The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 3 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and PrivateJefferson, Thomas
History
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 3 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private
Jefferson, Thomas
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783; United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865
present year, have as full a portion of liberty dealt out to them, as the
nation can bear at present, considering how uninformed the mass of their
people is. This circumstance will prevent the immediate establishment
of the trial by jury. The palsied state of the executive in England is a
fortunate circumstance for France, as it will give her time to arrange her
affairs internally. The consolidation and funding their debts, will give
government a credit which will enable them to do what they please. For
the present year, the war will be confined to the two empires and Denmark,
against Turkey and Sweden. It is not yet evident whether Prussia will be
engaged. If the disturbances of Poland break out into overt acts, it will
be a power divided in itself, and so of no weight. Perhaps, by the next
year, England and France may be ready to take the field. It will depend on
the former principally; for the latter, though she may be then able, must
wish a little time to see her new arrangements well under way. The English
papers and English ministry say the King is well. He is better but not
well; no malady requires a longer time to insure against its return, than
insanity. Time alone can distinguish accidental insanity from habitual
lunacy.
The operations which have taken place in America lately, fill me with
pleasure. In the first place, they realize the confidence I had, that
whenever our affairs go obviously wrong, the good sense of the people will
interpose, and set them to rights. The example of changing a constitution,
by assembling the wise men of the State, instead of assembling armies,
will be worth as much to the world as the former examples we had given
them. The Constitution, too, which was the result of our deliberations,
is unquestionably the wisest ever yet presented to men, and some of the
accommodations of interest which it has adopted, are greatly pleasing
to me, who have before had occasions of seeing how difficult those
interests were to accommodate. A general concurrence of opinion seems
to authorize us to say, it has some defects. I am one of those who
think it a defect, that the important rights, not placed in security
by the frame of the Constitution itself, were not explicitly secured
by a supplementary declaration. There are rights which it is useless to
surrender to the government, and which governments have yet always been
found to invade. These are the rights of thinking, and publishing our
thoughts by speaking or writing; the right of free commerce; the right of
personal freedom. There are instruments for administering the government,
so peculiarly trust-worthy, that we should never leave the legislature
at liberty to change them. The new Constitution has secured these in
the executive and legislative department; but not in the judiciary. It
should have established trials by the people themselves, that is to say,
by jury. There are instruments so dangerous to the rights of the nation,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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