Jefferson

Annette Gordon-Reed Reviews Alan Taylor's Book Thomas Jefferson's Education for The Atlantic

by Annette Gordon-Reed

"The University of Virginia was supposed to transform a slave-owning generation, but it failed."

George Mason: Lost Founder

by William G. Hyland Jr.

Why George Mason rightly deserves to be considered one of the fathers of our national government. 

The Unseen Significance of Jefferson’s Natural-Aristoi Letter to Adams

by M. Andrew Holowchak

Jefferson’s Radical Redefinition of “Aristoi” for a Thriving Jeffersonian Republic.

“National Security Crisis” or “Power Grab”?

by M. Andrew Holowchak

It’s not the Constitutionality of Trump’s Wall, but Its Morality that Matters

Do We Make Writing on Jefferson Harder than It Really Is?

by M. Andrew Holowchak

Jeffersonian scholarship is not a fool’s errand, but it is extremely arduous.

Review of John B. Boles’s “Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty”

by M. Andrew Holowchak

Jefferson was the “most quintessential American Founder of them all.”

How the Heated, Divisive Election of 1800 Was the First Real Test of American Democracy

by Sidney Blumenthal

A banner from the Smithsonian collections lays out the stakes of Jefferson vs. Adams.

Annette Gordon-Reed vs. Sam Haselby: Was Jefferson a Christian?

In an interview Haselby recounts his differences with Gordon-Reed over Jefferson’s religious beliefs.

Is Jefferson being erased from history?

by David W. Jacobs

He barely is acknowledged in the play, "Hamilton."

Why Hamilton—Not Jefferson—Is the Father of the American Economy

by Stephen S. Cohen and J. Bradford DeLong

The United States we have today is not Jefferson’s, but Hamilton’s. Why? Because once the Hamiltonian system was set, it stuck. It worked.

Jeffersonians Claimed Washington Was Hamilton’s Dupe. They Were Wrong.

by Stephen F. Knott

Washington called the shots.

BackStory historians say Woodrow Wilson shows the ugly side of liberalism

Brian Balogh and Peter Onus say “modern liberalism was not very good on race.”

Jefferson Is Another Target

At both the University of Missouri at Columbia and the College of William & Mary, critics have been placing yellow sticky notes on Jefferson statues, labeling him -- among other things -- "rapist" and "racist."

Why Have Jefferson’s Biographers Largely Overlooked His Love Affair with the Work of Laurence Sterne?

by M. Andrew Holowchak and Amy J. Barbee

Here’s what they’ve been missing.

Was Thomas Jefferson Right? Can We Guarantee Our Pursuit of Equal Happiness by Canceling All Our Debts Every Nineteen Years?

by Thomas Fleming

James Madison thought he was horribly wrong. Pope Francis, who has called for the redistribution of wealth, should understand why.

Why Jefferson Often Neglected to Capitalize “God”

by M. Andrew Holowchak

And why he periodically attended religious services and sang and prayed at such services when his god was deaf to supplication and praise.

Did Jefferson Really Mean It When He Said Liberty Now and Then Requires the Shedding of Blood?

by M. Andrew Holowchak

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.”

What Did Lincoln Really Think of Jefferson?

by Allen C. Guelzo

“Lincoln hated Thomas Jefferson.”

Our First Unwashington President

by Thomas Fleming

A fresh review of Jefferson’s presidency shows that a guiding principle was to do the opposite of what Washington did.

Why You Shouldn't Assume Jefferson Fathered Children with Sally Hemings

by M. Andrew Holowchak

Most scholars today believe that Thomas Jefferson had a lengthy affair with slave Sally Heming. Could they be wrong?