Jefferson

2017-04-25
Jefferson
Author: John B. Boles
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2017-04-25
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0465094694
GET BOOK

From an eminent scholar of the American South, the first full-scale biography of Thomas Jefferson since 1970 Not since Merrill Peterson's Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation has a scholar attempted to write a comprehensive biography of the most complex Founding Father. In Jefferson, John B. Boles plumbs every facet of Thomas Jefferson's life, all while situating him amid the sweeping upheaval of his times. We meet Jefferson the politician and political thinker -- as well as Jefferson the architect, scientist, bibliophile, paleontologist, musician, and gourmet. We witness him drafting of the Declaration of Independence, negotiating the Louisiana Purchase, and inventing a politics that emphasized the states over the federal government -- a political philosophy that shapes our national life to this day. Boles offers new insight into Jefferson's actions and thinking on race. His Jefferson is not a hypocrite, but a tragic figure -- a man who could not hold simultaneously to his views on abolition, democracy, and patriarchal responsibility. Yet despite his flaws, Jefferson's ideas would outlive him and make him into nothing less than the architect of American liberty.

Jefferson

2017
Jefferson
Author: John B. Boles
Publisher:
Total Pages: 626
Release: 2017
Genre: Diplomats
ISBN: 9781541697966
GET BOOK

"As Alexander Hamilton's star has risen, Thomas Jefferson's has fallen, largely owing to their divergent views on race. Once seen as the most influential American champion of liberty and democracy, Jefferson is now remembered largely for his relationship with his slave Sally Hemings, and for electing not to free her or most of the other people he owned. In this magisterial biography, the eminent scholar John B. Boles does not ignore the aspects of Jefferson that trouble us today, but strives to see him in full, and to undertstand him amid the sweeping upheaval of his times. We follow Jefferson from his early success as an abnormally precocious student and lawyer in colonial Virginia through his drafting of the Declaration of Independence at age 33, his travels in Europe on the eve of the French Revolution, his acidic personal battles with Hamilton, his triumphant ascent to the presidency in 1801, his prodigious efforts to found the University of Virginia, and beyond. From Jefferson's inspiring defenses of political and religious liberty to his heterodox abridgment of Christian belief, Boles explores Jefferson's expansive intellectual life, and the profound impact of his ideas on the world. Boles overturns conventional wisdom at every turn, arguing, among other things, that Jefferson did not--as later southerners would--deem the states rightfully superior to the federal government. Yet Boles's view is not limited to politics and public life; we also meet Jefferson the architect, scientist, bibliophile, and gourmet--as well as Jefferson the gentle father and widower, doting on his daughters and longing for escape from the rancorous world of politics. As this authoritative, evenhanded portrait shows, Jefferson challenges us more thoroughly than any other founder; he was at once the most idealistic, contradictory, and quintessentially American of them all."--

Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation

1986-09-11
Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation
Author: Merrill D. Peterson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 1106
Release: 1986-09-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199840520
GET BOOK

The definitive life of Jefferson in one volume, this biography relates Jefferson's private life and thought to his prominent public position and reveals the rich complexity of his development. As Peterson explores the dominant themes guiding Jefferson's career--democracy, nationality, and enlightenment--and Jefferson's powerful role in shaping America, he simultaneously tells the story of nation coming into being.

Thomas Jefferson, Architect

2019-10-22
Thomas Jefferson, Architect
Author: Mabel O. Wilson
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2019-10-22
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 030024620X
GET BOOK

A compelling reassessment of Thomas Jefferson's architecture that scrutinizes the complex, and sometimes contradictory, meanings of his iconic work Renowned as a politician and statesman, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was also one of the premier architects of the early United States. Adept at reworking Renaissance--particularly Palladian--and Enlightenment ideals to the needs of the new republic, Jefferson completed visionary building projects such as his two homes, Monticello and Poplar Forest; the Capitol building in Richmond; and the University of Virginia campus. Featuring a wealth of archival images, including models, paintings, drawings, and prints, this volume presents compelling essays that engage broad themes of history, ethics, philosophy, classicism, neoclassicism, and social sciences while investigating various aspects of Jefferson's works, design principles, and complex character. In addition to a thorough introduction to Jefferson's career as an architect, the book provides insight into his sources of inspiration and a nuanced take on the contradictions between his ideas about liberty and his embrace of slavery, most poignantly reflected in his plan for the academical village at the University of Virginia, which was carefully designed to keep enslaved workers both invisible and accessible. Thomas Jefferson, Architect offers fresh perspectives on Jefferson's architectural legacy, which has shaped the political and social landscape of the nation and influenced countless American architects since his time.

