Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-03-23
Fiue Minutes A Day
With Our Presidents
By JAMES MORGAN,
Jefferson-the First Progressive
By JAMES MORGAN

JeferSOn-the First Progressive
The first and still the foremost
Progressive In American statesman
ship often has been accused of taking
his opinions from the French Revo-
luton and of importing foreign Ideas
into this country. Any one who Will
read the Declaration of Independence
and the bills written by the same
hand, in the same year of 1776 will
find Thomas Jefferson already a rev.
olutionist years before he saw France,
attended the National Assembly, lis
tened to Mirabeau and watched the
fall of the BaStile.
After the Declaration had been
adopted Jefferson fastened to Vir-
ginia to tear up by the roots that Old
Dominion of Kings and make it over
into a free state. A~bolishing entail,
he pulled out the cornerstone, n
a%bolishing ~primogeniture, he pulled
out the foundations of an hereditary
| a~ristocracy. Disestablishing the Epis-
copal church, he smashed a religious
monopoly. Remaking all the courts
and laws, he swept away the barbartc
penalties of an old code. Could he
have had his way altogether, the
| transformation would have been COM
plete, with q schoolhouse at every
| crossroads, and with never another
| child born into slavery.
While he was wiping out primogeu-
iture, q conservative begged him at
| least to let the oldest son inherit a
double share in an estate. The icono-
| clast refused, unless the first born
| can eat and produce twice as much
/ as any of the other Children
Although he abolished the slave
trade, Jefferson wished to stop the
coming Of slaves from Heaven as we'll
as from Africa, by freeing all black
children at birth. Being thwarted IN
.t.- lA ef,r1nl Oyrnp nffnr II
tremble for my country when / re-
dect that God Is just"
In the armed revolution this reyo-
lutionist took no hand. Bold as a lion
in council, he was a dove in a
When the British burs upon Virginia
J at the outset of the yorktown cam
paign he was governor. The best he
could do to save the author of the
Declaration Of Independence from
he Tower of London was to gallon
down one slope of Monticello Will
the red coats spurred their horses III
the other side of the hill.
While Jefferson still felt after
year the sting of censure for the un-
preparedness Of the state, the grea'
and lasting sorrow of his life fell up
on him at the death of his wife. FOL
four months he was not out of the
sound of her voice, as she lay dying
in their unique suite at Monticello
where their bed stood in an alcovt
between two rooms, so that on rising
he could step into his roo and sht
into hers. They were all the more g
devoted couple for having been Sc
often called to mourn together thu
loss of their children, four of whom
out of six died in infancy or child
hood, The mothers asst wish wa
hat the little girls she was leaving
should never have a stepmother, ant
-nk-~ xxyi%h tho un fhn
her husband kept through the re
manning forty-four years of a lf'
tenderIy faithful to the bride OF hi
youth.
Il After weeks of despairing sadnes
Jefferson turned with relief from tn
haunted scene to re-enter congress
That body being engaged in castin
Loft the pounds. shillings and pence o
England, he introduced the dollar a
; the new unit, with its dimes an
!. forever when the members r~ejecte
, cents, A happy chance was nisse
his further proposal to start tn
: Young nation on the basis of the dec
NAL system In weights and measure.
rom congress he was sent as mir
: lister to the court of France. You re
Mace DR.. Franklin" the Count Vel
pannes said to him ON his arrival
Paris. Il succeed him." the new Ell
voy happily replied: mo one can r.
place DIR. Franklin"
France did not make Jefferson
damocrat; she only confirmed his NJ
Z tive hatred of monarchs and noble
Seeing the King and Queen at We
/. sailles, he called Louis VXI a fool al
T. Marie Antoanette something wors
Visiting the peasants in their hove
he declared that out of twenty milf
French people nineteen million we
au more miserable than the wretc
edest person In America.
By nature and training the y
were as opposite in their politic
oninions as in their chairs, n IN
. found themselves. as Jefferson sa'
Soitted like fighting cocks AS Tn
fought and the feathers few-a gre
crowd collected behind each to ur
Ion its favorite in that cooking me
over which Washington had n U
Happiness to preside. Quickly
the people in the land took one 81
or the other and formed themsel,
into the two political parties viii
with changing names and changi
disputes, have divided the country
this day.
published by special arrangems