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DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE / CONTRIBUTIONS TO
Your statements of the corrections of the
Declaration of Independence by Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams are
neither of them at all exact. I should think it better to say
generally that the rough draft Was communicated to those two
gentlemen, who each of them made two or three short and verbal
alterations only, but even this is laying more stress on mere
composition than it merits, for that alone was mine. The sentiments
were of all America. |
Joseph
Delaplaine
12 Apr 1817 |
DECLARATON
OF INDEPENDENCE
I prepared a draught of the declaration
committed to us. It was too strong for Mr. Dickinson. He still
retained the hope of reconciliation with the mother country, and was
unwilling it should be lessened by offensive statements. He was so
honest a man, and so able a one, that he was greatly indulged even
by those who could not feel his scruples. We therefore requested him
to take the paper, and put it into a form he could approve. He did
so, preparing an entire new statement, and preserving of the former
only the last four paragraphs and half of the preceding one. We
approved and 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 permitting him to draw their second petition to the King
according to his own ideas, and passing it with scarcely any
amendment. The disgust against this humility was general; and Mr.
Dickinson's delight at its passage was the only circumstance which
reconciled them to it.
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 Great Britain. …
It appearing in the course of … debates, that the colonies of
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and South
Carolina were not yet matured for falling from the parent stem, but
that they were fast advancing to that state, it was thought most
prudent to wait a while for them, and to postpone the final decision
to July 1st; but, that this might occasion as little delay as
possible, a committee was appointed to prepare a Declaration of
Independence. The committee were John Adams, Dr. Franklin, Roger
Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and myself. Committees were also
appointed, at the same time, to prepare a plan of confederation for
the colonies, and to state the terms proper to be proposed for
foreign alliance. The committee for drawing the Declaration of
Independence, desired me to do it. It was accordingly done, and
being approved 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 committee
of the whole. …The pusillanimous idea that we had friends in
England worth keeping terms with, still haunted the minds of many.
For this reason, those passages which conveyed censures on the
people of England were struck out, lest they should give them
offence. 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 though their people had very few slaves themselves,
yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others.
The debates, having taken up the greater parts of the 2d, 3d, and
4th days of July, were, on the evening of the last, closed; the
Declaration was reported by the committee, agreed to by the House,
and signed by every member present, except Mr. Dickinson.
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Notes
for an Autobiography
6 Jan 1821 |
DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
You have doubtless seen Timothy Pickering's
Fourth of July observations on the Declaration of Independence. If
his principles and prejudices, personal and political, gave us no
reason to doubt whether he had truly quoted the information he
alleges to have received from Mr. Adams, I should then say, that in
some of the particulars, Mr. Adams' memory has led him into
unquestionable error. At the age of eighty-eight, and forty-seven
years after the transactions of Independence, this is not wonderful.
Nor should I, at the age of eighty, on the small advantage of that
difference only, venture to oppose my memory to his, were it not
supported by written notes, taken by myself at the moment and on the
spot. He says, "the committee of five, to wit, Dr. Franklin,
Sherman, Livingston, and ourselves, met, discussed the subject, and
then appointed him and myself to make the draught; that we, as a
sub-committee, met, and after the urgencies of each on the other, I
consented to undertake the task; that the draught being made, we,
the subcommittee, met, and conned the paper over, and he does not
remember that he made or suggested a single alteration." Now
these details are quite incorrect. The committee of five met; no
such thing as a sub-committee was proposed, but they unanimously
pressed on myself alone to undertake the draught. I consented; I
drew it; hut before I reported it to the committee, I commumcated it
separately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams, requesting their
corrections, because they were the two members of whose judgments
and amendments I wished most to have the benefit, before presenting
it to the committee; and you have seen the original paper now in my
hands, with the corrections of Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams interlined
in their own handwritings. Their alterations were two or three only,
and merely verbal. I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the
committee, and from them, unaltered, to Congress. This personal
communication and consultation with Mr. Adams, he has misremembered
into the actings of a sub-committee. Pickering's observations, and
Mr. Adams' in addition, "that it contained no new ideas, that
it is a commonplace compilation, its sentiments hackneyed in
Congress for two years before, and its essence contained in Otis'
pamphlet," may all be true. Of that I am not to be the judge.
Richard Henry Lee charged it as copied from Locke's treatise on
government. Otis' pamphlet I never saw, and whether I had gathered
my ideas from reading or reflection I do not know. I know only that
I turned to neither book nor pamphlet while writing it. I did not
consider it as any part of my charge to invent new ideas altogether,
and to offer no sentiment which had ever been expressed before. Had
Mr. Adams been so restrained, Congress would have lost the benefit
of his bold and impressive advocations of the rights of Revolution.
