American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson (BOOK)
As some of you know, I do a fair bit of reading centered around U.S. History. The current book I'm reading at the moment is a fascinating looking into the psychology of Thomas Jefferson called "American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson" by Joseph J. Ellis. It's not a flattering or unflattering biography of the U.S.'s third president, but rather it's unflinchingly honest. It's objective is to "down to earth without either condemning or idolizing him", according to the Amazon.com write up.
The book chronicles his life, careful to show the psychological choices and demonstrate a possible reason why he made those choices. There are a lot of interesting contradictions in his life, and also some amazing facts you may have not known about. For instance, along with Madison, Jefferson created the Republican Party between 1790 and 1794, which was shaped rigidly by his opposition to the Federalists. What's interesting about that is he was considered a traitor by most because he was serving in the very presidential cabinet he opposed. Remember, he was Secretary of State for Washington's Administration.
He also hated politics greatly, as he thought it was raw and vicious. He was better suited for writing, not the oratory, as he often said. For this reason, reluctantly he ran for president under his own Democratic-Republican party ticket. In the book, Jefferson is seen as a man who wanted desperately to leave politics and resign himself to the quiet of Monticello.
In fact, when he was part of the Continental Congress, he asked his fellow Virginian Delegates (for which he was a junior member) if he could be replaced so he could return to Virginia. This was denied, and shortly thereafter he was asked to pen the Declaration of Independence.
No one in the Continental Congress thought the Declaration would be the document it is today. In fact, if they did, they certainly wouldn't have passed that notoriety off to such a junior member. But, Jefferson surprised them all because years prior he had written three other documents (including the recent Virginian Constitution) that were all warm ups to the Declaration, which can be looked at as the final edited draft of three or so years of work. Inadvertently, the Congress had chosen the best author for the document.
Jefferson was in Paris at the time the Congress was drafting the Constitution, and Jefferson relayed his insights about the shaping of that document via Madison and Monroe. Madison served to be his filter and voice of reason, as the years abroad had tended to make Jefferson radical and wildly idealistic. He was shaped by what the French national debt did to fuel a bloody class revolution, how the U.S. war debt left him, while minster to France, impotent to negotiate valuable treaties with European powers, and how the debts he had inherited by his father-in-law's estate were compounding at a rate he could never repay. One of his most radical stances, which he spoke about from the late 1780s until his death, was the notion that generations shouldn't be beholden to the debts and laws of previous generations.
Congress had been working on the Constitution for two years when Jefferson proposed to Madison of his idea of generational sovereignty, where each generation began anew, free of the debt, laws and "institutionalized obligations and regulations" (cited, pg. 136, American Sphinx). He idealized people and government, thinking in terms of primal forms of independence and idyllic harmony. "It was a wholly voluntary world, where coercion was unknown and government unnecessary." (cited, pg. 136, American Sphinx) Madison convinced Jefferson his ideas were impractical, and Jefferson never proposed them for the Constitution.
Jefferson passed away on Independence Day, July 4, 1826. John Adams, our 2nd president and lifelong friend to Jefferson, passed away that same day. With Jefferson's death, the Democratic-Republican party was dismantled and ceased to be. Two parties emerged from its ashes: the National Republican party (which eventually became the Republican Party of today) and the Democratic party (modern). On Jefferson's tombstone any mention of his presidency was left off because he didn't look fondly at his years in office. His years as president shown his contradictory nature, and his actions in office were dichotomous to his idea of strong Republicanism and smaller government.
Jefferson was radical, progressive and a champion of individual liberty. He was also deeply flawed and at times duplicitous. If you have a bit of time, I'd highly recommend this book. It's not verbose and flowery. In fact, the text is well arranged and intelligent, and above all a joy to read if you're interested in what made Thomas Jefferson one of the most memorable framers of the country.
The book chronicles his life, careful to show the psychological choices and demonstrate a possible reason why he made those choices. There are a lot of interesting contradictions in his life, and also some amazing facts you may have not known about. For instance, along with Madison, Jefferson created the Republican Party between 1790 and 1794, which was shaped rigidly by his opposition to the Federalists. What's interesting about that is he was considered a traitor by most because he was serving in the very presidential cabinet he opposed. Remember, he was Secretary of State for Washington's Administration.
He also hated politics greatly, as he thought it was raw and vicious. He was better suited for writing, not the oratory, as he often said. For this reason, reluctantly he ran for president under his own Democratic-Republican party ticket. In the book, Jefferson is seen as a man who wanted desperately to leave politics and resign himself to the quiet of Monticello.
In fact, when he was part of the Continental Congress, he asked his fellow Virginian Delegates (for which he was a junior member) if he could be replaced so he could return to Virginia. This was denied, and shortly thereafter he was asked to pen the Declaration of Independence.
No one in the Continental Congress thought the Declaration would be the document it is today. In fact, if they did, they certainly wouldn't have passed that notoriety off to such a junior member. But, Jefferson surprised them all because years prior he had written three other documents (including the recent Virginian Constitution) that were all warm ups to the Declaration, which can be looked at as the final edited draft of three or so years of work. Inadvertently, the Congress had chosen the best author for the document.
Jefferson was in Paris at the time the Congress was drafting the Constitution, and Jefferson relayed his insights about the shaping of that document via Madison and Monroe. Madison served to be his filter and voice of reason, as the years abroad had tended to make Jefferson radical and wildly idealistic. He was shaped by what the French national debt did to fuel a bloody class revolution, how the U.S. war debt left him, while minster to France, impotent to negotiate valuable treaties with European powers, and how the debts he had inherited by his father-in-law's estate were compounding at a rate he could never repay. One of his most radical stances, which he spoke about from the late 1780s until his death, was the notion that generations shouldn't be beholden to the debts and laws of previous generations.
Congress had been working on the Constitution for two years when Jefferson proposed to Madison of his idea of generational sovereignty, where each generation began anew, free of the debt, laws and "institutionalized obligations and regulations" (cited, pg. 136, American Sphinx). He idealized people and government, thinking in terms of primal forms of independence and idyllic harmony. "It was a wholly voluntary world, where coercion was unknown and government unnecessary." (cited, pg. 136, American Sphinx) Madison convinced Jefferson his ideas were impractical, and Jefferson never proposed them for the Constitution.
Jefferson passed away on Independence Day, July 4, 1826. John Adams, our 2nd president and lifelong friend to Jefferson, passed away that same day. With Jefferson's death, the Democratic-Republican party was dismantled and ceased to be. Two parties emerged from its ashes: the National Republican party (which eventually became the Republican Party of today) and the Democratic party (modern). On Jefferson's tombstone any mention of his presidency was left off because he didn't look fondly at his years in office. His years as president shown his contradictory nature, and his actions in office were dichotomous to his idea of strong Republicanism and smaller government.
Jefferson was radical, progressive and a champion of individual liberty. He was also deeply flawed and at times duplicitous. If you have a bit of time, I'd highly recommend this book. It's not verbose and flowery. In fact, the text is well arranged and intelligent, and above all a joy to read if you're interested in what made Thomas Jefferson one of the most memorable framers of the country.
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