Free Republic

Making good on a promise to a friend to summarize his views on Christianity, Thomas Jefferson set to work with scissors, snipping out every miracle and inconsistency he could find in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then, relying on a cut-and-paste technique, he reassembled the excerpts into what he believed was a more coherent narrative and pasted them onto blank paper -- alongside translations in French, Greek and Latin. In a letter sent from Monticello to John Adams in 1813, Jefferson said his "wee little book" of 46 pages was based on a lifetime of...

On this 4th of July, President Bush attended the 46th Annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony at Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia (Transcript) Those of you taking the oath of citizenship at this ceremony hail from 30 different nations. You represent many different ethnicities and races and religions. But you all have one thing in common -- and that is a shared love of freedom. This love of liberty is what binds our nation together, and this is the love that makes us all Americans. You may have heard about the uninvited guests at today's ceremony. More on that...

A Wax Figure of Thomas Jefferson at Tussad's Wax Museum. Very lifelike.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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,...

President Bush traveled to the home of Thomas Jefferson Friday to help swear in new U.S. citizens as part of Independence Day celebrations. "When you raise your hands and take the oath you will complete an incredible journey. This journey has taken you from many different countries and has now made you one people," Bush said at the naturalization ceremony at historic Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. "From this day forward, the history of the United States will be part of your heritage. The Fourth of July will be a part of your independence day and I will be honored to...

Mary Patricia McFadyen, a native of Scotland, stepped up to the microphone just moments after being sworn in as an American citizen and thanked her friends and neighbors. But, she added, President Bush was also a powerful influence in her decision. “Mr. President, I’d like to thank you for inspiring me to complete this process,” she said. “Without you, this day may have never come.” For new citizens like McFadyen, it seemed especially fitting that the president honored 72 new citizens and reflected on Thomas Jefferson’s legacy during the 46th annual Independence Day and Naturalization Ceremony at Monticello.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. – President George W. Bush will attend the July 4 event at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, the White House has announced. Bush will be the featured speaker at Monticello’s 46th annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. He will become the fourth sitting president to participate in Independence Day activities at Monticello, joining Franklin D. Roosevelt (1936), Harry S. Truman (1947), and Gerald R. Ford (1976). “We are truly honored to have President Bush as our featured speaker on July 4, and regard it as a great compliment that he has chosen to spend part of the...

What follows is Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence from his Autobiography. A good portion of the text was deleted or changed by the Congressional delegates; these deletions are indicated by brackets (the last two paragraphs, Jefferson's original and Congress's version are presented side by side in Jefferson's text and here); changes made by Congress are also in brackets but are clearly marked. It was very important to Jefferson that he preserve his original document alongside the version eventually signed. Why? What are the significant differences? What do you make of these deletions? In the second paragraph,...

My name is Paulie Abeles and until two days ago, most people knew me as a typical busy wife and mom. I am a life-long Democrat. My father, a triple eagle at Boston College, campaigned for JFK’s first Senate campaign; my mother actively supported Democratic candidates. My parents instilled in me a strong sense of fairness and equality, a thirst for knowledge, and an expectation that intelligent discussion should be based on well-researched facts. I graduated from Smith College and have worked for Salomon Brothers, The Stars & Stripes, and The Freight Forwarders Council.I have spent the past six months...

I do not argue that the problems of early 21st-century Europe are identical to those of late 18th-century America. I am now myself a federalist. Yet the Americans did have to face similar problems in trying to reconcile the relationship of the federal government with the individual states - the very questions that confront Europe in the Lisbon treaty. The American Constitution has succeeded in providing the US with a stable democratic framework that has survived the great changes of the past two centuries, including - in the 20th century - two world wars, a Cold War and a slump....

Back in 1784, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had to decide whether to appease or stand up to armed Middle Eastern pirates. Sound familiar? John McCain and Barack Obama are now engaged in a long-distance dispute over whether talking to America’s enemies is integral to America’s security (with neither one wishing to talk to poor Hillary Clinton any longer). McCain has not so subtly assailed Obama as an “appeaser” for his stated willingness to sit down with the Iranian leadership about its nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of jihadism in Iraq — and never mind for now if that leadership...

