Evening star., 1943-04-11
BY CLAUDE G. BOWERS,

JEFFERSON 6tcentennt0I Comn5aS.
sion.
BY CLAUDE G. BOWERS,
United States Ambassador to chile.
BY an act Of Congress. approved
BY the President, provision has beer
made for q national Observance o.
the 200th anniversary Of the birth
Of Thomas Jefferson, in which al
elements Of. our national life arr
asked to participate.
This decision for . national cele.
bration Is based upon the fact that
the activities and political philoso-
ply Of Jefferson gave body and SOU
to that which We call American
ISM" It has no relation to party
politics; 1t Is our Interpretation oi
nationalism; 1t Is our nag Of pa
triotism.
In the writing of the Declaration
of Independence Jefferson gave
vivid. concrete expression to the
democratic concept Of society which
was inherent in our people. It is 90
simple and easily understood that he
did 1t In a paragraph:
I'VE hold these truths to be SELF
evident, that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalien-
able rights; that among these are
life, liberty and the pursuit Of hap
piness; that to secure these rights
governments are instituted among
men. deriving their Just powers from
the consent Of the governed"
This Is the foundation stone Of
democracy.
Again he interpreted the spirit Of
the American people when. on the
completion Of the Constitution as 1t
came from the convention, he pro-
tested that no provision had been
made for the protection Of the peo-
pie against possible abuse Of
power. "A Bill Of Rights" he wrote,
us what any people Is entitled to
and which no government has a
right to refuse or rest on inference. !"
Reawakens Democratic Spirit.
From his post in Paris he wrote
the leaders among the Revolution
Ary fathers with whom he was SO
intimately associated, insisting on
this point: he urged this point of
view on Warrington and on Madi-
son, who was the most useful men,
Der Of the Constitutional Conven-
ton; he awakened anew the demo-
cratic spirit and put 1t on the march,
and in the end the Bill of Rights
was written into our fundamental
law.
This. written In the form Of the
first 10 amendments. Is the most
essential part OF the Constitution, If
liberty and democracy are our aim,
for the other parts, involving tho
mechanics Of our system, may be
changed Is conditions may necessi-
tate; but 50 long as the Bill Of
Rights remains we are q free people,
and no Government can deprive us
81 our liberties without usurpation
or revolution.
Every item in this Magma Charta
Of our freedom has been = vital part
of the political philosophy which
Jefferson had formulated in his
youth for his guidance Is 4 citizen.
Demanded Freedom Of Press.
He stood militantly for the free
dom of the press that the people
might be informed and intelligently
meet their democratic obligations; !;
that freedom Of speech is necessary:
that tyranny, or even its approach,
may be checked at once by driving
It into the open; that the writ Of
habeas corpus is essential as 4 pro-
lection Of the citizen against arbi.
trAry power, and that the sanctitS
Of the home cannot be violated with.
out due process Of law.
These are the sustaining pillars Of
the superstructure Of 4 free society.
An0 Jefferson made another con-
tribution to Americanism in leading
the bitter battle In Virginia which
ended In the adoption Of his statute
OF religious freedom.
He believed that Americanism
means the rendering unto Caesar
the things that are Caesars and
unto God the things that are God :,
and he knew. that 4 mans relation
to his Maker is beyond the legiti-
mate interference or dictation of any
Government, and that every citizen
must be guaranteed the right to
worship God according to the die
tAtes Of his conscience.
Epitaph Cites Authorship.
He made that Homeric fight: he
took the blows of the religiously in
tolerant. and it Is Significant Of his
estimate OF that contribution to the
happiness of man that in the
epitaph he prepared for his tomb
n