_The Declaration of Separation--The Declaration of
Independence--Washington Commander-in-Chief--John Paul Jones Raises
the First Flag--He was First to Raise the Stars and
Stripes--Fredericksburg Furnishes the Head of the Armies and Navy--The
Constitution of the United States, &c._
As stated in the last chapter, we continue in this references to the great
deeds of the great men of Virginia that should be grouped, as we are here
endeavoring to do, in the smallest possible space, and preserved to
perpetuate their memory and honor their descendants through all coming
time. It was Thomas Jefferson, of Albemarle county, a Virginian, who wrote
the Declaration of Independence, that struck the shackles of servitude
from the people of this country, and proclaimed the United Colonies a
new-born nation, free and independent.
JEFFERSON AND THE DECLARATION.
A lineal descendant of Thomas Jefferson, three generations removed, Judge
John E. Mason, thus writes on these subjects, for this publication:
"Some years before the Revolutionary war, the colony of Virginia had
become restless under British dominion. There had been, here and there,
open expressions of discontent, and a growing resentment, if not positive
hostility, against the mother country. In fact, nowhere more than in
Virginia, and especially in this section, had the spirit of independence
more steadily grown; and when the time came for decision and concert of
action by the colonies, public opinion here was ripe to break down the old
barriers, and to resist, with force, the power of England.
"Among those who had taken a most active part in moulding public sentiment
was Thomas Jefferson, who, because of his extreme views in antagonizing
every element of English ideas, and its government as based upon an
aristocracy, has sometimes been called the 'Great Commoner.' Whether he,
more than others, who were upon the stage of action at that time, is
entitled to the name, those who know his history must be the judge; but
certain it is, he was in advance of many of his contemporaries in
developing antagonism to ancient ideas and ancient customs, which were the
pride of the British people.
"On the 6th of May, 1776, the delegates from the counties and cities of
the Colony of Virginia, met in convention at its capitol in Williamsburg,
Edmund Pendleton presiding. During this convention certain resolutions
were reported from committee by Archibald Cary, which were unanimously
adopted by the one hundred and twelve members present. The first of these
resolutions--said to have been proposed by Thomas Nelson, and drawn as
reported by Edmund Pendleton, but no doubt the work of both--after
reciting certain grievances against the mother country, declared that the
'delegates appointed to represent the colony in the General Congress, be
instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United
Colonies free and independent States, absolved from all allegiance to or
dependence upon the Crown or Parliament of Great Britain.'
"In Congress, on the 7th day of June, 1776, the gifted Richard Henry Lee,
from this section, in obedience to instructions, offered the same
resolution, which had been adopted by the Virginia Convention--that
Congress should 'declare that the United Colonies are, and of right ought
to be, free and independent States.' This resolution was the precursor of
the formal declaration. It was offered by a Virginian, acting under
instructions given by Virginians, and its answer was the Declaration of
Independence.
"The debate began on this resolution on the 8th of June, but on the 10th,
it having developed that five colonies north of the Potomac were not ready
to vote, the final decision was then postponed until the first day of
July. In the meantime a committee had been elected to draft a Declaration
of Independence. Mr. Lee, the mover of the above resolution, was
unexpectedly called home by the illness of his wife, and was not on the
committee. The committee was not appointed by the presiding officer, but
was elected by ballot by Congress, and Jefferson, having received the
highest number of votes cast, was its chairman. Its work was completed by
the 28th of June. The Declaration of Independence was, on that date,
reported to the House by Jefferson, and was then read and ordered to lie
on the table. The Virginia resolution was carried in the affirmative, in
the Committee of the Whole July 1st. On the 2nd day the Declaration of
Independence was taken up and debated each day until the fourth, when it
was adopted. It will be observed that the Declaration was completed before
Congress had adopted the Virginia resolution.
"The committee, elected to draft the Declaration of Independence,
consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger
Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. Mr. Jefferson drew the Declaration of
Independence at the request of the other members of the committee. Had
another been its author, we believe the Declaration would have been
different in tone, while, of course, the leading principles would have
been the same. Many members were conservative, while Jefferson was
radical. They had in view chiefly independence and freedom; Jefferson had
the same opinions, but even then contemplated a complete revolution in the
existing conditions--for anything which, in the slightest degree, partook
of the nature of the government of Great Britain, her customs or
traditions, was odious to him. He wished an irrevocable change, so that
the new would supersede the old beyond recall.
"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.
