarch, we had no other legal connection. This is why the Declaration of Independence targets King George III personally, because from the American position he was the only link we had to break.

My favorite part of the autobiography is when Jefferson gets distracted and starts complaining on how infective legislatures can at times be. What starts out as a topic on the Articles of Confederation's treaty ratification methods, becomes a rant on his poor colleagues.

"Our body was a little numerous, but very contentious. Day after day was wasted on the most unimportant questions. A member, one of those afflicted with the morbid and copious flow of words, who heard with impatience any logic which was not his own, sitting near me on some occasion of a trifling but wordy debate, asked me how I could sit in silence, hearing so much false reasoning, which a word should refute? I observed to him, that to refute was easy, but to silence was impossible; that in measures brought forward by myself, I took the laboring oar, as was incumbent on me; but that in general, I was willing to listen; that if every sound argument or objection was used by some one or other of the numerous debaters, it was enough; if not, I thought it sufficient to suggest the omission, without going into a repetition of what had been already said by others: that this was a waster and abuse of the time and patience of the House, which could not be justified. And I believe that if members of deliberate bodies were to observe this course generally, they would do in a day, what takes them a week; than may at first be thought, whether Bonaparte's dumb legislature, which said nothing, and did much, may not be preferable to one which talks much, and does nothing. I severed with General Washington in the legislature of Virginia, before the revolution, and, during it, with Dr. Franklin in Congress. I never heard either of them speak ten minutes at a time, nor to any but the main point, which decides the question. They laid their shoulders to the great points knowing that the little ones would follow themselves. If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise, in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour? That one hundred and fifty lawyers should do business together, ought not to be expected. But to return again to our subject." p.52-3

In addition to being a leader in the American Revolution, Jefferson was also on hand in France to witness the emerging French Revolution. Jefferson would be a defender and cheerleader for the French Revolution long after he actually should have been. One of the most interesting parts is he blames the entire event of Queen Marie Antoinette.

"The King was now become a passive machine in the hands of the National Assembly, and had he been left to himself, he would have willingly acquiesced in whatever they should devise as best for the nation. A wise constitution would have been formed, hereditary in his line, himself placed at its head, with powers so large as to enable him to do all the good of his station, and so limited, as to restrain him from its abuse. This he would have administered, and more than this, I do not believe, he ever wished. But he had a Queen of absolute sway over his weak mind and timid virtue, and of a character the reverse of his in all points." p.92

Jefferson telling his own tale is a fascinating read, it is so sad they did not live long enough to finish the whole thing. It would have been nice hearing him describe his time as the first secretary of state, second vice president, and third president. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable work.

* I am not quoting Madison directly, but paraphrasing. However I think you can get the main idea.
...more

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Jan 20, 2008 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommends it for: Those interested in: American, French Revolutions; American Constitution; Jefferson's Life

Thomas Jefferson's autobiography reminded me of Einstein's Autobiographical Notes in many respects. Neither book is a conventional autobiography, but rather a concise summary of the respective authors' life's work, with personal facts and figures given only secondary importance (particularly in the case of Einstein's book.) It's also worth noting that both books are written with great humility, despite the considerable achievements and influence of the two writers.

Jefferson begins by briefly re Thomas Jefferson's autobiography reminded me of Einstein's Autobiographical Notes in many respects. Neither book is a conventional autobiography, but rather a concise summary of the respective authors' life's work, with personal facts and figures given only secondary importance (particularly in the case of Einstein's book.) It's also worth noting that both books are written with great humility, despite the considerable achievements and influence of the two writers.

Jefferson begins by briefly recalling his family's history, and giving thanks to the mentors and friends who helped to guide his intellectual and political lives. He only speaks of his immediate family in passing later on, when he mentions losing his youngest daughter, and later his wife of many years, and finally the marriage of his oldest daughter.

Most of the book is spent discussing the American Revolution and the history of the new Republic. Jefferson recalls a number of conversations and arguments on various points of law, explaining his own reasoning in many cases, and often praising particular legislators for their logic or their debating skills. Every issue he discusses, every point he makes, is still relevant today.

Interestingly, Jefferson had sought to abolish slavery throughout his career, but found that the southern states -- and some northern interests -- were so resistant to that change that it would have been impossible to eradicate slavery and form a union at the same time. He foresaw the eventual end of slavery, and the strife that would follow.

