The house and the
little desk, constructed by Jefferson himself, are carefully preserved.
The paper was warmly debated and revised in congress on the 2nd, 3rd and
4th of July, 1776. The weather was oppressively hot, and on the last
day an exasperating but providential invasion of the hall by a swarm
of flies hurried the signing of the document. Some days afterward, the
committee of which Jefferson was a member provided as a motto of the new
seal, that perfect legend,--E Pluribus Unum.
The facts connected with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence
must always be of profound interest. The public are inclined to think
that our Magna Charta was accepted and signed with unbounded enthusiasm
and that scarcely any opposition to it appeared, but the contrary was
the fact.
While Jefferson was the author of the instrument, John Adams, more than
any one man or half a dozen men brought about its adoption. When the
question was afterward asked him, whether every member of congress
cordially approved it, he replied, "Majorities were constantly against
it. For many days the majority depended on Mr. Hewes of North Carolina.
While a member one day was reading documents to prove that public
opinion was in favor of the measure, Mr.
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