American Jefferson

“American Sphinx: The character of Thomas Jefferson”

A book by Joseph J. Ellis.

Copyright 1997 Vintage.

Joseph J. Ellis, a historian who was educated at the College of William and Mary and Yale, is a Ford Foundation Professor of History at Mount Holyoke University. He has written four books on historical topics, centered on the time Jefferson was alive, dealing with issues and personalities Jefferson dealt with firsthand. After authoring a book on a politician such as John Adams, Ellis seems to have felt a need or want to focus on Jefferson, presumably because of his status as founding father and main contributor to the constitution.

Ellis’s thesis in American Sphinx can be summed up by the quote in the prologue by James Parton: “If Jefferson was wrong, America is wrong. If America is right, Jefferson is right.” However, Ellis gave the impression that he was brought reluctantly to the task of researching and writing so extensively on Jefferson. Perhaps he was spurred on by the rebirth of interest in the Jefferson legacy. In recent years, the exposure of Jefferson’s affair and subsequent illegitimate children to a mulatto slave named Sally Hemings, and Ellis’s own experience of watching another scholar of Jefferson imitate him to near perfection probably inspired Ellis to add a few more notches to his authoring resume.

The influence Jefferson has over Ellis is apparent. He began college at a school founded by Jefferson, and is fond of a statue conspicuously facing the women’s dorms on campus. His professional research and scholarship always involved some indirect influence by Jefferson.

Even so, in writing this book, Joseph Ellis has taken an unbiased approach to Jefferson, never smoothing over points and incidents in which Thomas had definitely misjudged. Ellis realizes that in reality, no politician or leading figure can ever amount to the ideal of perfection attributed to some, (i.e. Jesus Christ) but stands by Jefferson in the face of heavy critics who would defame Jefferson’s name and work based on issues and or mistakes that happened in life outside the political world. I have also noticed that Ellis, when quoting other Jeffersonian authors, will contradict the reference he quoted, but will not dispu...

... middle of paper ...

...wn errors, which will never be intentional; and your support against the errors of others, who may condemn what they would not if seen in all it’s parts.” (Pg. 214) Quite profound in comparison to the speeches often heard today by Presidents who would never admit to any wrongdoing. (I did not have sexual relations with THAT woman)

After his term of office was over, Jefferson led an active life in American ideals and politics. However, his life was never the same after his wife died, and many of the current criticisms of Jefferson stem from this post presidential period. It is my firm belief that Jefferson deserved no reprimand for his actions then, or now. To conclude, Jefferson has been turned into a hero to me by Ellis, and probably without Ellis intending to do so. A scholar such as Joseph warrants literary acclaim when he creates a biography that so wonderfully illustrates the life of a man to whom this nation owes so much. It is my intention to reread this book, and perhaps others he has read. Based on the fact that this is a book review, I will jump into Bill Cosby’s shoes, pretend I’m on Reading Rainbow, and sing a little song about this book.