s
recorded by himself on his gravestone at Monticello, were his part in the
declaration of American independence, in the establishment of religious
freedom and in the foundation of the University at Virginia. He was the
most philosophic statesman of his time in America. Much of the subsequent
history of the United States was but the development of Jefferson's
political ideas. His public acts and declarations foreshadowed the policies
of his most worthy successors. The essentials of the Monroe Doctrine, of
the emancipation of slaves, as well as of the doctrine of State rights and
of American expansion, can all be traced back to him. Thus he has come to
be venerated by one of the two great political parties of America as "The
Father of Democracy."

[Sidenote: Jefferson's principles]

[Sidenote: Third term discountenanced]

Jefferson's principles were stated in his first inaugural address: "Equal
and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or
political; peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations,
entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments and
all their rights as the most competent of administrations for our domestic
concerns; the preservation of the general government in its whole
constitutional vigor, as a sheet anchor of peace at home and safety
abroad.... The supremacy of civil over military authority; economy in
public expense, honest payment of public debts; the diffusion of
information; freedom of religion; freedom of the press and freedom of the
person, under the protection of the habeas corpus and trial by jury." When
Jefferson's second term as President came to an end he retired from the
White House poorer than he had entered it. A third term was declined by him
with these words: "To lay down a public charge at the proper period is as
much a duty as to have borne it faithfully. If some termination to the
services of a chief magistrate be not fixed by the Constitution or supplied
by practice, this office, nominally four years, will in fact become for
life; and history shows how easily that degenerates into an inheritance."
Together with Washington's similar action, this established a custom which
has since been followed in the North American Republic.

[Sidenote: John Adams's career]

Jefferson's predecessor, John Adams, who died on the same day, though
likewise a model President, was less fortunate in his career. His
administration was a strug