"When, in framing that great document, he wrote these words: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,' * * * it doubtless did not require a prophet to tell what his future course would be, or the principles, considered radical then, for which he would stand, or the wonderful influence 'these truths' would have in forming constitutions and shaping legislation, State and national, provided the British were beaten on the field of battle. "It is worthy of note that the Declaration of Independence, as it came from his hands, suffered little change, except in two instances. He inserted in the original draft what might be called an emancipation proclamation--a clause condemning as piratical warfare against human nature itself, the enslaving of Africans--the slave trade being then sanctioned by North and South--the former being carriers and the latter principally buyers--a business which Virginia would, years before, have prohibited had she not been met, in every effort, by royal vetoes. The other change was made by striking out some animadversions upon the English people. This was done by those who yet hoped for reconciliation, or something, they knew not what, which might avert the desperate struggle. "To those who believe in freedom of thought and action; in the sovereignty of the people; in the equality of all men before the law, based upon constitutional rights, restrictions and limitations, made by the wisdom of the greatest men this world has ever produced; in opening the door to promotion to all men whose talents, integrity and general high characters entitle them to such honors, the Declaration of Independence must forever commend itself; and it seems to the writer that upon the strict adherence to the principles, therein enunciated, rests the very life of the government of the United States. "There are many other great things which came from the brain of Jefferson besides the Declaration of Independence, though the Declaration may have been the basis of all. The principles of the Declaration having been once established, these followed as a natural sequence. In a limited space only a few can be simply noted. After he retired from Congress, in 1776, to become a member of the Virginia Legislature, he presented, in the session of that year, a bill for the revisal of the laws of the State, which was soon passed, and Jefferson, Pendleton, Wythe, George Mason and Thomas L. Lee were appointed a committee for revision.