As mentioned before, Jefferson
consistently implemented the skills that he acquired in his education in his
political career. Through contacts with members of the Virginia political
circle in Williamsburg, such as royal governor Francis Faquier, Jefferson was
soon elected as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. During this time
period, however, tensions between the British and the Americans began to
increase. Great Britain, incurring massive debts following the French and
Indian War, began levying large taxes on commodities upon its American colonies
to relieve themselves of the debt. The Americans, upset with the heavy
taxation, began to protest against the British. The young Thomas Jefferson,
speaking for the views of the American public, wrote the article, based on the
Enlightenment ideas of individual liberty, which led him to fame. It was titled
A Summary View of the Rights of British America (or simply The
Summary View). In it Jefferson mentioned, “ ‘… let it be proposed that our
properties within our own territories shall be taxed or regulated by any power
on earth but our own.’ ” According to Meacham, this work “moved Jefferson to
the front ranks of the cause [of revolution], taking an advanced position.”
As The Summary View circulated through the
colonies, Jefferson quickly became a celebrity, and rose through the political
hierarchy. By 1775, with the American Revolution underway following the battles
of Lexington and Concord, Jefferson was elected a delegate to represent
Virginia in the Second Continental Congress. By the year 1776, the war against
taxation had transformed into a war for independence and the congressional
delegates fostered a unanimous decision to break from the mother country.
Jefferson, for his famed writing abilities, was assigned by his fellow members
of congress to draft a Declaration of Independence. In this document, Jefferson
utilized Enlightenment principles learned from his education, stating, “we hold
these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their creator with inalienable rights; that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and further mentioned that, “whenever
any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of
the people to alter or to abolish it.”
In using these words, Jefferson, reminiscent of a scientist,
effectively initiated the American experiment, revolving around the creation of
a democratic government under which all men would be created equal. However as
no such form of government existed at that moment in time, it was left to
Jefferson and his fellow Founding Fathers, by following the principles that he
described in the Declaration of Independence, to conduct the American
experiment through politics. Since his ideas were deeply embedded in the
Declaration, Jefferson would develop a political ideology that practiced a
strict observation of its principles. In this manner, Jefferson contributed to
science by creating a new conservative American political ideology that was to
be practiced for many years to come.
What you hinted at, and what is often lost in discussion of the Declaration of Independence, is how much that document relates to the sciences. That document is essentially a list of occurrences that don't just state American discontent with British rule, but rather prove it with a series of systematic conclusions. Jefferson's influence as an important political leader, much the product of writing The Summary View, was incredibly important in him reflecting the Englightenment principle of the scientific method and elevating its status throughout the world. While the Declaration of Independence is rightfully known as the first document that was indicative of American freedom, it is also a great representation of how the attitudes towards the sciences can be changed by education and public figures, as you implied in your post.
ReplyDelete