For no man's confident and fervid addresses, more than Mr. Adams',
encouraged and supported us through the difficulties surrounding us,
which, like the ceaseless action of gravity, weighed on us by night
and by day. Yet, on the same ground, we may ask what of these
elevated thoughts was new, or can be affirmed never before to have
entered the conceptions of man?
Whether, also, the sentiments of Independence, and the reasons for
declaring it, which make so great a portion of the instrument, had
been hackneyed in Congress for two years before the 4th of July,
'76, or this dictum also of Mr. Adams be another slip of memory, let
history say. This, however, I will say for Mr. Adams, that he
supported the Declaration with zeal and ability, fighting fearlessly
for every word of it. As to myself, I thought it a duty to be, on
that occasion, a passive auditor of the opinions of others, more
impartial judges than I could be, of its merits or demerits. During
the debate I was sitting by Doctor Franklin, and he observed that I
was writhing a little under the acrimonious criticisms on some of
its parts; and it was on that occasion, that by way of comfort, he
told me the story of John Thompson, the hatter, and his new sign.
Timothy thinks the instrument the better for having a fourth of it
expunged. He would have thought it still better, had the other
three-fourths gone out also, all but the single sentiment (the only
one he approves), which recommends friendship to his dear England,
whenever she is willing to be at peace with us. His insinuations
are, that although "the high tone of the instrument was in
unison with the warm feelings of the times, this sentiment of
habitual friendship to England should never be forgotten, and that
the duties it enjoins should especially be borne in mind on
every celebration of this anniversary." In other words, that
the Declaration, as being a libel on the government of England,
composed in times of passion, should now be buried in utter
oblivion, to spare the feelings of our English friends and Angloman
fellow citizens. But it is not to wound them that we wish to keep it
in mind; but to cherish the principles of the instrument in the
bosoms of our own citizens: and it is a heavenly comfort to see that
these principles are yet so strongly felt, as to render a
circumstance so trifling as this little lapse of memory of Mr.
Adams, worthy of being solemnly announced and supported at an
anniversary assemblage of the nation on its birthday.
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James
Madison
30 Aug 1823 |
DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE / FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The kind invitation I receive from you, on the
part of the citizens of the city of Washington, to be present with
them at their celebration on the fiftieth anniversary of American
Independence, as one of the surviving signers of an instrument
pregnant with our own, and the fate of the world, is most
flattering. …I should, indeed, with peculiar delight, have met
and exchanged there congratulations personally with the small band,
the remnant of that host of worthies, who joined with us on that
day, in the bold and doubtful election we were to make for our
country, between submission or the sword; and to have enjoyed with
them the consolatory fact, that our fellow citizens, after half a
century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice
we made. May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some
parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of
arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and
superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume
the blessings and security of self-government. That form which we
have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise
of reason and freedom, of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening,
to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has
already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of
mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored
few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the
grace of God. |
Roger
C. Weightman
24 Jun 1826 |
DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE / NOT ORIGINAL THINKING
Pickering's observations, and Mr. Adams' in
addition, "that it contained no new ideas, that it is a
commonplace compilation, its sentiments hackneyed in Congress for
two years before, and its essence contained in Otis' pamphlet,"
may all be true. Of that I am not to be the judge. Richard Henry Lee
charged it as copied from Locke's treatise on government. Otis'
pamphlet I never saw, and whether I had gathered my ideas from
reading or reflection I do not know. I know only that I turned to
neither book nor pamphlet while writing it. I did not consider it as
any part of my charge to invent new ideas altogether and to offer no
sentiment which had ever been expressed before. Had Mr. Adams been
so restrained, Congress would have lost the benefit of his bold and
impressive advocations of the rights of Revolution. …This,
however, I will say for Mr. Adams, that he supported the Declaration
with zeal and ability, fighting fearlessly for every word of it. As
to myself, I thought it a duty to be, on that occasion, a passive
auditor of the opinions of others, more impartial judges than I
could be of its merits or demerits. …
Timothy thinks the instrument the better for having a fourth of it
expunged. He would have thought it still better had the other three
fourths gone out also, all but the single sentiment (the only one he
approves), which recommends friendship to his dear England, whenever
she is willing to be at peace with us. . . In opposition, however,
to Mr. Pickering I pray God that these principles may be eternal.
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James
Madison
30 Aug 1823 |
DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE / OBJECTIVE OF
With respect to our rights and the acts of the
British government contravening those rights, there was but one
opinion on this side of the water. All American Whigs thought alike
on these subjects. When forced, therefore, to resort to arms for
redress, an appeal to the tribunal of the world was deemed proper
for our justification. This was the object of the Declaration of
Independence. Not to find out new principles or new arguments never
before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been
said before, but to place before mankind the common sense of the
subject in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and
to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to
take. Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor
yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended
to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that
expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion.