"This committee of distinguished men met in Fredericksburg on the 13th day
of February, 1777. Here various propositions were submitted and
discussed--Mason, Wythe and Jefferson almost always agreeing and voting
together, and Pendleton, of all, being the most unwilling to depart from
the old conditions, except, to the astonishment of the committee, he
proposed a new system, that all common law and equity jurisprudence,
which had received the sanction of ages, should be abrogated--a new
institute, after the model of Justinian or Bracton, should be reported,
thus giving us what is called, in this day, a code law, which would have
been set afloat, without a precedent to guide it, and to construe which,
would have taken our courts from that time to this.
"After this committee had agreed on measures and propositions, and the
general outline of the system to be pursued, Mason and Lee, having given
the other members the benefit of their advice, retired from further
participation in its labors, because they were not lawyers, and left the
work to be done by the other three members, who then divided it, and
completed the arduous task in 1779.
"There were four measures proposed by Jefferson before the full committee,
then sitting in Fredericksburg, which were his especial pride, and these
were the repeal of the laws of entail, the abolition of primogeniture, the
establishment of a system of public education, and the act for the
establishment of religious freedom. These four bills, he himself
afterwards said, he 'considered as forming a system by which every fibre
would be eradicated of ancient, or future, aristocracy, and a foundation
laid for a government truly republican.'
"To use his own language again, 'the repeal of the laws of entail would
prevent the accumulation and perpetuation of wealth in select families and
preserve the soil of the country from being more and more absorbed in
mortmain.'
"Not only was the abolition of the laws of entail resisted by some of the
best talent in Virginia, but when Jefferson proposed to abolish also the
law of primogeniture--a relic of feudalism--there was strong opposition
from the same sources--men who had risked fortunes and lives in the
struggle for independence, but who were unwilling to join Jefferson in his
attack upon institutions whose very age commanded veneration. One of the
chief opponents of Jefferson was Edmund Pendleton, his friend, whose
candor, great ability and benevolence in all these struggles won his
admiration.
"It was Pendleton, who, when he found the old law could not prevail,
suggested that the Hebrew principle be adopted, by which the eldest son
should inherit double the amount of real estate which would descend to the
heirs of the ancestor. The reply of Jefferson was characteristic and
terse--'I observed,' he says, 'that if the eldest son could eat twice as
much and do double work, it might be a natural evidence of his right to a
double portion; but being on a par, in his powers and wants, with his
brothers and sisters, he should be on a par also in the partition of the
patrimony.'
[Illustration: The Old Planters' Hotel. The stone in front was used as a
"stand" for slaves when hired or sold at public "outcry." (See page 165)]
[Illustration: The Opera House. It occupies the ground of the bank and
other buildings burnt at the bombardment, December 11, 1862. (See page
269)]
"The statute of descents in Virginia was drawn by him--a statute which has
justice and 'natural right' in every line, and so clear and perspicuous is
it, that in all these years only one serious question has been raised
regarding it, calling for a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
"Jefferson gave an impetus to public education which is felt at this time.
He proposed to the General Assembly of Virginia three bills: the first,
establishing elementary free schools for all children; the second, for
colleges; and the third, for the highest grade of sciences. Only the first
of these was passed by the Assembly, and before this was done it was so
amended that it could not be operative unless the county courts so
decided. Now, as the justices who presided over these courts, while among
the most honorable and talented men in Virginia, were generally of a class
who did not care to bear the taxes necessarily entailed upon them by the
adoption of the system, no free schools were established in any county
within the Commonwealth under this act, with possibly the exception of one
county.
"It was a fact that our ancestors, especially when under the English
system of government, did not favor education at public expense, and the
royal Governors, as a rule, threw the weight of their influence against
it. But after the Revolutionary war had closed, and the government of the
States was made a government by the people, Virginians, like Jefferson,
proceeded on the theory that to have a good government, the people--the
sovereigns--must be educated, so that they would take, not only a deeper
interest in the affairs of State, but would do so with intelligence--the
more knowledge disseminated the better would be the government, and the
less danger there would be of its falling into the hands of a favored and
exclusive class.
"The principle of free education, however, so earnestly forced to the
front by Jefferson, eventually bore fruit, though the ripening was slow.
It was gradually adopted by the people of Virginia, until now a system,
backed by a sound public sentiment, is established in every county and
city in the State, and the doors of the colleges are open to those who
have not been favored with fortune. It may be safely predicted that when
the State shall have fully recovered from the wreck and havoc of the Civil
war, that a complete and thorough system will be established, such as that
which was first proposed by Jefferson, and the people of the State will
rejoice to see it done.
