Part 1 (1/2)

Autobiography

by Thomas Jefferson

1743 - 1790

With the Declaration of Independence

January 6, 1821

At the age of 77, I begin to make some memoranda and state so myself, for my own more ready reference & for the information of my family

The tradition in my father's family was that their ancestor came to this country frohest in Gr Br I noted once a case from Wales in the law reports where a person of our name was either pl or def and one of the sainia company These are the only instances in which I have met with the name in that country I have found it in our early records, but the first particular inforrandfather who lived at the place in Chesterfield called Ozborne's and ownd the lands afterwards the glebe of the parish He had three sons, Tho, Field who settled on the waters of Roanoke and left numerous descendants, and Peter my father, who settled on the lands I still own called Shadwell adjoining my present residence He was born Feb 29, 1707/8, and intere of 19 daur of Isham Randolph one of the seven sons of that naeoness in Goochld They trace their pedigree far back in England & Scotland, to which let every one ascribe the faith & merit he chooses

My father's education had been quite neglected; but being of a strong er after information, he read much and improved himself insomuch that he was chosen with Joshua Fry professor of Mathee to continue the boundary line between Virginia & N Caroline which had been begun by Colo Byrd, and was afterwards einia which had ever beenmerely a conjectural sketch They possessed excellent e; little being then known beyond that ridge He was the 3d or 4th settler of the part of the country in which I live, which was about 1737 He died Aug 17 1757, leaving my mother a ho lived till 1776, with 6 daurs & 2 sons, er brother he left his estate on James river called Snowden after the supposed birth-place of the family To myself the lands on which I was born & live He placed e and at the Latin at 9 where I continued until his death My teacher Mr Douglas a clergyman from Scotland was but a superficial Latinist, less instructed in Greek, but with the rudiht me French, and on the death of my father I went to the revd Mr Maury a correct classical scholar, hoe, to wit in the spring of 1760, where I continued 2 years It was ood fortune, and what probably fixed the destinies of my life that Dr Wm Small of Scotland was then professor of Mathematics, a man profound in most of the useful branches of science, with a happy talent of coed & liberal mind He, most happily for me, became soon attached to ed in the school; and froot my first views of the expansion of science & of the systes in which we are placed Fortunately the Philosophical chair becae, and he was appointed to fill it per interiular lectures in Ethics, Rhetoric & Belles lettres He returned to Europe in 1762, having previously filled up thefor me, from his most intimate friend G Wythe, a reception as a student of law, under his direction, and introduced me to the acquaintance and familiar table of Governor Fauquier, the ablest man who had ever filled that office With him, and at his table, Dr Small & Mr Wythe, his amici omnium horarum, & myself, formed a partie quarree, & to the habitual conversations on these occasions I owed much instruction Mr Wythe continued to be my faithful and beloved Mentor in youth, and h life In 1767, he led me into the practice of the law at the bar of the General court, at which I continued until the revolution shut up the courts of justice [For a sketch of the life & character of Mr Wythe see31 20 to Mr John Saunderson]

In 1769, I becaislature 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 govern 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 overnment, to direct all our labors in subservience to her interests, and even to observe a bigoted intolerance for all religions but hers The difficulties with our representatives were of habit and despair, not of reflection & conviction Experience soon proved that they could bring their hts on the first su's council, which acted as another house of legislature, held their places at will & were in most huative on our laws held by the sareater devotedness to it: and last of all the Royal negative closed the last door to every hope of amelioration

On the 1st of January, 1772 I was hter of John Wayles, then 23 years old Mr Wayles was a lawyer of reat industry, punctuality & practical readiness, than to ereeable coood humor, and welcomed in every society He acquired a handsohters, and the portion which came on that event to Mrs Jefferson, after the debts should be paid, which were very considerable, was about equal to my own patrimony, and consequently doubled the ease of our circuainst the Sta I attended the debate however at the door of the lobby of the H of Burgesses, & heard the splendid display of Mr Henry's talents as a popular orator They were great indeed; such as I have never heard from any other man He appeared to me to speak as Homer wrote Mr Johnson, a lawyer & member from the Northern Neck, seconded the resolns, & by hiic of the case were chiefly maintained My recollections of these transactions may be seen pa 60, Wirt's life of P H, to who of the General assembly was called by the Govr, Ld Botetourt I had then beco became known the joint resolutions & address of the Lords & Cos in Massachusetts Counter-resolutions, & an address to the King, by the H of Burgesses were agreed to with little opposition, & a spiritthe cause of Massachusetts as a common one The Governor dissolved us: but we h tavern, formed ourselves into a voluntary convention, drew up articles of association against the use of any ned and recommended them to the people, repaired to our several counties, & were re elected without any other exception than of the very feho had declined assent to our proceedings

