Summary
America’s third president was a citizen of the world. An idealist in values, but ruthlessly pragmatic when in the seat of authority. Jefferson was in public service for about fifty years, with his influence lasting directly up to Jackson’s presidency, making him one of the most effective political operatives in American history. Meacham gives a full view of Jefferson’s life from early education to his end-of-life correspondence with Adams. Jefferson cuts one of the most romantic and contradictory figures in early America. To the rest of the world, he displayed a certain sophistication many thought impossible to emerge from the Americas, whereas to history his regressive stance on slavery taints his memory: he at once acknowledged its illegitimacy yet could not bring himself to reject the peculiar institution altogether. Jefferson was the most vocal of the founding fathers in his defense of the individual rights of man (though, of course, definitions of “men” varied), and this manifested in an expressed distrust of strong federal governments. The preference for small government formed the basis for his antagonism with America’s other premier intellect, Alexander Hamilton. This disagreement ended up forming the first political parties in the US, the Federalists (Hamilton’s party) and the Republicans (Jefferson’s party). The founding gets mythologized for obvious reasons, but it is truly remarkable that two such politically fertile minds as Jefferson and Hamilton would be selected to form this country’s first cabinet. It is also a testament to Washington’s leadership that such a cabinet could exist for as long as it did. Always sure that Washington was Hamilton’s puppet, Jefferson would eventually retire to Monticello in a semi-theatrical way. His avowed aim was to put the dirty work of politics behind him, but both Washington and Hamilton suspected that Jefferson was “protesting too much.” Their suspicions turned out to be correct, he would shortly be back in office, serving a single term under the acerbic John Adams as vice president. He would then deftly create the first single-term president in US history, ascending to the highest office in the land. Once in the driver’s seat, strong centralized authority seemed useful, and Jefferson did little to curtail the powers of the executive. In fact, when Napoleon offered Jefferson the Louisiana Purchase, he was worried that the purchase of lands was not within the scope of Federal authority and would require an amendment. He ended up deciding the amendment path would open the purchase up to an extended window of debate and deliberation when decisive and quick action was needed, and so he pushed the purchase straight to Congress. This is not to say that Jefferson’s values were inauthentically held; it was more a testament to his adaptability. After Jefferson served two terms, the presidential office went to his long-term friend and ideological ally Madison. He would keep in close contact with leaders of the Republican Party for the rest of his life.
Thoughts
It is impossible to read biographies of “great” people and not compare their achievements to your own, or the lack thereof. Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence at the age of 33. I suppose that means I have a year to participate in a revolution against the world’s foremost superpower, topple it, and author the founding document of the newly born country.
I like to think of the founding fathers in terms of who would be fun to hang out with. So far, while Franklin would likely be the best of them to get a drink with, Jefferson would have to be a close second. His intellect and passion for the finer things in life would have made for interesting conversation.
When it comes to the core disagreements between Jefferson and Hamilton, I have to side with my main man Hamilton. This is partially due to hindsight bias, where we can see that several of Hamilton’s ideas — in particular national banks and a strong federalized government — are required for a country of independent states like the United States. One can only be glad that Jefferson lost the argument, yet it must be said that strong intelligent debate likely only improved on Hamilton’s designs.
As for Meacham’s handling of Jefferson’s life, when it comes to reading biographies, the writing only becomes noticeable when it gets in the way of the story. This never happened; Meacham did a great job of laying out Jefferson’s life coherently in a clear and objective way.