"No more important measure was proposed to the committee which met in
Fredericksburg, on the 13th of January, 1777, than that of Jefferson's for
the establishment of religious freedom, just as it now appears, with
slight modifications in the preamble, in the statute books to-day. The
fact that this act was written in Fredericksburg, we have never heard
questioned; and the people of this city have the same right to claim that
this 'second declaration' had its birth here, that the people of
Philadelphia have to claim that city as the birth-place of the first. It
was, however, a long time before its advocates were able to secure its
passage by the Legislature. Having been written in 1777, it did not become
the law of the land until 1785.
"In making his fight for religious freedom, the courage, the persistence
and the power of this statesman shone in all their splendor. We consider
this as his most difficult task, but it is his crowning glory. He had
arrayed against him the advocates of a long cherished policy, sustained by
law; one around which tradition had woven a peculiar sanctity, and he who
would lift his hand against it was deemed guilty of sacrilege. There, too,
were the clergy, strong in resistance, backed, as they were, by a wealthy
and powerful class, Jefferson himself belonging to a family whose members,
though loyal in exacting faithful obedience to changes in existing
conditions, loved this church and worshipped in its sacred, but State
protected walls; yet, in spite of all of this, believing that freedom of
conscience was one of the 'inalienable and natural rights,' with a
boldness, which all must commend; with a persistence, which all must
admire, he headed the forces which took the last citadels of monarchial
institutions and leveled them to the ground, thus forever separating
church and State and eliminating the combination of political policy and
religion, so that henceforth no man could be 'compelled to frequent or
support any religious worship, place or ministry, but all men shall be
free to profess, and by argument maintain, their opinions in matters of
religion, and the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or effect their
civil capacity.'
"In justice to those who were adherents to the established church, it must
be said that some supported Jefferson, and after the change came, none
were more devoted in maintaining the statute, and all others of kindred
import; many being in positions charged with their proper enforcement,
gave them sound judicial interpretation in exact conformity to all
theories of the newly formed government.
"This act for the establishment of religious freedom is not only a
monument to him, as a liberator of men, but its elegant diction, its easy
and smoothly flowing style, show his genius as a writer. It is worthy of
note, its preamble contains over five hundred words, yet it is but one
sentence; only finished in the body of the act itself, where the first
period appears; and, although he says this preamble was somewhat mutilated
by others, there is nothing doubtful or uncertain as to its meaning,
purpose and scope.
"To do full justice to the subject in hand would require a volume, but we
must content ourselves with what has been written to show in part the
wonderful and rapid changes then made in old and settled conditions, and
the powerful influence this section had in moulding a government based on
'natural rights and justice,' and in shaping its destinies."
WASHINGTON GAINS INDEPENDENCE.
It was George Washington, a native of Westmoreland county, raised in
Fredericksburg, who led the American armies in the Revolutionary war and
gained American independence. He was called the "Great and Good
Washington." He was truly great. He was great in the eyes of Americans; he
was great in the eyes of his opposing enemies; he was great in the eyes of
the world. He was an uncrowned king, because he refused to be crowned. We
cannot properly appreciate his greatness, because he was so great we have
no one to compare him with.
It is said a famous scholar has written a long essay in which he argued
that the "traditional Washington" must give place to the new Washington.
Referring to this, Senator Lodge says: "This is true in one sense. A new
idea of Washington comes up in the mind of each generation, as it learns
the story of the father of this country; but in another sense, the idea of
a new Washington is wrong. He cannot be discovered anew, because there
never was but one Washington."
As to the esteem in which Washington is held all over the world, Senator
Lodge says: "Even Englishmen, the most unsparing critics of us, have done
homage to Washington from the time of Byron and Fox to the present day.
France has always revered his name. In distant lands, people who have
hardly heard of the United States know the name of Washington. Nothing
could better show the regard of the world for this great giver of liberty
to the people than the way in which contributions came from all nations to
his monument in Washington. There are stones from Greece, fragments of the
Parthenon. There are stones from Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Switzerland, Siam
and India. In sending her tribute, China said: 'In devising plans,
Washington was more decided than Ching Shing or Woo Kwang; in winning a
country, he was braver than Tsau Tsau or Ling Po. Wielding his four-footed
falchion, he extended the frontiers, and refused to accept the royal
dignity. The sentiments of the three dynasties have reappeared in him. Can
any man of ancient or modern times fail to pronounce Washington peerless?'
These comparisons, which are so strange to our ears, and which sound
stranger still when used in comparison with Washington, show that his name
has reached further than we can comprehend."
