On the recordApril 13, 2015
Today, April 13, marks the birthday of Thomas Jefferson--America's third President and one of our greatest-- who was responsible in so many ways for the creation of this great Nation. Thomas Jefferson said on his very simple tombstone at Monticello that he was the author of the American Declaration of Independence, the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the father of the University of Virginia--those things that, in his mind, he had done for the United States rather than those things that the people of the United States had done for him. Thomas Jefferson always felt that his greatest achievement throughout his life was the preservation of the American Republic--our system of separation of powers, of checks and balances. Above all, he believed very strongly in, all power not given to the Federal Government is reserved to the States and the people respectively. That great, good man was born on this day, April 13, 1743, and I hope that the Congress of the United States and the people of the United States will continue to honor his legacy by preserving and protecting this great inheritance, the American Republic, with its separation of powers and its recognition that all power is reserved to the States or to the people respectively. ____________________
