Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-06-28
Thomas Jefferson.

We have repeatedly stated that Thomas JEFF
ferson was an advocate of american doctrines,
as n0p understood and maintained, and that
there is no instance which can be cited, where
in he proposed to remove any existing barrier
TO the naturalization of foreigners except on
the occasion of his election over Mr.. Adams,
his competitor, in the contest with whom, all
the nsturalzed foreigners in the country had
voted for Mr.. jefferson, and in Difference to
their wishes, he sanctioned a change in the
then existing term Of probation, which was
fourteen years. Mr.. Jefferson was by no means
free from that partisan feeling which prompted
such tribute of gratitude to his supporters,
and this change in the naturalization laws,
made under his auspices, is no proof that 1t
was the result of his sober judgment and calm
consideration. il was a sacrifice to the de-
mands of the foreign party.
To place Mr.. Jefferson's views on those
American principles which underlie the Organi-
ZatiOn of the present American party in their
proper light, we have only to advert to his
own writings, contained in his published works.
We inv tie the attention of our readers to the
9th volume of Jefferson's writings, page 453,
where will be found petition, drawn up by
him and sent TO the General Assembly Of Nir-
ginia in 1897, by the people of Albemarle and
ton, and present portion of it to day in the
very words used by Mr.. Jefferson, and record
cd in the volume above cited, az follows:
"And your petitioners further submit to the
wisdom of the two Horses of Assembly,
whether the safety of the citizens of this Com
monwealth, in their persons, their property,
their laws aud government, does not require
that the capacity TO act in the important office
of q Juror, grand or petty, civil or criminal,
should be restrained in future to native citizens
of the United States, or such as were citizens
at the date ofthe treaty of peace, which closed
our revolutionary war, and whether the ignO
rance of our laws, and natural partiality TO
the countries OF their birth, are not reasonable
causes for declaring This TO be one fthe rights
inconmunicable in future to adopted citizens" "
Docs not this proposition, of Mr.. Jefferson,
60 tar beyond the aims aud purposes Of the
present American party
Was Thomas J, tferson opposed TO "civil and
religious liberty ?" Who will assert that the
auihor of the act entitled An act for estdb
hshihg religious freedom, passed in the ASsena-
biz Of Vrgiaid ia the beginning Of the gear
1856, was opposed TO "civl and religions liber-
yn Aud yet eleven years after he had
draughted the above named act, he wrote the
petition from which we have made the above
eAIhO'' hHu uPOh "haI ground Old MI. Jel-
terson place his proposition to exclude for
eigners from dscharglng "the important Office
OF juror, grand or petty, civil or criminal 2"
He placed il on the ground of their 'ignoranOe
of our laws and natural Partially to the coun-
tries of their birth" This is precisely the
ground which the American party Of the
present day assumes. Are we not authorized
10 declare, that we, as dsci piles Of jefferson,
ara Justified in orr coursa by hie deliberate
opinions p Washington Organ.