Nothing of particular excite for a considerable time our countrymen seemed to fall into a state of insensibility to our situation The duty on tea not yet repealed & the Declaratory act of a right in the British parl to bind us by their laws in all cases whatsoever, still suspended over us But a court of inquiry held in R Island in 1762, with a power to send persons to England to be tried for offences co of 1773 as de members up to the point of forwardness & zeal which the times required, Mr Henry, R H Lee, Francis L Lee, Mr Carr &in a private roos There may have been a member or two more whoent of allwith all the other colonies to consider the British claims as a common cause to all, & to produce an unity of action: and for this purpose that a commee of correspondce in each colony would be the best instrument for intercommunication: and that their firstof deputies froed with the direction of the measures which should be taken by all We therefore drew up the resolutions whiched that it should be done by Mr Carr, my friend & brother in law, then a new iven of reat worth & talents It was so agreed; he reed to nem con and a commee of correspondence appointed of whom Peyton Randolph, the Speaker, was chairman The Govr (then Ld Dunmore) dissolved us, but the commee met the next day, prepared a circular letter to the Speakers of the other colonies, inclosing to each a copy of the resolns and left it in charge with their chairination of these commees of correspondence between the colonies has been since claiiven into this error, altho' the very note of his appendix to which he refers, shows that their establmt was confined to their ons This matter will be seen clearly stated in a letter of Samuel Adams Wells to me of Apr 2, 1819, and my answer of May 12 I was corrected by the letter of Mr Wells in the inforiven Mr Wirt, as stated in his note, pa 87, that the a crossed each other on the way bearing similar propositions, for Mr Wells shows that Mass did not adopt the measure but on the receipt of our proposn delivered at their next session Their e therefore which passed ours,else, for I well re of our ers

The next event which excited our sympathies for Massachusets was the Boston port bill, by which that port was to be shut up on the 1st of June, 1774 This arrived while ere in session in the spring of that year The lead in the house on these subjects being no longer left to the old members, Mr Henry, R H Lee, Fr L Lee, 3 or 4 otherthat we must boldly take an unequivocal stand in the line with Massachusetts, determined to meet and consult on the proper measures in the council chamber, for the benefit of the library in that roo our people fro events; and thought that the appoint & prayer would be most likely to call up & alarm their attention No example of such a solemnity had existed since the days of our distresses in the war of 55 since which a new generation had grown up With the help therefore of Rushworth, e rued over for the revolutionary precedents & forms of the Puritans of that day, preserved by hi their phrases, for appointing the 1st day of June, on which the Port bill was to co, humiliation & prayer, to implore heaven to avert from us the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firhts, and to turn the hearts of the King & parliareater e on Mr Nicholas, whose grave & religious character was more in unison with the tone of our resolution and to solicit hi He moved it the same day; the 1st of June was proposed and it passed without opposition The Governor dissolved us as usual We retired to the Apollo as before, agreed to an association, and instructed the co comress at such place, annually, as should be convenient to direct, froeneral interest: and we declared that an attack on any one colony should be considered as an attack on the whole This was in May We further recommended to the several counties to elect deputies to , to consider the state of the colony, & particularly to appoint delegates to a general Congress, should that enerally It was acceded to, Philadelphia was appointed for the place, and the 5th of Sep for the ti We returned hoy to meet assemblies of the people on the 1st of June, to perform the ceremonies of the day, & to address to theenerally, with anxiety & alarm in their countenances, and the effect of the day thro' the whole colony was like a shock of electricity, arousing everyhiates for the convention Being elected one for iven to the delegates e should send to the Congress, and which I round which, froht the only one orthodox or tenable, which was that the relation between Gr Br and these colonies was exactly the saland & Scotland after the accession of James & until the Union, and the sa the same Executive chief but no other necessary political connection; and that our ehts over us, than the eave to the present authorities of the land In this doctrine however I had never been able to get any one to agree with me but Mr Wythe He concurred in it from the first dawn of the question What was the political relation between us & England? Our other patriots Randolph, the Lees, Nicholas, Pendleton stopped at the half-way house of John dickinson who adulate our coulation, but not of raising revenue But for this ground there was no foundation in coed principles of colonization, nor in reason: expatriation being a natural right, and acted on as such, by all nations, in all ages I set out for W, but was taken ill of a dysentery on the road, & unable to proceed I sent on therefore to Wht, the one under cover to Peyton Randolph, who I kneould be in the chair of the convention, the other to Patrick Henry Whether Mr Henry disapproved the ground taken, or was too lazy to read it (for he was the laziestI ever knew) I never learned: but he communicated it to nobody Peyton Randolph informed the convention he had received such a paper fro it in his place, and he laid it on the table for perusal It was read generally by the ht too bold for the present state of things; but they printed it in pahts of British Aland, was taken up by the opposition, interpolated a little by Mr Burke so as to make it answer opposition purposes, and in that form ran rapidly thro' several editions This information I had from Parson Hurt, who happened at the tione to receive clerical orders And I was informed afterwards by Peyton Randolph that it had procuredlist of proscriptions enrolled in a bill of attainder commenced in one of the houses of parliament, but suppressed in embryo by the hasty step of events which warned theesses in England made extracts from the bill, copied the names, and sent them to Peyton Randolph The names I think were about 20 which he repeated to me, but I recollect those only of Hancock, the two Adamses, Peyton Randolph himself, Patrick Henry, & , renewed their association, appointed delegates to the Congress, gave them instructions very temperately & properly expressed, both as to style & matter; and they repaired to Philadelphia at the tiress at their 1st session belong to general history, are known to every one, and need not therefore be noted here They terain on the 10th May ensuing The convention at their ensuing session of Mar, '75, approved of the proceedings of Congress, thanked their delegates and reappointed the sa to be held in May: and foreseeing the probability that Peyton Randolph their president and Speaker also of the H of B ation