The critical question in the 4-3 decision of the California Supreme Court to require homosexual marriages in that state is not whether that is a better policy. It is, who should decide that question? The majority said that this was a “good” policy, and they would therefore require it. The minority said that the court had no business making that decision. Back up a little bit. Like almost all states, California had a statute which defined marriage as involving “one man and one woman.” Not two men. Not one man and four women. Not a man, a woman, and a...

WASHINGTON — Conspiracy theorists take note: The myths surrounding one of America's oldest and most enduring national symbols are about to be debunked ... if you believe the government, that is. The keepers of the Great Seal of the United States, the emblem on the back of the US$1 bill, want you to know what it is not. It is not a sign that Freemasons run the country, it has nothing to do with the occult, and it does not contain clues to a fabulous hidden treasure. It is rather the nation's stamp of authority, sovereignty and power, gracing cash...

Reagan Library Republican Presidential Debate: January 30, 2008 SIMI VALLEY, California (CNN) -- Republican presidential hopefuls will face off Wednesday night without a familiar face as ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to drop out and endorse front-runner Sen. John McCain. The remaining candidates will take the stage in a debate -- sponsored by CNN, the Los Angeles Times and Politico -- beginning at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday. The event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, follows McCain's Tuesday night win in the Florida primary. McCain topped former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 36 percent to...

Responsible fathers needed, mayor says   Nat Roberts, 12, waits for the start of a parade kicking off the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom Celebration. Members of the Knights of Columbus join in prayer during the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom Anniversary Celebration at the Monument for Religious Freedom along Washington Avenue yesterday. Knights of Columbus members, framed by American flags, arrive at the Monument of Religious Freedom.    Tomzak calls on churches to promote responsible fatherhood at religious freedom event At the ceremony yesterday to mark the 231st anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's religious freedom statute, Fredericksburg Mayor Tom Tomzak...

Once the Founding Fathers had broken the chains of tyranny they realized that what stood before them was a task unequaled in history. Civilizations have always risen and fallen, usually due to the enlightened or misguided paths the leaders chose. Having set the stage for a new civilization guided by the ideals of personal responsibility, honor, and freedom, the men who cast off the oppressors of their time found that creating a nation bound by laws that prohibited a government that set itself apart from the people was a task not easily accomplished. To express the difficulty they faced to...

In reading the original content surrounding one of yesterday's quotes, I was struck by Jefferson's recommendations for reading and his advice to aquaint oneself with firearms rather than sports that use a ball. The following is an excerpt from Thomas Jefferson's Letter to Peter Carr (August 1778). I have broken the letter's lines to make reading easier. This is just a segment of the letter. The original, in its entirety, is at the source link. "An honest heart being the first blessing, a knowing head is the second. It is time for you now to begin to be choice...

Apathy U by: Emily Mullin, November 27, 2007 “Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” The quote was said by one of our most famous founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. And although it was spoken over 200 years ago, the message is still applicable today. The world has changed slightly since the time of Thomas Jefferson, and so has the youth of America. Young people now live in a sort of bubble, a controlled environment called college. We permeate our brains with information five days a week and our livers with...

“The right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon . . . has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right. James Madison (Virginia Resolutions, 24 December 1798) And as the power weilded by government increases, why is the accountibility decreasing, along with the politicians’ respect for the original design? ”All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nore feel those of the future; and hence, we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse.”Benjamin Franklin “The Constitution...

John Jay, the first chief justice of the United States, appointed by George Washington, wrote to Jedidiah Morse Feb. 28, 1797 (the same year the Treaty of Tripoli was ratified), "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers. And it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." John Adams, America's second President and the same one who signed and sent the Treaty of Tripoli to the Senate, just one year later delivered these words in a military address Oct. 11, 1798, "Our...