"WHY IS HE BUYING 7 PAIRS OF WOMEN'S GLOVES"

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ADOPTED WHILE MR. JEFFERSON GOES SHOPPING

Philadelphia (JFK+50) We all know, or should, that the Declaration of Independence was adopted 250 years ago today, July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia.

We also know, or should, that the document declaring America's independence from Great Britain, was largely written by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.

But we do not know and probably shouldn't, what Mr. Jefferson was doing on that so important day in American History.

According to CNN's Harmeet Kaur, who researched "meticulous" memorandum books, Thomas Jefferson bought "a thermometer from John Sparhawk, an apothecary* and bookseller" whose shop was located on Second Street in Philadelphia.

Jefferson, according to his memorandum book, paid 3 pounds 15 shillings for this item.

The famous Founding Father and future President of the United States was not done shopping however.  He also purchased seven pairs of women's gloves for 17 shillings.

Harmeet ponders how Mr. Jefferson had so much free time on this day, of all days, to go shopping.  My question, however, is...

Why is he buying SEVEN pairs of WOMEN's gloves?

JFK+50 NOTE

An answer comes later on in the article.  Nicole Brown, historian of Martha Jefferson at Monticello, says that Mr. Jefferson's purchase of women's gloves "reflects his sentimentality toward his wife and possibly other women in the family."  

Maybe so, I can understand buying a pair or two, but seven pairs?

*apothecary (mixers of medicine) was a shop where herbal remedies, tinctures & drugs were sold.  A precursor to modern pharmacies.

SOURCE

"July 4, 1776:  The day Thomas Jefferson went shopping," by Harmeet Kaur, Fourth in America:  CNN U.S., www.cnn.com/ 

 

 

Statue of Thomas Jefferson

Williamsburg, Virginia

Photo by John White (2003)

IN MEMORY OF MR. JEFFERSON

JEFFERSON MEMORIAL DEDICATED 

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 13, 1943, the Jefferson Memorial* was dedicated here in the Nation's Capital. The impressive memorial, dedicated on the anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth, was designed by architect John Russell Pope*.

The memorial is modeled after the Parthenon and the 19 foot tall, 5 ton statue of Mr. Jefferson inside was sculpted by Rudolph Evans**.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the memorial's cornerstone on November 15, 1939 and gave the dedication speech.  FDR concluded with the words:

"The words which we have chosen for this memorial speak Jefferson's noblest and most urgent meaning and we are proud indeed to understand and share it: 'I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man'".

*John Russell Pope (1874-1937) was born in New York City & studied at Columbia University.  JRP designed the National Archives Building, Jefferson Memorial & West Building of the National Gallery of Art, all located in Washington, D.C.

**Rudolph Evans (1878-1960) was born in Washington, D.C. & grew up in Front Royal, VA.  RE studied in France & in 1918 became a member of the National Academy of Design.  His work includes the statue of Robert E. Lee in the Virginia State Capitol.

SOURCES

"Jefferson Memorial," Washington, D.C. National Park Service.  www.nps.gov/

"Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography", Thomas Jefferson Monitcello, Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc., www.monticello.org/

Thomas Jefferson Statue

Jefferson Memorial

Washington, D.C. (2013)

Photo by Ingfbruno

www.wikimedia.org.

Jefferson Memorial

Photo by John White (2007)

A LITTLE REBELLION NOW & THEN IS A GOOD THING

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2124

DONALD TRUMP SHOCKS THE WORLD: HE IS PRESIDENT-ELECT

Washington, D.C.  (JFK+50) In a letter to James Madison dated January 30, 1787, Thomas Jefferson, commenting on Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts, wrote "a little rebellion now and then is a good thing...as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.  It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."

Early this morning, November 9, 2016, Donald J. Trump of New York was declared the winner of the presidential election of 2016 and on January 20, 2017 will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.*

Mr. Trump's election represents widespread dissatisfaction among many voters with the performance of the Federal Government.  Exit polls showed that 69% of voters were either dissatisfied with or angry at the current state of the government.  

Donald Trump's election came in the wake of polling which predicted that Hillary Clinton would become the first woman POTUS by a considerable margin.  Prognosticators said that Trump's path to the White House was narrow at best.  His victory not only shocked the Clinton campaign, and the Democratic Party, it shocked the Nation and the World.

As CNN political reporter Dana Bash expressed it, "people are fed up with the way things don't work in this town."  They want change, and now they have it, or at least beginning on the 20th of January next year.

Unlike Shay's Rebellion, this election, for the most part, was a peaceful protest, but it represents the spirit of Thomas Jefferson's sentiments.  Mr. Trump has promised change to make this country better and to make the government more responsive to the wishes of the people.  Whether or not he will succeed is yet to be seen, but the American people have expressed their willingness to give him that chance.

*Returns are still being counted but as of 4 o'clock Eastern time today, CNN has the electoral count as TRUMP 290, CLINTON 228 with 21 votes still in the balance.  The popular vote totals are TRUMP 59,230,029, CLINTON 59,427,870.  Third & fourth party candidates combined for 5,233,428.

This marks the 5th election out of 58 in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote.  The others include 1824 (John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel J. Tiliden), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland), and 2000 (George W. Bush over Al Gore, Jr.

SOURCES

"Jefferson's letter to Madison, A Little Rebellion Now and Then is a Good Thing," www.varsitytutors.com/

"Presidents Winning Without Popular Vote," by D'Angelo Gore, Fact Check, www.factcheck.org/

JEFFERSON BORN 270 YEARS AGO TODAY

April 13, 2013

JEFFERSON BORN 270 YEARS AGO TODAY

Shadwell, Virginia (JFK+50) Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States, was born 270 years ago today, April 13, 1743.

Thomas Jefferson, who was born in Shadwell, Virginia to Peter and Jane Randolph Jefferson, graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1762.

                          Thomas Jefferson
                by Rembrandt Peale (1805)
               New York Historical Society 

He became a law clerk for George Wythe, practiced law & won election to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1769.

As a Virginia delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress, Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 & after the revolution served as a state legislator and governor.

He was minister to France (1785-1789), the 1st Secretary of State, Vice-President and President of the United States (1801-1809).

President Jefferson was the first president of the Democratic-Republican Party (today's Democratic Party).

Notable events during his 2 terms as president include the war with the Barbary pirates of North Africa, the purchase of Louisiana in 1803 from France*, the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Embargo Act of 1807.

*On CBS Evening News, Tuesday night, April 2, 2013, news anchor Scott Pelley, according to Brent Baker of NewsBusters (www.newsbusters.org), linked Thomas Jefferson with both JFK and Barack Obama, by saying on the broadcast...

"Finally, tonight, for Thomas Jefferson it was the Louisiana Purchase, for John F. Kennedy, the moon.  Well today...President Obama announced a mission to explore and map another frontier filled with mysteries and possibilities...(the human brain)."



Thomas Jefferson died at his beloved home, Monticello, on July 4, 1826.  He wanted to be remembered for these 3 accomplishments which are engraved on his tombstone....

"Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom & Father of the University of Virginia."

      Gravestone of Thomas Jefferson
  Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
          Photo by Christopher Hollis
           for Wdwic Pictures (2001)