Mr Randolph was according to expectation obliged to leave the chair of Congress to attend the Gen assembly summoned by Ld Dunmore to meet on the 1st day of June 1775 Ld North's conciliatory propositions, as they were called, had been received by the Governor and furnished the subject for which this assely attended, and the tenor of these propositions being generally known, as having been addressed to all the governors, he was anxious that the answer of our assembly, likely to be the first, should harmonize hat he knew to be the sentiments and wishes of the body he had recently left He feared that Mr Nicholas, whose mind was not yet up to the mark of the times, would undertake the answer, & therefore pressed me to prepare an answer I did so, and with his aid carried it through the house with long and doubtful scruples from Mr Nicholas and James Mercer, and a dash of cold water on it here & there, enfeebling it so it This being passed, I repaired iress the first notice they had of it It was entirely approved there I took my seat with them on the 21st of June On the 24th, a commee which had been appointed to prepare a declaration of the causes of taking up are) which not being liked they recommitted it on the 26th, and added Mr dickinson andof the house, the co not yet ston, and proposed to him to draw the paper He excused hi hiency, ”we are as yet but new acquaintances, sir, said he, why are you so earnest forit?” ”Because, said I, I have been informed that you drew the Address to the people of Gr Britain, a production certainly of the finest pen in America” ”On that, says he, perhaps sir you may not have been correctly inforinia froston & Jay had been the coht The first, prepared by Lee, had been disapproved & reco presented by Govr Livingston, had led Colo Harrison into the error The nextassembled but the house not yet for him by the button of his coat, to entleston drew the Address to the people of Gr Britain” I assured him at once that I had not received that information from Mr Lee & that not a word had ever passed on the subject between Mr Lee & myself; and after soentles in debate before, and continued ever very hostile to each other

I prepared a draught of the Declaration co for Mr dickinson He still retained the hope of reconciliation with theit should be lessened by offensive statereatly indulged even by those who could not feel his scruples We therefore requested him to take the paper, and put it into a for an entire new stateraphs & half of the preceding one We approved & reported it to Congress, who accepted it Congress gave a signal proof of their indulgence to Mr dickinson, and of their great desire not to go too fast for any respectable part of our body, in per according to his own ideas, and passing it with scarcely any aeneral; and Mr dickinson's delight at its passage was the only circu passed, altho' further observn on it was out of order, he could not refrain fro 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”

On the 22d of July Dr Franklin, Mr Adams, R H Lee, & myself, were appointed a commee to consider and report on Ld North's conciliatory resolution The answer of the Virginia asse been approved I was requested by the commee to prepare this report, which will account for the similarity of feature in the two instruments

On the 15th of May, 1776, the convention of Virginia instructed their delegates in Congress to propose to that body to declare the colonies independent of G Britain, and appointed a coovernates froinia moved in obedience to instructions froress should declare that these United colonies are & of right ought to be free & independent states, that they are absolved froiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between theht to be, totally dissolved; thatthe assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be forether

