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A new and more complex portrait of Thomas Jefferson, as told by Jefferson himself. Not trusting biographers with his story and frustrated by his friends' failure to justify his role in the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson wrote his autobiography on his own terms at the age of seventy-seven. The resulting book ends, well before his death, with his return from France at the age of forty-six. Asked for additional details concerning his life, Jefferson often claimed to have a "decayed memory." Fortunately, this shrewd politician, philosopher, architect, inventor, farmer, and scientist penned nearly eighteen thousand letters in his lifetime, saving almost every scrap he wrote. In Jefferson o...
Since its publication in 1960, The Jefferson Image in the American Mind has become a classic of historical scholarship. In it Merrill D. Peterson charts Thomas Jefferson's influence upon American thought and imagination since his death in 1826. Peterson shows how the public attitude toward Jefferson has always paralleled the political climate of the time; the complexities of the man, his thoughts, and his deeds being viewed only in fragments by later generations. He explains how the ideas of Jefferson have been distorted, defended, pilloried, or used by virtually every leading politician, historian, and intellectual. Through most of our history, political parties have engaged in an ideological tug-of-war to see who would wear "the mantle of Jefferson."
Philosopher, diplomat, politician, inventor, writer, architect, even gardener, from a historical perspective Thomas Jefferson emerges as an extraordinary individual. This is the first time an editor has focused principally on his comments regarding his time while serving as minister to France from 1784 to 1789. He was clearly many things to many people, but precisely because of these multifaceted endeavors, he has become so deeply entwined in the tapestry of America's grand democratic experiment that the quest to picture him clearly and objectively in his own life and times remains arguably elusive.The most comprehensive portrait of the American founding fathers can be seen in their personal...
In this classic work by one of America's most widely read historians, Daniel J. Boorstin demonstrates why and how, on the 250th anniversary of his birth, Thomas Jefferson continues to speak to us.
Through substantial selections from Jefferson's writings--including his earliest writings, Notes on Virginia, and key public papers and personal correspondence--this volume traces the development of his thinking on such fundamental issues as republicanism, constitutionalism, slavery, and the separation of religion from politics. Footnotes identify Jefferson's correspondents and provide useful context.
"Thomas Jefferson set the course for a new nation ruled by and for the people. In the Declaration of Independence, his words explained that all people are created equal and all deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson's vision continues to guide the United States, but his own life wasn't always inspiring. There are hard truths about Jefferson, just as there are towering achievements. In that sense, many people believe Jefferson was very much like the nation he helped create."--Provided by publisher.
This Companion forms an accessible introduction to the life and work of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence. Essays explore Jefferson's political thought, his policies towards Native Americans, his attitude to race and slavery, as well as his interests in science, architecture, religion and education. Contributors include leading literary scholars and historians; the essays offer up to date overviews of his many interests, his friendships and his legacy. Together, they reveal his importance in the cultural and political life of early America. At the same time these original essays speak to abiding modern concerns about American culture and Jefferson's place in it. This Companion will be essential reading for students and scholars of Jefferson, and is designed for use by students of American literature and American history.
Noted historian Barton sets the record straight on the lies and misunderstandings that have tarnished the legacy of Thomas Jefferson.