“all eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. ”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
Listen to this week's episode.
Read Thomas Jefferson’s letter to Roger Weightman.
may it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the Signal of arousing men to burst the chains, under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings & security of self-government. that form which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. all eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. the general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view. the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of god. these are grounds of hope for others. for ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.
This week the annual Thomas Jefferson Hour Independence Day show with Clay Jenkinson and Joseph Ellis. Ellis makes the case that John Adams was right in his belief that Independence Day should be celebrated on July 2nd, the day congress voted on the matter, but both agree that due to the simultaneous deaths of Adams and Jefferson on July 4th, that date will forever stand. They also discuss parts of the Declaration of Independence which were removed and the great dangers accepted by the signers of the document.
Our annual Independence Day show, one of only two holidays that Jefferson celebrated. We are joined by Joseph Ellis who shares some perspective on the day, and shares his insights including John Adam’s belief that Independence Day would always be celebrated on July 2nd, and a discussion of a very significant paragraph Jefferson wrote for the Declaration of Independence that congress edited out.
“all eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man.“
— Thomas Jefferson, 1826
For our annual Jefferson Hour 4th of July show, we speak with President Jefferson (as portrayed by humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson) about the founding ideals of America and his participation in the writing of the Declaration of Independence.