Letter to the editor: Jefferson would not have supported violence against government

Regarding the letter “Jefferson may have OK’d Jan. 6 insurrection” (July 31, TribLIVE): Thomas Jefferson was a revolutionary. He wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He wrote the Virginia Statute of Religious Liberty in the 1780s. His friend James Madison codified citizens’ liberties in the 1791 Bill of Rights.

As president, Jefferson expanded the power of the president with the purchase of Louisiana from France. He wanted to be remembered for these accomplishments. He was certainly proud of the Declaration of Independence and the Colonial rebellion against British rule and tyrannical government by King George III. The Declaration promoted American values of independence and of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

After creation of the government under the Constitution of 1787, Americans were citizens under a constitutional system of limited government by law. It became government by “We, the people.” We vote, hold public office, serve as judges and govern ourselves. We have fair and free, regularly scheduled elections. Citizens enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

There is no such thing as “legitimate” armed violence against the U.S. government. Thomas Jefferson was not a mobster.

Rodger C. Henderson

Johnstown