Jefferson's Opening Statement to America

• Author: Arthur Rizer
• Profession: Director of Justice Policy and a senior fellow at the R Street Institute
• Pages: 123-163

123

7

JEFFERSON’S

OPENING

STATEMENT

TOAMERICA

124 JEFFER SON’S PEN: THE ART OF PE RSUASION

e inspiration for this book began with the Gettysburg Address, so it seems

tting to begin with Mr. Lincoln. In 1863, when Lincoln was drafting the

Gettysburg Address, he was pondering the ultimate question—Was it worth

it? Could the United States, “so conceived and so dedicated,” pass the great

test of the Civil War and “long endure.”277 To Lincoln it was more than just a

speech to rally the troops, congratulate the generals on the victory, or reiterate

his belief that the Union must survive. Indeed, Lincoln was considering

American ideology itself, wondering whether the American experiment could

survive through and beyond the horrors of the Civil War, horrors that were

ubiquitously evident by the time Lincoln gave his speech. omas Jeerson

considered and helped to shape our unique American ideology when he

declared it to be “self-evident” that the people are the masters of their own

destiny, that we are endowed by our Creator with “certain unalienable Rights.”

Lincoln understood the power of the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln

also knew that, to best connect with his audience at Gettysburg and across the

nation, he needed to link his words and his message to a greater theme—

something that would resonate powerfully with Americans of the North and

the South alike. Lincoln knew that he needed his audience to hear his own

words in the context of ideals of permanence, in the context of principles

beyond reproach in the minds of all those that heard and read the speech.

Trial attorneys use this same skill when delivering closing arguments. An

attorney ties the words he uses in closing together with a theme he has laid

out, rst, in his opening.278 In that opening, a good attorney will announce

what the trial is really about by suggesting a theme larger than the particular

facts of the case itself. e trial, then, is not about some guy dishonoring a

seemingly minor provision in a contract in order to get a more favorable

interest rate on a dierent deal. Rather, the case becomes something more: a

case about a man breaking his word, a bond that used to mean something in

this country.

Both the North and South considered themselves true to the original,

foundational principles upon which the United States were founded. Lincoln

carefully chose his words to link his message concerning the particular events

leading up to and owing from November 19, 1863, to the most foundational

principles of the United States. Lincoln found those principles in the

Declaration of Independence—and he knew his audience would, too. Lincoln

thus used the Declaration to set his theme for the Gettysburg Address.

JEFFER SON’S OPENING STATE MENT TOAMER ICA 125

Lincoln saw that the Declaration of Independence oered not only a

moral justication for the revolution against Great Britain, but also a legal

one. To his credit, Jeerson argued that the legal basis of the Declaration was

rooted in English constitutional precedence, using Great Britain’s own laws

against them. As omas Jeerson cited English precedent to argue his

points, so too did Lincoln cite American precedent to argue his. To Jeerson,

the Declaration was an opportunity to change the condition of mankind on a

global scale. To Lincoln, the Declaration was a promise to the nation.

It was the promise of the Declaration that laid the foundation for Lincoln’s

articulation of our “new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the

proposition that all men are created equal.” When Jeerson said that all men

were created equal, he meant it—in his own way: excluded from Jeerson’s

interpretation, however, were women, African-Americ ans, Native Americans,

and other minorities. Despite Jeerson’s limited view on who should inherit

the “divine freedom” that served as the underpinning of his Declaration, his

words were much bigger than himself; his words invoked grand principles to

which people could only dream to aspire at the time.

A common trait we see among those considered great—Jeerson and Lincoln,

included—is that they thought and acted “big,” with “big” things resulting.

One important aspect of thinking in terms of grand principles and seemingly

unattainable dreams is that it allows you to persuade others by giving them

hope for something greater than what currently is. e power to inspire hope

is a powerful tool for any persuader. ink big, act big, and, with hard

workand some luck, big things will follow. is lesson is evidenced by the

history of this nation: by reading words written toward one end in 1776 in a

much broader, much “bigger,” way, we have expanded upon Jeerson’s unjust

denition of “man” and are, very gradually, securing true freedom under the

law for all.

Lincoln and Americans, generally, have reshaped the words and thoughts

ofJeerson’s Declaration into a truer meaning of equality. Lincoln himself