The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-30

! or l7I6, although he had not hesitated
! 10 vote war supplies or even to com
mand a Pennsylvania regiment. all tho
force OF his intellect was given 10 on.
| posing tho Radicals in Congress. and
IN struggling against any measure so
lrreyocable as declaration of indie.
pcndence.
IL was Dickinson, then, who, when
! the debate began on Lee IS motion. was
first on his feet. His most practical
arguments were that such declaration
was premature, that the Colonies should
wait at least until they had perfected
their military arrangements and secured
if possible, the aid of France with
which country they were then nepotiat
ing The names of all who followed
Dickinson we do not know, bht AMONG
them We're able and loyal men-.John
Jay, james Wilson, James Duane. Rob
ert X. Livingston, Edward Rutledge-
but IT was evident from the beginning
or the debate that they were In the mi
nority. Tho delegates of seven colo
mIiesGctony in New England, three in
the South-were either instructed IN
vote for independence or leaned towards
1T; those of six colonies-New York.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland.
Delaware and South Carolina-were OBJ
posed to the resolution. In such a mat
ter unanlmlty was of tho utmost i'm
portance, and after three DAYS de.
bate II was decided to postpone a final
vote until the first day of July. and in
order that no time be lost a committee
was appointed 10 prepare declara.
llon suitable 10 lay before the world,
stating The grievances which drove
them TO separate from Great Britain.
fhls committee was appointed bv bal
lot on June II, and consisted accord
ing to the Journal, of the following gen
tlemen: g Mr.. Jefferson. Mr. J. Adams
MI, Franklin, Mr.. Sherman, and Mr.. r.
r. Livingstone.
Politics in Deal
Naturally. one would expect To find at
the head Of this committee Mr.. Lee. who
had presented the resolution That he
was not given the place seems to be due
to one OF those nice little matters of
State politics. which had quite as much
influence with the 90 Fathers as thev
have today Richard Henry Lee was
not beloved by his colleagues from Vir-
GINA, and Mr.. Jefferson was sent mp
TO rival and supplant him; so says John
Adams
Jefferson was comparatively new
man in Congress. He was only 80
years Of age at The time, and bad been
a member less than wear Even in
this time he had not been at all promi-
nent IN the debates of Congress- But If
silent IN debate, Jefferson had shown
himself prompt, frank, explicit, and
decisive upon committees and in con
versation. and was looked upon by all
Of the older members, searching for
young talent. as one of the most prom.
ising young men Virginia had sent up.
Particularly was he we'll regarded for
his abilities as writer. His public
documents had become famous through
ont the Colonies, and one of them had
circulated extensively in Great Brit
ain. As the talent needed in the Tew
committee was literary talent, il is
evident that Jefferson was promising
selection.
On the FIRST meeting of the commit
tee there seems to nave been a little
discussion about who really should do
the writing. Adams says he and JEFF
ferson were selected by the committee,
but that he insisted that Jefferson him
| self do it. Jefferson denies this, aud
says that the committee pressed him
alone TO undertake the draft This
slight discrepancy in the memory Of the
| two honorable gentlemen is of no i'm
| portance; il was Mr.. Jefferson who
wrote the Declaration.
|. He was living, at the time the task
was given him. in house rather on the
outskirts of Philadelphia, chosen pur-
| poscly because the neighborhood was
quiet. Here he had rented a second
whenever Congress was not in session,
| On coming up TO Philadelphia on this
| trip one of his first tasks had been to go
| 10 a carpenter and give him n plan Of Il
| desk he wanted made. The desk was
| fourteen inches long by ten in breadth
| and three in height, and it was on this
that through the long June days he
labored on the Declaration.
In Everyone Mouth.
II must be conceded by one who reads
the contemporary literature of the Rev
| olutiop, that the gist of the document
| which he produced was IN everybody
mouth. The words, declaration OF lnde-
| pendcnce, had been heard for long
| time on all sides. Nothing was more
| firmly embedded in the hearts of the
people than their right to ''life, liberty,
| and the pursuit of happiness, nothing
| stronger than their conviction that gov
! ernments exist TO insure these rights,
| and that they derive their just powers
| from tho consent OF the governed. me
| whole long list of grievances winch Jef-
| ferson enumerates, and which makes up
the body of the document, had been re-
| ported again and again from different
| narts of the country, What Jefferson
| did was to voice in the favorlte English
stvle of the day, the spirit OF indepen-
! denec abroad, and to state formally inc
| n1tlpTpnt HIltNAuEtH VI lhN ''il
onies as n justification Of revolution. 1t
was a great document, because 1T ex.
pressed more completely than had yet
| boen done n universal conviction, and
because of the genius for selection
which il showed In no sense was 1T an
| invention. ~.
that when he submitted it TO Adams and
Franklin, before handing it over fety 70 cdr tme
rociinne Jefferson then wrote out what
he calls a "fair copy" and turned it
over to the committeee, Of iva five; They hey
8 word of It. and on the 2Sth day OF
June the document was laid before Con
| gress. ,.., ,., 90
+b, cnrnsr of Market and Seventh street
was laboring over the Declaration atEnr ,tas tas
country from one end to .i"et tne o'4gT n Tas fhs
States where the sentiment for lnde,
pendcneo was stroGg.that th Is o,n,tofiaT IN fSw
- H -, q, md the Colonial Congresses,