Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee about the Declaration of Independence

On May 8, 1825, Thomas Jefferson penned an often-​referenced letter to Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee, a retired cavalry officer in the Continental Army who would later become governor of Virginia, describing the Declaration of Independence as “an expression of the American mind.” The Declaration was, in part, an explanation of Jefferson’s personal philosophy; however, Jefferson admitted he did not aim for originality. Instead, he wanted to weave together the scattered ideas and principles that emerged in the years preceding the Revolution.

The American Revolution is unique amongst analogous political changes because of its distinctly ideological character. In 1818, John Adams wrote to Jefferson that the real Revolution in America did not consist of the marshaling of troops and battles; it was a revolution “in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations…This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.” In a similar vein, Jefferson, in a later letter to Henry Lee, explains the true Revolution began in people’s minds. Jefferson recommends that prospective scholars access the private correspondence of the revolutionary generation to study the American Revolution.

In this 1825 letter to Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson explains that the “object of the Declaration of Independence” was to “appeal to the tribunal of the world” with a justification of the decision “to resort to arms for redress” in response to the British government. Jefferson made no claims that the arguments made in the Declaration were original or unique to his pen. He writes, “Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment…it was intended to be an expression of the American mind.” He believed expressions of the American mind could be observed in letters, pamphlets, and, importantly, what he called “elementary books of public right,” i.e. the foundational texts about good government, in which he included the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, the Roman statesman, lawyer, and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero, the grandfather of liberalism John Locke, and Algernon Sidney, a rebellious figure and martyr during the English Civil War.

Jefferson appealed to a common sentiment that characterizes 18th-​century thought: that human affairs and politics could be ameliorated and improved to varying degrees by examining history. This tendency can be found in Patrick Henry’s reference to history as “the lamp of experience” and Alexander Hamilton and James Madison’s Federalist 20, where they state, “Experience is the oracle of truth.”

Jefferson’s writings draw our attention to two key intellectual traditions that shaped the political principles of the American Revolution: the wisdom of Classical authors from ancient Greece and Rome, and the ideas of Whig writers from 17^th-century England. Despite their differing periods and opinions, these two traditions were united by a shared respect for the rule of law and private property, principles that underpinned the vision of a free republic that the American Revolution sought to establish.

The text presented below is from the National Archives’s Founders Online database, presented with minor capitalization changes (indicated in square brackets) for ease of reading.