Notes on American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson:

1.  Philadelphia 1775-76:

• Jefferson played to his strengths during the Continental Congress, namely he was widely acknowledged as an excellent writer, but he hated to speak in public or be overtly involved in committee activities.
  • This point carries over nicely to his time as Secretary of State and President. Seems to best fit the way he managed his staff, a far cry from the way Washington did.
• What were the works/philosophies/historical events and people that shaped Jefferson’s political outlook? (A: Whig interpretation of history (pre-Norman), de Rapin’s History of England, Dalrymple’s History of Feudal Property in Great Britain, Hakluyt’s Voyages, The Theory of Expatriation, The English Whig Party/Real Whigs/County Party, Henry St. John Bollingbrook, John Trenchard, Thomas Gordon, James Burgh, Aristotle, Circero, Locke (Essay on Human Understanding), Sidney, The Scottish Enlightenment, Francis Hutcheson’s “moral sense” and communal tradition v. Lockean liberalism, Thomas Sheridan, Hume)
• Was Jefferson a hopeless romantic or a shrewd politician?  Think in terms of his embrace of the pre-Norman mythology of English egalitarianism.  Did he really believe this stuff or was he using it to get his way?
  • I think Jefferson was an idealist and a dreamer that somehow found others to operationalize his vision. (Madison)
  • He does argue that the roots of all evil at 1066 and the beginning of feudalism. I think we see here the beginning of Jefferson’s black and white way to framing an argument. Painting the Saxon’s as all good and the Normans as all Bad. This translates to further arguments he is able to frame, even fabrications of the truth to portray and sell a broader point. That system was simply transferred into colonial practice and led to exploitation. We are fortunate our forefathers did not put up with this for an extended period of time.
• What were the works that Jefferson wrote that laid the foundation for the Declaration of Independence? (A: A Summary Views of the Rights of British American, Causes and Necessity, and The Virginia Constitution).
  • Absolutely, but the influence of Thomas Paine on Jefferson and the cause writ large can also be included. I think the important point on Jeffersons writings, and what sets him apart from others of the era was an “intuitive attraction toward, a narrative structure built around moralistic dichotomies.” (p. 48) Jefferson was at heart an advocate. He thought deeply, read broadly, reached personal conclusions and advocated strongly for them. In this sense he was a visionary. He did not worry about the details, otherwise reaching the final endstate of individual liberties. Many interesting parallels to some of the advocates on certain issues of contemporary.
• Does NY delegate William Livingston comment about Jefferson’s writing style foreshadow the Federalist/Republican split? What about sectionalism in general? “They (Virginians) seem to think a reiteration of tyranny, despotism, bloody, etc. all this is needed to unite us at home…
• Did Jefferson write the Decl. of Indep b/c no one else wanted to? What were other priorities of the Continental Congress? Did he “plagiarize” the document?  Do you think committee work made the document better than if Jefferson had published without any editing?
  • Every thought is plagiarized, but then becomes original by adding existing context to it.

2.  Paris  1784-89

• Upon arrival in Paris Jefferson’s reputation was based more on his work in VA Assembly on legislative reform and less than his efforts in the Continental Congress.
• pg 68 shows that despite Jefferson’s belief in the ills of federal power, when he was in Congress he did not like the power of the states to interfere with his legislation and his private belief in the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation.
  • This is an excellent point. This is part of the difficulty of Federalism. What is the proper balance between province and center, between the state and the man?
  • I also think though his argument against the Articles was nuanced. He saw that the role of a Federal government was to control foreign affairs and trade and commerce with foreign nations. How did he view the role of the Federal Government to influence policy beyond that?
• Describe Jefferson’s inner circle.  Who were they? What was their background and education? Describe their interactions with Jefferson.  Were they sycophants or honest advisors? (Madison, Monroe, Short).  What were the long-term implications of this circle?
  • The long term implication of Jefferson-Madison-Monroe is that we will see each succeeding President having less authority and ability to make an individual imprint on things. This is well laid out in “The Politics that Presidents Make” by Skowronek. In this book he argues that this cycle of Presidents played on similar themes for legitimacy and therefore political support. But as conditions changed requiring new narratives to meet the problems of the modern day, these Presidents became constrained by the roots of legitimacy that became decades old. We will look at this book later on, but if you have the book, take a look at the case study of Jefferson, Madison, Monroe. This is a fascinating dynamic indeed!
• Some interesting comments and justifications given by the Ambassador from Tripoli as a justification for savagery on the High Seas. Uses religion to justify brutal behavior. Can someone please tell me why we have been negotiating with these animals for so long? What would have been a prudent strategy at that time? After this experience it is interesting to see how Adams and Jefferson split on the need to fund a large Navy.
• Paris seemed to be a good place for Jefferson to observe power politics in real-time, particularly international trade and finance e.g. the issue of free trade with France (tobacco) and loans from the Dutch (financial practice).  This clashed with his romantic ideals of a utopian society & revolution (Shays), does this prepare him for his presidency?  What about his shifting views on the French Revolution?
  • What this chapter shows is deepening of certain resolves, questioning of other axioms, and the constant challenging of ideas. This is truly a period of tremendous growth for Jefferson. “If anybody thinks that kings, nobles, or priests are good conservators of the public happiness, send them here.” (p. 100) Great point….
• Does Notes reveal Jefferson as the master Machiavellian politician?
• Jefferson’s framework for government: Indians (Utopia), Wolves guarding sheep (Europe), US/English (gov’ts responsible to people) seem too simplistic, I wonder if it was good he missed the drafting of the Constitution? In fact, Madison had to advise him to endorse ratification.
  • A good point. I think we see Jefferson’s inner struggle playing out during this time. He is undoubtedly drinking all of his French wine and writing all his thoughts out. This is really interesting stuff. We see here how Jefferson wrestles with the right role of the state vs the citizen. Madisons advise was prudent, I think Jefferson drifting to the very radical end of the spectrum during this period.
  • But as we justify Washington and Hamilton as Federalists, with their experience in battle and the need to better centralize resources and plans and fighters to best carry out the fight, we see Jefferson shaped by all that is bad with monarchy in France. He radicalizes here, but I think we see him soften as he returns home.
• Maybe the French Revolution went the way it did b/c the conflicts were so entrenched after centuries of practice?  America was still an infant society.
  • It is interesting here to see how Jefferson misjudges how this is going to turn out. Is he naive? Does he have too great of faith in mankind to default to reason?
  • Also, I think this is a very salient point regarding the entrenchment of ideas. You should have been advising the President. What is exceptional about America?? Well, one thing is that we did not have the entrenched anger to get in the way of democratic progress. Had this point been considered, do you think we would have had a different approach to the Arab Spring? The point is, why did the U.S. think the Arab Spring would look like the Am. Revolution opposed to the French Revolution? Likely becasue those in charge either failed to consider history or had an agenda? I believe our elites are well educated. Thoughts?
• Jefferson wrote “the earth belongs to the living.” Do you think that this point is still relevant? Far left progressives see a lot of salience in this argument, thoughts?