Jefferson spends a disproportionate amount of time discussing the French revolution (disproportionate, by his own admission, because of the general interest in the event at the time Jefferson was writing), the early stages of which he had witnessed firsthand. The harshest criticism in the book, Jefferson reserves for the Queen of France. Jefferson observes that if it weren't for her refusal to give ground, there would have been no bloody revolution at all (and no subsequent power vacuum to be filled by a petty conquerer), but rather a peaceful diminishment of the monarchy's power, as happened in England.

Near the end, Jefferson tells of his last visit to the deathbed of the "venerable and beloved" Franklin. The autobiography ends shortly after that with odd abruptness; I would guess that Jefferson had intended to write a more harmonious conclusion, but never got around to it. Nevertheless, Jefferson's prose is lovely throughout, as one would expect. ...more

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Apr 22, 2014 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

It is fascinating to see the late 18th century through the eyes of one of the most intelligent men of the day, a man who was in on the "invention" of America. Endless discussion of political topics was sometimes a yawner, but politics were a vital part of the story, and Jefferson's astute and fascinating insights into people and events kept me going. While the book covers his life from childhood through 1790, he focuses on the years from about 1774 on.

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Jul 26, 2015 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not comprehensive, by any means, but also a very readable length. Does not get into some of the later work in administrations that some blurbs allege. OTOH, hard to beat Thomas Jefferson for the occasional inside-baseball nugget on the formation of this or that document. Also, some particularly interesting observations about the French Revolution since he was there at the start.

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Jun 06, 2015 David Withee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Inspiring

If I knew all these facts I have forgotten. But now have been refreshed. Jefferson helped the world. Was so helpful in the start of this country. Nice to see how he wrote it

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Jun 03, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics , biography

It would be hard to overestimate the importance of Thomas Jefferson in American history. As I have always been a great admirer - though more a federalist by philosophy - and enjoyed every word of this book,
although not a true autobiography. I have also read several good biographies over the years, but this was the first time I have read Jefferson's own words about his life. He was, as is often noted, a man of many and great contradictions but of towering intellect and achievement.

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Sep 19, 2014 Nicholas Maulucci rated it 3 of 5 stars

tough read. tough to follow the events, the people, his thinking. had high points in book. Jefferson had strong ties with France and would have stayed there except for being asked personally by Washington to come back to Monticello. also he met with Franklin a couple weeks before his death - an interesting story. recommended for a history class for seniors in high school or college age youngsters. I love America.

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Oct 24, 2009 Ido rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book. I enjoyed reading it although the grammer constructs were a little difficult to understand and required me to reread passages and sections of the book several times before I fully understood what Jefferson specifically meant. Still, it provided me a good insight into some of Jefferson's positions on many things. I highly recommend this book as a starting point to learn more and more about Jefferson and some of his public and private opinions.

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Jan 27, 2014 Don rated it 3 of 5 stars

Doesn't tell you much about Jefferson.

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Feb 07, 2013 Jeremy Egerer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Absolutely essential overview of Jefferson's career in the US, the founding of America, and a good (and brief) overview of the French Revolution. This short work made me very aware that the Thomas Jefferson claimed today by many people is not the Thomas Jefferson of history, but a figment of political imagination. A must-read.

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Mar 20, 2013 Nathan Beck rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

I came to read this book knowing very little of his life, and I leave it knowing only slightly more. It seems he spends a lot of time talking about the French Revolution and only some of the time speaking of the American one. I had hoped that he would talk more of himself, but I am still happy that I read it.

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Dec 28, 2013 Kim Sasso rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had to return this book to the library before I finished it but I have every intention of getting my hands on it again. Why read "about" what he said when we can read what he had to say?

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Apr 10, 2013 Matthew Stanfill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very short, He grew bored quickly writing about himself. If you want to learn more about Jefferson read all of his correspondence, which you can find in public domain.

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Jun 18, 2009 Kevin Kizer rated it 5 of 5 stars

T-Jeff is the man! While all the Founding Fathers were visionaries to a certain degree, Jefferson was definitely the most forward thinking.

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Dec 20, 2011 Christy is currently reading it

The language is tough...but interesting non-the-less. I probably will not read the entire book. It may turn into a reference...

