Harris’ History Happenings

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future

-George Bernard Shaw

Historical Anecdotes

Thomas Jefferson: Sacred and Undeniable?

Thomas Jefferson was not responsible for the final version of the most stirring passage in the American Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Jefferson’s original draft read: “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, that all men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The Second Continental Congress cut or changed 500 of Jefferson’s words, “mutilations” for which he remained bitter for the rest of his life. (Years after the Constitutional Convention, he was still sending both versions to friends to ask which one they preferred.)

The final insult to Jefferson’s legacy came two centuries later, however, when the home in which he had drafted the Declaration of Independence was torn down - and replaced with a hamburger stand.


Jefferson Lives

John Adams, ever the patriot, died on July 4th, 1826 - the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. His last words? “Jefferson Lives.” Little did he know that Jefferson, incredibly, had also died on the 4th of July - just a few hours earlier.

(Jefferson’s last words? “Is it the Fourth? I resign my spirit to God, my daughter, and my country.”)

["I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival," Adams wrote to Abigail Smith Adams in July 1776. "It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by Solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfire and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." The day in question? July 2nd (the day the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from England).]