Speaking of the Declaration of Independence, Maury says:
"From beginning to end it was the work of Virginia. A Virginia planter
(Mason) conceived it; a Virginia lawyer (Jefferson) drafted it; and a
Virginia soldier (Washington) defended it and made it a living
reality."
FIRST FLAG RAISED BY JOHN PAUL JONES.
It was John Paul Jones, a Fredericksburg man, who raised the first flag
over our infant navy, and the first to throw our National flag--the Stars
and Stripes--to the breeze of heaven. The National Portrait Gallery,
volume 1, giving a short sketch of Jones's life, says: "On the
organization of the infant navy of the United States, in 1775, John Paul
Jones received the appointment of first of the first lieutenants in the
service, in which, in his station on the flag-ship Alfred, he claimed the
honor of being the foremost on the approach of the Commander-in-Chief,
Commodore Hopkins, to raise the new American flag. This was the old device
of a rattlesnake coiled on a yellow ground, with the motto, '_Don't tread
on me_,' which is yet partially retained in the seal of the war-office. *
* * By the resolution of June 14, 1777, he was appointed to the Ranger,
newly built at Portsmouth--a second instance of the kind--had the honor of
hoisting for the first time the new flag of the Stars and Stripes."
HEADS OF THE ARMY AND NAVY.
It was Fredericksburg that gave to the country the head of the armies of
the United States in the great war for independence, in the person of the
peerless Washington, and also furnished the greatest naval commander of
that war in the person of the dauntless John Paul Jones. In addition to
Washington, the small town of Fredericksburg sent to the field during the
great Revolution five other generals--Gen. Hugh Mercer, Gen. George
Weedon, Gen. Wm. Woodford, Gen. Thomas Posey and Gen. Gustavus B. Wallace,
besides many officers of the line of high rank.
MADISON THE FATHER OF THE CONSTITUTION.
It was James Madison, of Orange county, a Virginian, born a few miles
below Fredericksburg, at Port Conway, in King George county, who gave
that wonderful instrument, the Constitution of the United States, to the
country, that has been described as the "grand palladium of our liberty,
the golden chain of our union, the broad banner of freemen, a terror to
tyrants and a shining light to patriots."
Hon. James D. Richardson, of Tennessee, in his great work of compiling the
messages and papers of the Presidents, with short biographical sketches of
each, after recounting the labors, works and achievements of Mr. Madison,
says: "It was not for these things or any of them his fame is to endure.
His act and policy in the framing of the marvellous instrument, the
constitution of our country, his matchless advocacy of it with his voice
and pen, and his adherence to its provisions at all times and in all
exigencies, obtained for him the proudest title ever bestowed upon a man,
the title of the 'Father of the Constitution.' It is for this 'act and
policy' he will be remembered by posterity."
JUDGE WALLACE ON THE CONSTITUTION.
Hon. A. Wellington Wallace, at one time Judge of the Corporation Court of
Fredericksburg, contributes for this work the following paper on the
Constitution of the United States:
"No historical sketch of Fredericksburg and its locality would be complete
without at least an epitome of the constitutional form of government of
the United States; for within a radius of seventy-five miles from
Fredericksburg were reared the leading men who inspired the Federal
Constitution. There are few, if any, similar areas in magnitude that can
furnish, in one epoch of time, such a splendid galaxy of names. George
Washington, Richard Henry Lee, James Madison, Patrick Henry, John Blair,
George Wythe, Edmund Randolph, and George Mason, the deputies appointed by
Virginia to frame the Federal Constitution, were natives of this
territory.
"The inspiration given to the men of the age when our constitution was
framed, was a wonder to the world. No nation had ever attempted by a
written paper to provide a fundamental basis for government to last for
all time and to provide for every emergency which might arise. The
British Constitution, which had been the maternal chart of government
before the Revolution, was a collective name for the principles of public
policy on which the government of the United Kingdom was based. It was not
formulated in any document, but the gradual development of the political
intelligence of the English people, resulting from concessions from the
Crown, successive revolutions, numerous enactments of Parliament and from
the established principles of the common law. But here in this new
country, by young men, born in the territory around Fredericksburg, was
inaugurated a departure from the traditions of our ancestors to govern by
a written fundamental law, a nation, whose progress thereunder has been
phenomenal and has been, and will ever be, a continuing cause of
astonishment to the civilized world.
"As has been stated in this chapter, the Constitution of Virginia, of
1777, drawn by George Mason, was the first written constitution.
