The Apostle of Freedom, "I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." That is the inscription inside the Jefferson Memorial dome. He was a man that was in the right place at the right time with the right abilities and greatness was bestowed upon him almost by accident. However, it seems the great esteem he experienced had an effect of precipitating his idealism or it may have been there from the beginning. He was a dreamer an idealist, someone who sees a grand scheme but, not necessarily all the pictures in a painting. Sometimes this blinded him to the inconsistencies in his choices but, aren't we, all a little or a lot, self-delusionists. Don't we all create a self-image based on certain behaviors and choices and ignore others. We don't want to see the choices we maker or actions we take that don't fit the picture of the good person we see of ourselves. Jefferson was like that,he acted with one hand and didn't want to see what the other hand did. Or maybe he acted without thinking things thru first. We are beholden to him for his brave and determined fight against tyranny and for keeping the ship that is America from going too far to one side.
His famous moment began before the editorial changes were made by Continental Congress "We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & unalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness." Jefferson believed that the natural state of man is freedom from and equality with all other individuals any restrictions on this natural order was immoral transgressions, violations of what God intended. This is a recipe, if not tampered with, will produce maximum human happiness. Thomas Jefferson really was an utterly brilliant political rhetorician and visionary. He used whatever means necessary to guard this creed even if it alienated his friends and associates. One of these friends was his mentor and one of the main founding fathers, John Adams. He was his partner and mentor writing the Declaration of Independence, he was the one who recommended Thomas Jefferson. They also worked together in France as ambassadors. But after George Washington Stepped down after two terms as president they were both in the running for being the next president. Thomas Jefferson had a habit of writing or saying things about his political rivals, that were helpful to his political guarding of our freedom but alienated others. He hated the federalists and apposed Alexander Hamilton Vehemently. He said John Adams was a monarchist among other things. This ended their friendship until later in their lives when both had been president. They wrote a hundred plus letters to each other and talked frequently about the 'spirit of 76' and what it all meant.
Even thought he only freed a couple of slaves when he died, he believed slavery was an evil institution imposed on the colonists by a corrupt monarch. He at another time said Slavery was the serpent in the garden sent there by a satanic king. The colonists had nothing to do with establishing slavery-they were the unfortunate victims of English barbarism. Thomas Jefferson was more a prophet than a politician. His favorite ideas were several steps ahead of public opinion. In the Virginia assembly the thrust of his political thinking was clear. Remove all barriers to individual initiative and create an opening the development of virtue and talent, and creative thinking. He wrote the Ordinance of 1784 which established the principles on which all new states would be admitted to the union on an equal basis with existing states. The final provision required the end of slavery in all newly created states by 1800. It lost by one vote. He later remarked "the fate of millions unborn (was) hanging on the tongue of one man, and Heaven was silent in that awful moment!" What a moment that was, can you imagine as I do how much pain and suffering that one vote has cost this nation and I almost would like to find out who was responsible for that one awful vote.
Madison was Jefferson's lifelong friend and 50 year coalition in the political arena. Madison helped to be a sounding board and temper some of Jefferson's more idealistic ideas and proposals. He helped to ground Jefferson to reality and Jefferson listened to his advice. They created a ciphered code to conceal sensitive information. John Quincy Adams said "the mutual influence of these two mighty minds upon each other is a phenomenon."
As President he rarely met with his whole cabinet and had meetings separately. He was a writer and literally functioned as president from the lap of his desk. He described his governing style as the hub of a wheel with the business of the nation done at the rim, conveyed through the departmental spokes but all supervised at the center. He avoided confrontation and used the term "take the handle by the smooth end" to describe this behavior. He felt the President should be as invisible as possible and rarely went out. He did have dinners at his house where he tried to foster communication in the political realm at Washington but, later had to invite only members that would not be so opposed to each other. He kept them going because he believed it created personal bonds and emotional attachments that might help override political disagreements.
As president he inherited the most stable and peaceful international scene since the United States had declared its independence. He understood partly from John Adams failure that keeping another president's cabinet is a disastrous decision. He collected in a mass around his administration all the abilities and the respectability to which the offices exercised could employ. His cabinet proved to be one of the ablest and the most stable collection of executive advisers in the history of the American presidency. His first item of business was to retire the national debt and he did just that. Maybe he felt responsible because he was complicit in Alexander's plan of assuming states debts, and regarded it as America's original sin. In line with that he was solely responsible for the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase.
Jefferson's clearest statement of his minimalist theory of government is as follows:"wise and frugal governments, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them free to regulate their pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities. Oh, how would it be today if we could have followed this motto, we would not be facing the recession that we have now dim prospects for our future I believe unless we can go toward the Jefferson model of minimal government. Jefferson Believed as our stock market shows "the release of national energy increased as the power of government decreased." And it did when he was President. In his inaugural address he likened the country to a ship "we shall put her back on her republican tack, and she will show by the beauty of her motion the skill of her builders."
He and John Adams died on the same day 50 years to the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. When John Adams died second he said "Thomas Jefferson still lives". The world in general, doesn't seem to comprehend why he said that but, I think I know. Perhaps Thomas Jefferson came to pick up John Adams spirit from the world after this one. How indebted we are to him and John Adams as well as the other founding fathers for their guiding the ship of our country on the beginning of its maiden voyage when it was the most vulnerable. How well it was recorded in their letters to each other and to a nation as presidents. While discussing their familiar topic "the spirit of 76" they discovered that they had only imagined republican was not monarchy but, then realized that "governments are republican only in proportion as they embody the will of the people, and execute it. In addition he said "The further the departure from direct and constant control by the citizens, the less has the government the ingredient of republicanism."
Now we must ask what is happening to our country on our watch and what are we leaving for our children. I am in full support of candidates to Washington that support the Jefferson principles as limiting government, being frugal, letting the states have more control. It has been proven through history that when the government is kept at a minimal level like in Jefferson's Presidency the Country Flourishes.
Even though this was a great book to read, and it illuminated the positives of Thomas Jefferson it still had a more negative spin. I am concerned by the spin I have seen in it toward a more liberal view of our founding fathers. Going thru my notes in the book I have found that when I leave out the conjecture and spin I have a different view of Jefferson than before. So Instead of finding all the faults and perceived or concocted ideas of what the founding fathers were doing or thinking, let us look at the facts. Look at all they did that we are indebted to them for. Let us thank them by following their good examples. Look at what has worked in history for the government of the people, by the people and find a way to get back to the "spirit of 76".