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About Thomas Jefferson

More than a mere renaissance man, Jefferson may actually have been a new kind of man. He was fluent in five languages and able to read two others. He wrote, over the course of his life, over sixteen thousand letters. He was acquainted with nearly every influential person in America, and a great many in Europe as well. He was a lawyer, agronomist, musician, scientist, philosopher, author, architect More than a mere renaissance man, Jefferson may actually have been a new kind of man. He was fluent in five languages and able to read two others. He wrote, over the course of his life, over sixteen thousand letters. He was acquainted with nearly every influential person in America, and a great many in Europe as well. He was a lawyer, agronomist, musician, scientist, philosopher, author, architect, inventor, and statesman. Though he never set foot outside of the American continent before adulthood, he acquired an education that rivaled the finest to be attained in Europe. He was clearly the foremost American son of the Enlightenment.

Jefferson was born at Shadwell in Albemarle county, Virginia on April 13, 1743. He was tutored by the Reverend James Maury, a learned man, in the finest classical tradition. He began the study of Latin, Greek, and French at the age of 9. He attended William and Mary College in Williamsburg at sixteen years old, then continued his education in the Law under George Wythe, the first professor of law in America (who later would sign Jefferson's Declaration in 1776). Thomas Jefferson attended the House of Burgesses as a student in 1765 when he witnessed Patrick Henry's defiant stand against the Stamp Act. He gained the Virginia bar and began practice in 1769, and was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1769. It was there that his involvement in revolutionary politics began. He was never a very vocal member, but his writing, his quiet work in committee, and his ability to distill large volumes of information to essence, made him an invaluable member in any deliberative body.

In 1775 when a Virginia convention selected delegates to the Continental Congress, Jefferson was selected as an alternate. It was expected that Payton Randolph, (then Speaker of the Virginia House and president of the Continental Congress too,) would be recalled by the Royal Governor. This did happen and Jefferson went in his place. Thomas Jefferson had a theory about self governance and the rights of people who established habitat in new lands. Before attending the Congress in Philadelphia he codified these thoughts in an article called A Summary View of the Rights of British America. This paper he sent on ahead of him. He fell ill on the road and was delayed for several days. By the time he arrived, his paper had been published as a pamphlet and sent throughout the colonies and on to England where Edmund Burke, sympathetic to the colonial condition, had it reprinted and circulated widely. In 1776 Jefferson, then a member of the committee to draft a declaration of independence, was chosen by the committee to write the draft. This he did, with some minor corrections from James Madison and an embellishment from Franklin, the document was offered to the Congress on the first day of July. The congress modified it somewhat, abbreviating certain wording and removing points that were outside of general agreement. The Declaration was adopted on the Fourth of July.

Jefferson returned to his home not long afterward. His wife and two of his children were very ill, he was tired of being remote from his home, and he was anxious about the development of a new government for his native state.

In June of 1779 he succeeded Patrick Henry as Governor of Virginia. The nation was still at war, and the southern colonies were under heavy attack. Jefferson's Governorship was clouded with hesitation. He himself concluded that the state would be better served by a military man. He declined re-election after his first term and was succeeded by General Nelson of Yorktown.

In 1781 he retired to Monticello, the estate he inherited, to write, work on improved agriculture, and attend his wife. It was during this time that he wrote Notes on the State of Virginia, a work that he never completed. Martha Jefferson died in September of 1782. This event threw Jefferson into a depression that, according to his eldest daughter he might never have recovere ...more

More about Thomas Jefferson...

Books by Thomas Jefferson

The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States

Writings: Autobiography/Notes on the State of Virginia/Public & Private Papers/Addresses/Letters

The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (Little Books of Wisdom)

Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States of America, Bill of Rights and Constitutional Amendments

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“So inscrutable is the arrangement of causes and consequences in this world, that a two-penny duty on tea, unjustly imposed in a sequestered part of it, changes the condition of all its inhabitants.” — 9 likes

“The vote being passed, altho' further observn on it was out of order, he could not refrain from rising and expressing his satisfaction and concluded by saying "there is but one word, Mr. President, in the paper which I disapprove, & that is the word Congress," on which Ben Harrison rose and said "there is but on word in the paper, Mr. President, of which I approve, and that is the word Congress.” — 0 likes

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