Thomas Jefferson

Overview

Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, lawyer, and Founding Father who is best known for his role in drafting the Declaration of Independence. Born in Virginia in 1743, Jefferson was a gifted writer and thinker who was deeply committed to the ideals of democracy and individual liberty. He served as Governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War and later went on to become the United States’ first Secretary of State under President George Washington. In 1800, he was elected President of the United States, serving two terms in office and overseeing the expansion of the country through the Louisiana Purchase.

Jefferson was also a champion of religious freedom and an advocate for public education, and he played a crucial role in establishing the University of Virginia. In addition, he was a prolific writer and thinker, and his ideas on democracy, individual rights, and limited government have profoundly impacted American political thought. Today, Jefferson is remembered as one of America’s most significant politicians and as one of the key figures in the country’s founding.

Primary Sources

Jefferson, Thomas. Thomas Jefferson – Writings. Edited by Merrill D. Peterson. 8 vols. Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1984.

Bear, J.A., and L.C. Stanton. Jefferson’s Memorandum Books, Volume 2: Accounts, with Legal Records and Miscellany, 1767-1826. Princeton Legacy Library. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2017. https://books.google.com/books?id=5Ao1DgAAQBAJ.

Secondary Sources

Brodie, Fawn McKay. Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History. 1st ed. New York: Norton, 1974.

Kaplan, Fred. His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer. New York: Harper-Collins, 2022.

Professor Emeritus of English Fred Kaplan asserts that scholars and the general public should read his Thomas Jefferson literary retrospective, which is distinct from the many political and character accounts of America’s most famous founding era writer. While an attention-grabbing and admirable goal, Professor Kaplan delivers a conventional chronological narrative of Jefferson’s life interspersed with descriptions of literary works and sample prose passages. In addition, he provides summary descriptions of Jefferson’s most noteworthy scholarly contributions and their impact on contemporaries and posterity. While highly valuable, some readers may be left wanting a more detailed analysis of Jefferson as a writer, why his compositions are so memorable, and what are his unique styles and techniques.

For a complete book review, click.

Kidd, Thomas S. Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2022.

Kilmeade, Brian, and Don Yaeger. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History. New York, New York: Sentinel, 2015.

Kranish, Michael. Flight from Monticello: Thomas Jefferson at War. Oxford, England ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Meacham, Jon. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 2012.

Peterson, Merrill D. Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation. Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1970.

Wallace, Anthony F. C. Jefferson and the Indians: The Tragic Fate of the First Americans. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999.

Wiencek, Henry. Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves. 1st ed. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.

Wilentz, Sean. The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. 1. publ. as a Norton paperback. New York: Norton, 2006.

Jefferson’s Relationships

Chaffin, Tom. Revolutionary Brothers: Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Friendship That Helped Forge Two Nations. First edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2019.

Ferling, John E. Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation. First U.S. edition. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2013.

Ferling, John E. Apostles of Revolution: Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the Struggle against the Old Order in America and Europe. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.

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