3.  Monticello 1794-97

• Jefferson is again presented as a man torn between two realities; one in which he wants to retire to a bucolic, utopian farmland and the other is the reality of a shrewd politician that networks with a core group of Republicans.  How does this dichotomy reflect his other thoughts/actions with regard to foreign policy, budding political parties, federalism, etc? (as a coda – all of the Presidents have thus far worked to pure exhaustion and needed long breaks at home to revitalize themselves – is this behavior to model in modern times in which we are “connected” 24/7, 365?
  • An interesting point and I agree. Jefferson did not want to retire, he wanted a break
• Explain Revolutionary Realism as it is described on pg 150. Is this a necessary evil to create a free society?
• Describe the advent of American political “parties”.  How were they different than factions? What was the catalyst?  How did they form along sectional lines, economic lines (look at debt ridden plantation class v. banking/industrial class).  Interesting how both align with the personalities and backgrounds of Jefferson and Hamilton).
  • The factions derive from a fundamental belief in the role of government. The Federalists saw the need for a large centralized bureaucracy to organize and control certain key functions of the government. For Republicans, led by Jefferson, bid government was by nature an infringement on the rights of citizens of a republic.
• What was the catalyst to get Jefferson back into politics? (the Jay Treaty w/ the Whiskey Rebellion as a prologue).
  • After some time to dwell, Jefferson began to see a drifting from the virtues of 1776. Meaning the ideals that crafted the Revolution were not being honored in the way originally envisioned. The final concern was the centralization of a growing debt, a phenomenon that would strengthen the government visavis the people. The Jay Treaty of course was the Stamp Act of 1795, catalyzing libertarians into action. Interestingly, Washington and Adams were both founders. The most fascinating part here is the divergence from those who agreed on the spirit of the founding document.
• Describe Jefferson’s approach to politics.  How was it similar to Washington’s?
• A tremendous juxtaposition of Jeffersons character lies in the way he treated slavery. Why do you think a man who clearly demarcated between right and wrong in political debates, looked at slavery in a more subtle manner considering economics prior to making any major commitments either way on the issue?

4. Washington D.C. 1801-04

• What is the Revolution of 1800? Is it really a Revolution in your opinion? Why?
• Why did Jefferson dislike the Supreme Court? How did Pres. Jefferson feel about Chief Justice John Marshall? Why?
• Explain the significance of the peaceful transfer of power that took place between Adams and Jefferson. What do you think of the statement: “To put it differently, the most significant events were those that did not happen.” (211)
• Compare the styles of Washington and Jefferson regarding selection of staffs and management style.
• Why did the French sell the LA territory to the U.S?

5. Monticello 1816-26

• Why did Jefferson enact the Embargo Act? Was this a good idea? Why?
• How are small government and social equality amongst a population related? Is this a Jeffersonian principle? How? What did Adams say about this?
• The letters between Jefferson and Adams prior to their deaths are a fascinating narration of a historic period. Discuss something that stood out.
• What was Consolidation and diffusion in the debate surrounding the expansion of slavery? Which did Jefferson support?

6. The Future of an Illusion

• How did Jefferson vision slowly die between 1865 and 1950?
• What were the core difference in the assumptions of Jefferson and Adams regarding the role of government? Explain negative liberty.
• What political party would Jefferson be a part of today? What political figure do you think he most closely represents?