Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-30
DID THOMAS JEFFERSON PLAGIA.
BIZE THE DECLARATI0S OF
AMERICAN IEnEPENDENCE2

Messrs. Editors -. The Press and
Herald Of Saturday last, scouts the
Imputation that Thomas Jefferson in
drafting the Declaration Of Indepen
dence, plagiarized that famous docu-
ment from any source whatever.
According to my best recollections
Of the studies Of my younger years,
Thomas Jefferson borrowed the leading
ideas and some Of the finest language
Of this celebrated State paper from
John LOcke's essays on Govern
msnt-those renowned treatises which
swept away the sophistries Of Elmer
and others Of his day, who commended
that the King cal do no wrong" and
which demonstrated the night Of a
people to revoluti0nize their govern
ment whcnt 1t became oppressive.
TIE coincidence of sentiment and
language IN the Mecklenburg and JET
| ferson's Declaration, and the plausible
| evidence of originality On both sides,
is indeed tie mystery which John
Adams describes it to be. To adJudge
Jefferson guilty Of plagiarism from
the great metaphysician, and from the
North Carolina patriots also, would be
| raJh- + severe upon the memory Of the
Virginia statesman. Might 1t not be
a plausible solution Of the historical
difficulties Of the case TO infer that all
were students Of John Locke then
more read than now and found his
views Of Government and State policy
admirably adapted to the contingent
cies Of the timesg SEEEX.
Knoxville, April y, 1876.
We find the above interesting COM
m-urication in the KuoeUiTc Press and
Herald of Wednesday, and suspect DR..
J. G. NJ. Ramsey Of the authorship. It
would form a ~cuiously instructive
chapter % trace The similarity q
thought am. expression between Locke
and Jeiferssa, giving the specific pas
sages in the formers essays which
grew into the form of the l~atter's
Declaration Of independence. The
more silent expressions, On which the
elder Adams charged jefferson with
~plagiarizing from the Uccklenburg
Declaration, occur only IN the docu-
ment dated May 20, l175; and not N
that Of May 81, found by Peter Force
in the newspapers of that day, and af-
tcraard Icy Bancroft in the British
archives. These expressions are IN
harcut and i~naIienablc rights" ARE
and O. right ought to be a free and IN
dependent people" and the pledge Of
"our lives, our fortunes and our most
sacred honor Jefferson showed how
little lac cared for this charge
Of Adams, by frankly stating that
heNad borrowed these phrases from a
resolution iatroducedby Richard Henry
Lee in the Continental Congress
July ,, l176, only two days before the
adoption # Jehersou's immortal Decla-
ration. Nor is it probable, as We sug
gested some weeks ago, that Light
Horse Harry ~pIagiarized from the men
Of Meckleuburg. The document dated
May 20, l775, does not profess to be
an original one, but is an attempt Of
John McKnitJ Alexander. the s~ecreta-
~ Of the meeting held on that day, to
reproduce, twenty-five years after, the
substance of the resolutions then adopt
ed, the original document having been
burned with his dwelling. Under the
circumstances, it is not unnatural that
the old man should have, u~nintention-
ally, drifted into some OF Jefferson's
which had, by that time, the
year 1900, become household words
with every lover Of freedom throughout
the world.