CHAPTER XII.

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

T has been already said, that the post of Secretary

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of State was offered to Jefferson, and as he had now arrived in New York, to undertake the duties of his office, it is time to introduce this singular personage to the notice of the reader.

THOMAS JEFFERSON was born in Virginia, on the 2d of April, 1743. He was the son of a planter of considerable wealth, and descended from a family of Welsh origin. He was educated at Williamsburg, and, while at college, appears to have had the reputation of a shrewd, lively, pleasant fellow, who, in spite of his tall, gaunt figure, red hair, harsh features, and freckled face, was welcome in most companies, and somewhat of a favourite with the ladies. seems early to have adopted a light and easy phi

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losophy, with sceptical views in religion, to have

cultivated a taste for literature and music, and to

* have acquired the habits and address of a man of the world. Within a few years of leaving college, he was called to the bar, and obtained a seat in the Assembly of Virginia, where, fired by the eloquence and enthusiasm of Patrick Henry, and always strongly attracted by a popular cause, he threw himself heart and soul into the struggle with England. But it was less by speeches and open demonstrations, than by schemes concocted in private, and the dexterous management of the "corresponding committees," that he was able to render good service to the Colonies. It is said that, when at school, he used to put forward other boys to ask for whatever he himself wanted; and he continued through life the same tactics—preferring to remain in the background and pull the wires, rather than engage actively in personal or political combats.

His services were, however, well known; he was elected a delegate to the General Congress, and, when it was determined to break finally with England, he was appointed one of the committee to prepare the Declaration of Independence. Both Adams and Franklin pressed him to undertake its composition, and, as he was always ready with his pen, he con

sented to make the draft. It contained some extrava

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gant expressions which Congress had the good sense to omit; but, in the main, his sketch was ultimately adopted, and there can be no doubt, that the mere fact of his having been the author of that celebrated document greatly contributed to the influence which he afterwards exercised over the public mind.

The next task in which he was engaged was one exactly suited to his character. Washington only became a republican from the necessity of the case, and, if Adams was one by conviction, it was with no fanatical attachment to any particular form. But Jefferson was a republican on system, with a philosophical theory to be carried out to its logical conclusions, and in this, as in many other respects, his mind seems to have been cast in a French, rather than an English mould. It was, therefore, with real satisfaction, that he set about remodelling the laws and constitution of his native Virginia, so as to bring them into harmony with his democratic notions. Entails and primogeniture, hereditary distinctions, a powerful gentry, and an Established Church, still existed in that portion of America; and all these were doomed to destruction by this ardent republican. "When I left Congress in 1776," he says, “it was in the persuasion that our whole code must be

reviewed, and adapted to our republican form of government; and now that we had no negatives of councils, governors, and kings, to restrain us from doing right, that it should be corrected, in all its parts, with a single eye to reason."

Some people might have thought, that reason generally points to the lessons of experience, and that, before destroying an aristocracy which had no exclusive political privileges, it would be well to examine the working of the new institutions, and wait to see what checks might possibly be required. But such timid counsels were by no means suited to the impatience of a philosopher like Jefferson. He urged on the Assembly of Virginia the immediate abolition of every law and custom, that had any tendency to favour the preservation of the old hereditary fortunes and families; and he persevered in his efforts, till he succeeded in almost entirely breaking down the aristocracy of the Ancient Dominion. It might have been better for posterity, had he shown equal perseverance in maintaining his views with regard to negro-slavery; but, though always opposed to it in theory, he was more complying on this head, and he left to another age the bitter legacy of a question, which in his time lay

within narrow bounds, and admitted of a peaceable solution.

Appointed Governor of his native state, he was surprised by the sudden invasion of a few hundred English soldiers, who were allowed to penetrate to the very heart of Virginia, and very nearly captured both the Governor and the Legislature. Jefferson owed his safety to the speed of his horse, and was accused by his enemies of having displayed, on this occasion, a total want of capacity and courage. But, after all, it is no great reproach to a civilian that he happens to be deficient in martial qualities, and the only objection which can fairly be taken to his conduct is, that he should ever have accepted an office, which in those days was so likely to involve the necessity of military service.

In 1782, he was named as one of the negotiators for peace with England, but the preliminaries were concluded before he could set out on his mission. Two years after, however, he was despatched to Europe to negotiate treaties of commerce with different nations, and, when Dr. Franklin returned to America, he remained in Paris as Minister of the United States. He was here far more in his element than in a position where he was exposed to the

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