The house being obliged to attend at that time to some other business, the proposition was referred to the next day, when the members were ordered to attend punctually at ten o'clock

Saturday June 8 They proceeded to take it into consideration and referred it to a committee of the whole, into which they immediately resolved the on the subject

It was argued by Wilson, Robert R Livingston, E Rutledge, dickinson and others That tho' they were friends to the measures theain be united with Gr Britain, yet they were against adopting them at this time: That the conduct we had for to take any capital step till the voice of the people drove us into it: That they were our power, & without them our declarations could not be carried into effect; That the people of the middle colonies (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylva, the Jerseys & N York) were not yet ripe for bidding adieu to British connection, but that they were fast ripening & in a short tieneral voice of America: That the resolution entered into by this house on the 15th of May for suppressing the exercise of all powers derived from the crown, had shown, by the ferment into which it had thrown these middle colonies, that they had not yet accommodated their minds to a separation from the mother country: That soates to consent to such a declaration, and others had given no instructions, & consequently no powers to give such consent: That if the delegates of any particular colony had no power to declare such colony independant, certain they were the others could not declare it for the as yet perfectly independant of each other: That the asse above stairs, their convention would sit within a few days, the convention of New York was now sitting, & those of the Jerseys & Delaware counties would , & it was probable these bodies would take up the question of Independance & would declare to their delegates the voice of their state: That if such a declaration should now be agreed to, these delegates ht secede from the Union: That such a secession would weaken us n alliance: That in the event of such a division, foreign poould either refuse to join the us so much in their power as that desperate declaration would place us, they would insist on terms proportionably more hard and prejudicial: That we had little reason to expect an alliance with those to whom alone as yet we had cast our eyes: That France & Spain had reason to be jealous of that rising pohich would one day certainly strip them of all their American possessions: That it was more likely they should form a connection with the British court, who, if they should find themselves unable otherwise to extricate theree to a partition of our territories, restoring Canada to France, & the Floridas to Spain, to accomplish for themselves a recovery of these colonies: That it would not be long before we should receive certain inforent e had sent to Paris for that purpose: That if this disposition should be favorable, by waiting the event of the present can, which we all hoped would be successful, we should have reason to expect an alliance on better terms: That this would in fact work no delay of any effectual aid from such ally, as, from the advance of the season & distance of our situation, it was i this ca ourselves the terms on which we should form alliance, before we declared ould forreed on, & our Declaration of Independance ready by the time our Ambassador should be prepared to sail, it would be as well as to go into that Declaration at this day

On the other side it was urged by J Adaainst the policy or the right of separation from Britain, nor had supposed it possible we should ever renew our connection; that they had only opposed its being now declared: That the question was not whether, by a declaration of independance, we should make ourselves e are not; but whether we should declare a fact which already exists: That as to the people or parlialand, we had alwais been independent of the efficacy frohts they possessed of i them, & that so far our connection had been federal only & was now dissolved by the co, we had been bound to hiiance, but that this bond was now dissolved by his assent to the late act of parliament, by which he declares us out of his protection, and by his levying war on us, a fact which had long ago proved us out of his protection; it being a certain position in law that allegiance & protection are reciprocal, the one ceasing when the other is withdrawn: That Jaland out of his protection yet his actions proved it & the parliaates then can be denied, or ever want, a power of declaring an existing truth: That the delegates fro declared their constituents ready to join, there are only two colonies Pennsylvania & Maryland whose delegates are absolutely tied up, and that these had by their instructions only reserved a right of confir the ht be accounted for froo, since which the face of affairs has totally changed: That within that time it had beco less than a carte-blanche, and that the King's answer to the Lord Mayor Aldermen & coo, must have satisfied every one of this point: That the people wait for us to lead the way: That they are in favour of the iven by some of their representatives are not: That the voice of the representatives is not always consonant with the voice of the people, and that this is remarkably the case in these middle colonies: That the effect of the resolution of the 15th of May has proved this, which, raising the murmurs of some in the colonies of Pennsylvania & Maryland, called forth the opposing voice of the freer part of the people, & proved them to be the majority, even in these colonies: That the backwardness of these two colonies ht be ascribed partly to the influence of proprietary power & connections, & partly to their having not yet been attacked by the enemy: That these causes were not likely to be soon removed, as there seemed no probability that the enemy would make either of these the seat of this summer's war: That it would be vain to wait either weeks or months for perfect unanimity, since it was impossible that all men should ever become of one sentiment on any question: That the conduct of soiven reason to suspect it was their settled policy to keep in the rear of the confederacy, that their particular prospect ht be better, even in the worst event: That therefore it was necessary for those colonies who had thrown the, to coain to their own hazard: That the history of the Dutch revolution, of whom three states only confederated at first proved that a secession of soerous as some apprehended: That a declaration of Independence alone could render it consistent with European delicacy for European powers to treat with us, or even to receive an Ambassador from us: That till this they would not receive our vessels into their ports, nor acknowledge the adjudications of our courts of aditih France & Spainpower, they must think it will be much more formidable with the addition of Great Britain; and will therefore see it their interest to prevent a coalition; but should they refuse, we shall be but where we are; whereas without trying we shall never knohether they will aid us or not: That the present can may be unsuccessful, & therefore we had better propose an alliance while our affairs wear a hopeful aspect: That to await the event of this ca this su off those supplies of provisions froland & Ireland on which the enereat power they have collected in the West Indies, & calling our enemy to the defence of the possessions they have there: That it would be idle to lose ti the terms of alliance, till we had first determined ould enter into alliance: That it is necessary to lose no ti a trade for our people, ant clothes, and ant money too for the paiment of taxes: And that the only misfortune is that we did not enter into alliance with France sixtheir ports for the vent of our last year's produce, they ht have marched an army into Ger their unhappy subjects to subdue us

