as patriotic and conscientious. When he lapsed, it was in
some subordinate matter, and because a little self-deception clouded his
sight. But in all important matters, in all emergencies, he stood firm as
a rock for what he considered to be right, unmoved by the entreaties of
his friends or by the jeers, threats, and taunts of his enemies. He shrank
with almost feminine repugnance from censure and turmoil, but when the
occasion demanded it, he faced even these with perfect courage and
resolution. His course as Secretary of State, and his enforcement of the
embargo, are examples.

Jefferson's political career was bottomed upon a great principle which he
never, for one moment, lost sight of or doubted, no matter how difficult
the present, or how dark the future. He believed in the people, in their
capacity for self-government, and in their right to enjoy it. This belief
shaped his course, and, in spite of minor inconsistencies, made it
consistent. It was on account of this belief, and of the faith and courage
with which he put it in practice, that he became the idol of his
countrymen, and attained a unique position in the history of the world.

FOOTNOTES

1 It is to be remembered that the support of public worship was
compulsory in Massachusetts--the inhabitants of certain cities
excepted--down to the year 1833. An attempt to free the people from
this burden, led by Dr. Childs, of Berkshire County, was defeated at
the Constitutional Convention of 1820.

2 The father of Miss Catherine Sedgwick was a leading Federalist, and
his daughter records that, though a most kind-hearted man, he
habitually spoke of the people as "Jacobins" and "miscreants."

3 Abraham Lincoln said in his first inaugural address:--"But if the
policy of the government upon a vital question affecting the whole
people is to be irrevocably fixed by the decisions of the Supreme
Court, the moment they are made, the people will cease to be their
own masters; having to that extent resigned their government into
the hands of that eminent tribunal."

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Italic type is marked by underscore (_), black letter by asterisk (*).

The following changes have been made to the text:

page 65, "Charlotteville" changed to "Charlottesville"
page 73, "goverment" changed to "governme