Subsequently, the several colonies that revolted against Great Britain,
entered into written articles of confederation for the common defense and
for government in time of war, but when the independence of the United
States had been recognized by Great Britain, these articles of
confederation were found totally inadequate for the powers of government.
"The power of making war, peace and treaties, of levying money and
regulating commerce and the corresponding judicial and executive
authorities, were not fully and effectually vested in the Federal Union;
so it became necessary that the freed colonies should either become weak,
independent sovereignties, or should be bound together by stronger
obligations, and, that for the general welfare, the separate sovereignties
should surrender certain rights and powers to central control. With a view
to this object, on the 21st day of January, 1786, a resolution passed the
Legislature of Virginia for the appointment of five commissioners, any
three of whom might act, to meet similar commissioners from other States
of the Union; and, under this resolution, the commissioners appointed
fixed the first meeting in September following as the time, and the city
of Annapolis, Maryland, as the place of meeting.
"Edmund Randolph, James Madison and Saint George Tucker attended,
representing Virginia, and, as a result of this conference a convention
was called of all the States, to be held in Philadelphia, on the 25th day
of May, 1787, and to that convention Virginia sent the deputies mentioned
before in this paper, and, of these deputies, George Washington was chosen
president of the assembled body. An extended account of the proceedings of
that convention would be inappropriate in this brief narration. It is
sufficient to state that the convention adjourned, having completed its
work on the 17th day of September, following its meeting, and that while
all the Virginia delegates assisted in the work of the convention, only
three of the delegates, George Washington, James Madison and James Blair,
signed the Constitution.
"The Constitution went into effect on the 4th day of March, 1789, although
George Washington, the first President of the United States under it, was
not inaugurated until the 13th day of April--eleven of the thirteen States
having ratified it, the others, North Carolina and Rhode Island, not
ratifying, the former until November 21, 1789, and the latter until May
29, 1790.
"The Constitution is a document comprised in seven original articles and
fifteen amendments. Of the original articles the first deals with the
legislative body, prescribing the mode of election to the House of
Representatives and the Senate, the qualifications of members, the method
by which bills shall be passed, and those subjects on which Congress shall
be qualified to act. The second relates to the Executive Department,
prescribing the method of election and qualifications and duties of the
President. The third relates to the Judicial Department, providing for the
Supreme Court and such other inferior courts as Congress may think
necessary. The fourth deals with the relations of the Federal Government
and the separate States, and provides for the admission of new States. The
fifth relates to the power and method of amendments to the Constitution;
the sixth to the National Supremacy, and the seventh to the establishment
of the government upon the ratification of the Constitution by nine of the
States.
"The amendments, according to one of the methods provided, were
proposed by Congress and ratified by the States. The first twelve were
submitted under acts passed in 1789, 1790, 1793 and 1803, and the last
three after the Civil war, under acts of 1865, 1868 and 1870. The most
important of the amendments are the twelfth, which changed the method of
electing the President and Vice-President to the existing method; the
thirteenth, which abolishes slavery; the fourteenth, which disqualifies
any one who has been engaged in rebellion against the government from
holding office, unless his disqualification has been removed by Congress,
and prevents the assumption and payment of any debt incurred in aid of
rebellion; and the fifteenth, which prohibits the denial to any one the
right to vote because of race, color or previous condition of servitude.
[Illustration: Shiloh Baptist Church, New Site (colored.) (See page 215)]
[Illustration: The Church of God and Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ
(colored.) (See page 216)]
"This is an epitome of the Constitution of the United States, by virtue of
which the government has been maintained to the present time; and the
principles laid down therein were, to a very large extent, the suggestions
of the men we have mentioned from the locality of Fredericksburg. The
Republic based upon this Constitution was an experiment, but it has, for
more than a century, withstood the most terrific shocks of the most
troublous times. It has waged foreign wars successfully; wild party spirit
has always been foiled in efforts to undermine it; the bloodiest
internecine strife in the world's history, sustained on both sides by
unsurpassed valor, has but cemented its strength and prosperity at home
and its power and prestige abroad; from thirteen small, feeble colonies,
it has become a great nation of nearly eighty millions of people, its
domain not only spreading from ocean to ocean, but extending far over the
seas, and the protecting ægis of the Constitution, and the laws passed
thereunder, guarding every race from every clime.
"No more splendid apostrophe to the Constitution could be added than the
tribute of Mr. Gladstone, of England, the ablest advocate of human rights
the century just closed has produced, when he said, in substance, that it
was the grandest and greatest compendium of principles that had ever
emanated from the brain, or been written down by the pen, of man."