Check out Code of Federal Regulations/49/chapter 1/Part 172.
One of the main reasons why the Continental Congress choose Thomas Jefferson to be the author of the Declaration of Independence is because "<span>b. He was known to be an excellent political writer," since he had widely studied many Enlightenment philosophers. </span>
True, Robert Smalls was born into slavery in South Carolina and was hired out to work on steamboats as a youth. He was born an African-American slave, and during and after the Civil War became a ship's pilot, sea captain, as well as a politician. He freed himself, his family and other slaves and convinced Lincoln to let African-American soldiers fight during the war.