It appearing in the course of these debates that the colonies of N York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina were not yetfro to that state, it was thought most prudent to wait a while for them, and to postpone the final decision to July 1 but that this ht occasion as little delay as possible a committee was appointed to prepare a declaration of independence The coer Sherston & myself Committees were also appointed at the same time to prepare a plan of confederation for the colonies, and to state the tern alliance The co the declaration of Independence desiredapproved by them, I reported it to the house on Friday the 28th of June when it was read and ordered to lie on the table On Monday, the 1st of July the house resolved itself into a coinal ain debated through the day, was carried in the affirmative by the votes of N Hampshi+re, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, N Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, N Carolina, & Georgia S Carolina and Pennsylvania voted against it Delaware having but two ates for New York declared they were for it themselves & were assured their constituents were for it, but that their instructions having been drawn near a twelveeneral object, they were enjoined by the which should iht the on either side, and asked leave to withdraw froiven them The commee rose & reported their resolution to the house Mr Edward Rutledge of S Carolina then requested the deterht be put off to the next day, as he believed his colleagues, tho' they disapproved of the resolution, would then join in it for the sake of unaniree to the resolution of the coly postponed to the next day, when it was againfor it In the meantime a third member had come post from the Delaware counties and turned the vote of that colony in favour of the resolution Me froed, so that the whole 12 colonies ere authorized to vote at all, gave their voices for it; and within a few days, the convention of N York approved of it and thus supplied the void occasioned by the withdrawing of her delegates froress proceeded the same day to consider the declaration of Independance which had been reported & lain on the table the Friday preceding, and on Monday referred to a commee of the whole The pusillani terms with, still haunted the es which conveyed censures on the people of England were struck out, lest they should give the the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out in coia, 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 thereater parts of the 2d 3d & 4th days of July were, in the evening of the last, closed the declaration was reported by the coned by every member present except Mr dickinson As the sentiments of men are known not only by what they receive, but what they reject also, I will state the forinally reported The parts struck out by Congress shall be distinguished by a black line drawn under thein or in a concurrent column

A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of Aress assembled

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected the the powers of the earth the separate & equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with inherent and [certain] inalienable rights; that a these are life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness: that to secure these rights, govern their just powers froovernht of the people to alter or abolish it, & to institute new govern it's powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness Prudence indeed will dictate that governht & transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right the the for train of abuses & usurpations begun at a distinguished period and pursuing invariably the san to reduce theht, it is their duty to throw off such governuards for their future security Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; & such is now the necessity which constrains theovern of Great Britain is a history of unre which appears no solitary fact to contradict the unifor] in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states To prove this let facts be sube a faith yet unsullied by falsehood

He has refused his assent to laws the ood

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of i importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; & when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them

He has refused to pass other laws for the accoe districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to theether legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly & continually for opposing with hts of the people

He has refused for a long time after such dissolutions to cause others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise, the state reers of invasion from without & convulsions within

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage theirthe conditions of new appropriations of lands