f-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to
alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its
foundations, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." Democratic
principles cannot be more clearly expressed than in the language above
quoted, nor can any creed be more clearly defined. It is but just to
state, therefore, that no individual American represents more
distinctively the constructive power of the principles of popular
government than Thomas Jefferson, who was then as now the greatest of
all Virginians save one--Washington. In all of his public acts he was
upheld by his confidence in the people, and he was so tactful at all
times that he never allowed himself to wander at any great distance
from the masses of his fellows. His faith in the reserve power of the
people was imposing, and by this trustfulness he stamped himself as the
matchless leader of his times, and among the greatest leaders of all
times. Excepting, perhaps, Washington and Lincoln, the name of
Jefferson is the most conspicuous of all Americans, and will endure
longest in the annals of the history of the Great Republic, because it
must be conceded that his theories of government have had more
influence upon the public life of America than those of any other
American citizen, living or dead.

There was a sympathy between his heart and the great popular heart,
which time and conditions have never shaken. Expressions from his
writings have become axioms, creeds and rallying cries to great
multitudes of his countrymen. Three quarters of a century have elapsed
since his death, and yet his ideas, doctrines and teachings are still
quoted and accepted without any apparent diminution of their influence.
Cicero had in mind an exact prototype of Jefferson when he said,
"_Homines ad deos nulla re propius accedunt quam salutem hominibus
dando._"[1]

[1] There is no way by which man can approach nearer to the gods
than by contributing to the welfare of their fellow creatures.

Authentic history shows a