The Elusive Thomas Jefferson PDF Download

Author: M. Andrew Holowchak
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476630038
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Thomas Jefferson's writings on morality have largely been ignored. His thoughts on the subject, never developed in any formal work, are said to be unsystematic--a judgment reinforced by his shift from Stoicism (intentions are critical) to Utilitarianism (consequences are critical) later in life. Yet his writings and the moral works he recommended reveal much about his moral sense and views on good living. Jefferson valued personal moral improvement, had great respect for moral exemplars and drew inspiration from moralists, sermonizers, novelists, poets, historians and such role models as Professor William Small and his friend George Wythe.

Author: Drew R. McCoy
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807838322
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
By investigating eighteenth-century social and economic thought--an intellectual world with its own vocabulary, concepts, and assumptions--Drew McCoy smoothly integrates the history of ideas and the history of public policy in the Jeffersonian era. The book was originally published by UNC Press in 1980.

Author: Henry Adams
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 9781936520091
Category : African Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
"Published on the occasion of the exhibition The private Jefferson: from the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, opened at the Society on January 29, 2016"--Title page verso.

Author: Joseph J. Ellis
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375727469
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 463

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Book Description
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER Following Thomas Jefferson from the drafting of the Declaration of Independence to his retirement in Monticello, Joseph J. Ellis unravels the contradictions of the Jeffersonian character. He gives us the slaveholding libertarian who was capable of decrying mescegenation while maintaing an intimate relationship with his slave, Sally Hemmings; the enemy of government power who exercisdd it audaciously as president; the visionarty who remained curiously blind to the inconsistencies in his nature. American Sphinx is a marvel of scholarship, a delight to read, and an essential gloss on the Jeffersonian legacy.

Author: James H. Read
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813919118
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Does every increase in the power of government entail a loss of liberty for the people? James H. Read examines how four key Founders--James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson--wrestled with this question during the first two decades of the American Republic. Power versus Liberty reconstructs a four-way conversation--sometimes respectful, sometimes shrill--that touched on the most important issues facing the new nation: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, federal authority versus states' rights, freedom of the press, the controversial Bank of the United States, the relation between nationalism and democracy, and the elusive meaning of "the consent of the governed." Each of the men whose thought Read considers differed on these key questions. Jefferson believed that every increase in the power of government came at the expense of liberty: energetic governments, he insisted, are always oppressive. Madison believed that this view was too simple, that liberty can be threatened either by too much or too little governmental power. Hamilton and Wilson likewise rejected the Jeffersonian view of power and liberty but disagreed with Madison and with each other. The question of how to reconcile energetic government with the liberty of citizens is as timely today as it was in the first decades of the Republic. It pervades our political discourse and colors our readings of events from the confrontation at Waco to the Oklahoma City bombing to Congressional debate over how to spend the government surplus. While the rhetoric of both major political parties seems to posit a direct relationship between the size of our government and the scope of our political freedoms, the debates of Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson confound such simple dichotomies. As Read concludes, the relation between power and liberty is inherently complex.

Author: Annette Gordon-Reed
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813933560
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
When Annette Gordon-Reed's groundbreaking study was first published, rumors of Thomas Jefferson's sexual involvement with his slave Sally Hemings had circulated for two centuries. Among all aspects of Jefferson's renowned life, it was perhaps the most hotly contested topic. The publication of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings intensified this debate by identifying glaring inconsistencies in many noted scholars' evaluations of the existing evidence. In this study, Gordon-Reed assembles a fascinating and convincing argument: not that the alleged thirty-eight-year liaison necessarily took place but rather that the evidence for its taking place has been denied a fair hearing. Friends of Jefferson sought to debunk the Hemings story as early as 1800, and most subsequent historians and biographers followed suit, finding the affair unthinkable based upon their view of Jefferson's life, character, and beliefs. Gordon-Reed responds to these critics by pointing out numerous errors and prejudices in their writings, ranging from inaccurate citations, to impossible time lines, to virtual exclusions of evidence—especially evidence concerning the Hemings family. She demonstrates how these scholars may have been misguided by their own biases and may even have tailored evidence to serve and preserve their opinions of Jefferson. This updated edition of the book also includes an afterword in which the author comments on the DNA study that provided further evidence of a Jefferson and Hemings liaison. Possessing both a layperson's unfettered curiosity and a lawyer's logical mind, Annette Gordon-Reed writes with a style and compassion that are irresistible. Each chapter revolves around a key figure in the Hemings drama, and the resulting portraits are engrossing and very personal. Gordon-Reed also brings a keen intuitive sense of the psychological complexities of human relationships—relationships that, in the real world, often develop regardless of status or race. The most compelling element of all, however, is her extensive and careful research, which often allows the evidence to speak for itself. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy is the definitive look at a centuries-old question that should fascinate general readers and historians alike.

Author: Richard K. Matthews
Publisher: Lawrence, Kan. : University Press of Kansas
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Author: Jean M. Yarbrough
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Beginning with the Declaration of Independence, this analysis of Thomas Jefferson's moral and political philosophy focuses exclusively on the full range of moral, civic and intellectual virtues that form the American character.

Author: Andrew Burstein
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812979001
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 850

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Book Description
“[A] monumental dual biography . . . a distinguished work, combining deep research, a pleasing narrative style and an abundance of fresh insights, a rare combination.”—The Dallas Morning News The third and fourth presidents have long been considered proper gentlemen, with Thomas Jefferson’s genius overshadowing James Madison’s judgment and common sense. But in this revelatory book about their crucial partnership, both are seen as men of their times, hardboiled operatives in a gritty world of primal politics where they struggled for supremacy for more than fifty years. With a thrilling and unprecedented account of early America as its backdrop, Madison and Jefferson reveals these founding fathers as privileged young men in a land marked by tribal identities rather than a united national personality. Esteemed historians Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg capture Madison’s hidden role—he acted in effect as a campaign manager—in Jefferson’s career. In riveting detail, the authors chart the courses of two very different presidencies: Jefferson’s driven by force of personality, Madison’s sustained by a militancy that history has been reluctant to ascribe to him. Supported by a wealth of original sources—newspapers, letters, diaries, pamphlets—Madison and Jefferson is a watershed account of the most important political friendship in American history. “Enough colorful characters for a miniseries, loaded with backstabbing (and frontstabbing too).”—Newsday “An important, thoughtful, and gracefully written political history.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Author: Fawn M. Brodie
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393317527
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
An ambitious, perceptive portrayal of a complex man, this bestselling biography breaks new ground in its exploration of Jefferson's inner life. "Brodie has humanized Jefferson without in the least diminishing him".--Wallace Stegner. Photos.