Posted by Lady Columbia on June 25, 19101 at 22:55:22:

In Reply to: thomas jefferson info posted by craig on March 18, 19101 at 14:35:31:

Most of the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence were not new. English philosopher John Locke had already presented the ideas of Life, Liberty and Property in one of his many works. Jefferson was a great admirer of Locke.

It was written by Adams (I'm pretty sure) that one day he was spending an afternoon with Jefferson and Hamilton. They were at Jefferson's home in Philadelphia. When Hamilton asked Jefferson who the portraits on the wall were, Jefferson replied: "The three greatest men ever born. John Locke, Sir Francis Bacon, and Sir Isaac Newton."

Immediately Hamilton said, very bluntly, "Julius Caesar was the greatest man ever born."

This just goes to show that Jefferson is a true son of the Enlightenment (another source, French, where he got his ideas) and Hamilton was, well...not. :)

It was also true that Mr. J had to cut out a page brutalizing the slave trade. He had to do that because the Continental Congress needed the votes of the colonies so dependent upon slaves: the Carolinas, Georgia, &c.

Mr. J is a very eloquent writer.

Peace, love and the Declaration,
~~Lady Columbia~~

"All men are endowed by their creators with certain unalienable rights, among these being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
~Jefferson

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