Madison and Jefferson

2013-01-29
Madison and Jefferson
Author: Andrew Burstein
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 850
Release: 2013-01-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812979001
GET BOOK

“[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)

Architecture, Liberty and Civic Order

2016-03-09
Architecture, Liberty and Civic Order
Author: Carroll William Westfall
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2016-03-09
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1317178998
GET BOOK

This book brings to light central topics that are neglected in current histories and theories of architecture and urbanism. These include the role of imitation in earlier centuries and its potential role in present practice; the necessary relationship between architecture, urbanism and the rural districts; and their counterpart in the civil order that builds and uses what is built. The narrative traces two models for the practice of architecture. One follows the ancient model in which the architect renders his service to serve the interests of others; it survives and is dominant in modernism. The other, first formulated in the fifteenth century by Leon Battista Alberti, has the architect use his talent in coordination with others to contribute to the common good of a republican civil order that seeks to protect its own liberty and that of its citizens. Palladio practiced this way, and so did Thomas Jefferson when he founded a uniquely American architecture, the counterpart to the nation’s founding. This narrative gives particular emphasis to the contrasting developments in architecture on the opposite sides of the English Channel. The book presents the value for clients and architects today and in the future of drawing on history and tradition. It stresses the importance, indeed, the urgency, of restoring traditional practices so that we can build just, beautiful, and sustainable cities and rural districts that will once again assist citizens in living not only abundantly but also well as they pursue their happiness.

Thomas Jefferson

2003-09-04
Thomas Jefferson
Author: R. B. Bernstein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2003-09-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195169115
GET BOOK

In this definitive short biography, Bernstein deftly synthesizes the massive scholarship on his subject into an insightful, evenhanded account illuminating Jefferson's central place in the American Enlightenment. Book jacket.

The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson

2003
The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson
Author: Thomas Jefferson
Publisher: Citadel Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2003
Genre: United States
ISBN: 9780806524214
GET BOOK

Statesman. Diplomat. Politician. Scholar. Inventor. Architect. There is no shortage of words to describe America's third president and true Renaissance man, Thomas Jefferson. As the author of the Declaration of Independence, he stands at the heart of the American experiment; his writings and ideas mark him as a draftsman of the American experience. Now, in The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, this powerful advocate of liberty comes to life through his own eloquent words. Here is the Thomas Jefferson who oversaw the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis/Clark exploration, established diplomatic relations with Great Britain, prohibited the importation of slaves, and grappled with his own contested election to the presidency. Here, too, is the gifted scholar and architect, a man who advanced the education of America by founding the University of Virginia while also designing and building his renowned plantation, Monticello. Drawing upon Jefferson's prolific body of letters and writings, this revealing book chronicles the birth and infancy of our democracy and provides fascinating insight into Jefferson's relationships with such historical luminaries as George Washington, James Madison, and his rival and colleague John Adams. Provocative and inspiring, challenging and informative, The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson lets readers know this man of conviction, principle, and deep thought as someone who not only forged the spirit of our country but whose actions and ideas continue to influence us today. Book jacket.

Thomas Jefferson: Psychobiography of an American Lion

2020-03-02
Thomas Jefferson: Psychobiography of an American Lion
Author: M. Andrew Holowchak
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-03-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781536166576
GET BOOK

The sort of assessment Holowchak aims to do in this book is both historical and psychological, so the book is in large measure a psychobiography. Holowchak aims to enter into the mind of Thomas Jefferson by perusal and critical assessment of significant events in his life and singular, but representative writings from Jefferson's nearly 20,000 letters, numerous bills, addresses, messages, autobiography, and Notes on Virginia. How does one begin a psychobiography of such a singular figure? It is difficult to do justice to Jefferson from a historical perspective and it is doubly difficult to do justice to Jefferson from a psychological perspective. One who is adept in historical insights usually lacks psychological perspective, and conversely. Moreover, one who has a capacity for psychological perspective is handcuffed by not having access to the dynamic psychotherapeutic setting -- an invaluable asset for a psychotherapist. Furthermore, Jefferson was a complex figure. A slaveholder, he was a lifelong critic of slavery. An aristocrat, he always championed democratic sentiments. A nationalist, he was also cosmopolitan. A conservative moralist, he was revolutionist. An agrarian, he manufactured his own nails. And so, any psychological depiction and assessment of the man must accommodate paradox and ambivalence, though there are numerous things (eg: liberty, progress, and human moral goodness) about which he certainly was not ambivalent. In this book, Holowchak offers historical insights and psychological perspective on Jefferson. He depicts a man with several psychological quirks -- with definite neurotic tendencies -- yet one who throughout his numerous adventures in life, and many set-backs, kept things together. With profound recognition that the things he saw in nature were due to the hand of deity, Jefferson observed, measured, and recorded what he saw. He even at times saw fit to critique nature, when he recognised that humans could work with nature to make things more serviceable for human needs. Jefferson was always in the business of accommodating nature for human needs. Holowchak ends the book with some thoughts on Jefferson's moral outlook and character.