Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson Would be Following the Met Gala

by Camille Davis

Finely attuned to the symbolic politics of fashion as the president of a young, republican nation, Thomas Jefferson probably had more in common with Karl Lagerfeld than you think. 

Thomas Jefferson's Secret Plan to Whiten Virginia

by Timothy Messer-Kruse

After the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson returned from the Continental Congress to a seat in the Virginia legislature, where he undertook an ambitious effort to overhaul the laws. His work is an illuminating look at Jefferson's vision of the ideal American republic as a place purged of both slavery and of Black people. 

Restored Thomas Jefferson Estate Shows Handiwork of Enslaved Artisan John Hemings

The third president's house at Poplar Forest was restored based in part on archival correspondence between Jefferson and James Hemings detailing the finish carpentry to be completed. 

Jefferson's Time in Paris Revealed His True Beliefs About Slavery

by Fred Kaplan

Jefferson's discussions of slavery with his intellectual compatriots was at odds with the pragmatic and self-serving decisions he made about his own business affairs. 

Thomas S. Kidd on the Hypocrisies of Thomas Jefferson

Kidd's new book examines the ways that slavery and religion complicate the moral picture of the founder.   

Judging Jefferson: Ideals or Actions?

by Daniel N. Gullotta

Thomas Kidd's intellectual and spiritual biography of Jefferson engages with the contradictions of the ideals he proclaimed and seeks to engage with the ambiguities of his subject in ways that defy both iconoclasm and hagiography. 

The Revolution Whisperer

by Greg Shaw

The author hoped to write a biography of William Small, the Scottish polymath whose mentorship linked the political revolution of Thomas Jefferson and the industrial one of James Watt. Learning that another researcher had beaten him to the punch didn't diminish the author's admiration for the story in the least. 

Jefferson Statue to be Removed from NY City Council Chambers

"Annette Gordon-Reed, a Harvard Law School professor and a Jefferson expert, objected to the idea of taking down the Jefferson statue, but said that if it were to move to the New-York Historical Society, where she serves as a trustee, it would be a best-case scenario."

Teaching "All Men are Created Equal" (Part I)

by Jeff Schneider

A longtime teacher of American history maintains that a close reading of the Declaration of Independence makes it possible to discuss revolution and racism in a thoughtful way without intimidating either white students or students of color.

Jefferson Expected the Constitution to Last 19 Years. Where are We Now?

by Jesse Wegman

Our eighteenth-century Constitution combines with twenty-first century partisanship to block meaningful reforms and place basic rights in the hands of the judiciary. A panel of legal scholars weighs in on the possibility of change. 

America's First Peaceful (Just Barely!) Transfer of Power

by Akhil Reed Amar

While the selection of Thomas Jefferson as the third president in 1801 (after an electoral college deadlock) is touted as a crucial peaceful transfer of presidential power from one party to another, the transition was far more fraught with peril than most realize. 

A Closer Look at the Design and Details of the New Memorial to Enslaved Laborers

"We know so much about Jefferson – we even know what he ate on July 3, 1803 – but he and all those at UVA were surrounded for over 65 years by a community of more than 4,000 people that we know little about."

Jefferson's Other Legacy: Religious Liberty

by Cameron Addis

Thomas Jefferson's critics have pointed out his ownership of slaves as reason to question his continued relevance as a symbol of freedom. But his commitment to religious liberty helped to prevent violent sectarian conflict and should be honored. 

Thomas Jefferson Tried to ‘Fix’ the Bible. He Only Succeeded in Making It Sad (Review)

A reviewer of Peter Manseau's new book "The Jefferson Bible" finds it a valuable account of Jefferson's position in the conflict between religious orthodoxy and freedom of conscience and belief, but was less impressed with TJ's editing job, which produced a joyless text.

A Diverse Cabinet will Make Joe Biden a Better President and Unify the Country

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

"Over the past 230 years, presidents have followed Washington’s lead, making increased diversity and representation of religions, backgrounds, genders and races a central part of the cabinet story."

Letters From an American: November 3, 2020

by Heather Cox Richardson

These injuries to our system have saddled us with an Electoral College that permits a minority to tyrannize over the majority. That systemic advantage is unsustainable in a democracy. One or the other will have to give.

Why Thomas Jefferson Created His Own Bible

by Peter Manseau

The "Jefferson Bible," representing Thomas Jefferson's efforts to excise the supernatural and miraculous from the New Testament, is an important document of American religious culture. The story of its preservation by Cyrus Adler and John Fletcher Lacey is a remarkable tale as well that reflects changes in the political nature of American religion.

A Powerful New Memorial To UVA’s Enslaved Workers Reclaims Lost Lives And Forgotten Narratives

The memorial's design uses "memory marks" to stand in for the names of enslaved people whose labors built the university.

We Can Tear Down False Idols of History. Thomas Jefferson Did it to Jesus Christ

by Peter Manseau

"Considering “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” anew today, we might begin by asking whether Jefferson’s willingness to challenge convention gives the lie to a justification of his many failings as unavoidable for a man of his time."

I’m a Direct Descendant of Thomas Jefferson. Take Down His Memorial.

by Lucian K. Truscott IV

it’s time to honor one of our founding mothers, a woman who fought as an escaped slave to free those still enslaved, who fought as an armed scout for the Union Army against the Confederacy — a woman who helped to bring into being a more perfect union after slavery, a process that continues to this day. In Jefferson’s place, there should be another statue. It should be of Harriet Tubman.