All its authority rests then on the harmonizing sentiments of the
day, whether expressed in conversation, in letters, printed essays,
or in the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero,
Locke, Sidney, etc. |
Henry
Lee
8 May 1825 |
DEFENSE
As to the naval armament, the land armament,
and the marine fortifications which are in question with you, I have
no doubt they will all be car-tied. Not that the monocrats and paper
men in Congress want war; but they want armies and debts; and though
we may hope that the sound part of Congress is now so augmented as
to insure a majority in cases of general interest merely, yet I have
always observed that in questions of expense, where members may hope
either for offices or jobs for themselves or their friends, some few
will be debauched, and that is sufficient to turn the decision where
a majority is, at most, but small.
I have never seen a Philadelphia paper since I left it, till those
you enclosed me; and I feel myself so thoroughly weaned from the
interest I took in the proceedings there, while there, that I have
never had a wish to see one, and believe that I never shall take
another newspaper of any sort. I find my mind totally absorbed in my
rural occupations. |
James
Madison
3 Apr 1794 |
DEFENSE
/ PREPAREDNESS
Your exhortation to make a provision of arms is
undoubtedly wise, and we have not been inattentive to it. Our
internal resources for cannon are great, and those for small arms
considerable, and in full employment. We shall not suffer from that
want, should we have war; and of the possibility of that you will
judge by the enclosed proclamation, and by what you know of the
character of the English government. Never since the battle of
Lexington have I seen this country in such a state of exasperation
as at present, and even that did not produce such unanimity. The
federalists themselves coalesce with us as to the object, though
they will return to their trade of censuring every measure taken to
obtain it. |
Dupont
de Nemours
14 Jul 1807 |
DEFENSE
/ PREPAREDNESS
Mr. Fulton's ingenuity is inexhaustible and his
disinterested devotion of it to his country very laudable. If his
present device depended on me, I should try it on the judgment of an
officer so well skilled as Decatur. It is one of those experiments
which neither the personal interest nor the faculties of a private
individual can ever bring into use, while it is highly interesting
to the nation. Intersected as we are by many and deep waters, and
unable to meet the enemy on them with an equal force, our only hope
is in the discovery of the means which ingenuity may devise whereby
the weak may defend themselves against the strong. This is done at
land by fortifications, and not being against any law of nature, we
may hope that something equivalent may be discovered for the water.
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James
Madison
13 Jul 1813 |
DEMOCRACY
The tumults in America I expected would have
produced in Europe an unfavorable opinion of our political state.
But it has not. On the contrary, the small effect of these tumults
seems to have given more confidence in the firmness of our
governments. The interposition of the people themselves on the side
of government has had a great effect on the opinion here. I am
persuaded myself that the good sense of the people will always be
found to be the best army. They may be led astray for a moment, but
will soon correct themselves. The people are the only censors of
their governors; and even their errors will tend td keep these to
the true principles of their institution. To punish these errors too
severely would be to suppress the only safeguard of the public
liberty. The way to prevent these irregular interpositions of the
people, is to give them full information of their affairs through
the channel of the public papers, and to contrive that those papers
should penetrate the whole mass of the people. The basis of our
governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object
should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide
whether we should have a government without newspapers, or
newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to
prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive
those papers, and be capable of reading them.
I am convinced that those societies (as the Indians) which live
without government, enjoy in their general mass an infinitely
greater degree of happiness than those who live under the European
governments. Among the former, public opinion is in the place of
law, and restrains morals as powerfully as laws ever did anywhere.
Among the latter, under pretence of governing, they have divided
their nations into two classes, wolves and sheep. I do not
exaggerate. This is a true picture of Europe. Cherish, therefore,
the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be
too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them.
If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I,
and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become
wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of
individual exceptions; and experience declares that man is the only
animal which devours his own kind; for I can apply no milder term to
the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich on
the poor. |
Edward
Carrington
16 Jan 1787 |
DISARMAMENT
/ NAVAL
I have read with great satisfaction your
observations on the principles for equalizing the power of the
different nations on the sea, and think them perfectly sound.
Certainly it will be better to produce a balance on that element, by
reducing the means of its great monopolizer, than by endeavoring to
raise our own to an equality with theirs. |
Tench
Coxe
21 Sep 1807 |
DOING
GOOD
...I see too many proofs of the imperfection of
human reason, to entertain wonder or intolerance at any difference
of opinion on any subject; and acquiesce in that difference as
easily as on a difference of feature or form; experience having long
taught me the reasonableness of mutual sacrifices of opinion among,
those who are to act together for any common object, and the
expediency of doing what good we can, when we cannot do all we would
wish. |
John
Randolph
1 Dec 1803 |
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