No one embraces the ideology of the Enlightenment more vociferously than Thomas Jefferson. How would this champion of the Enlightenment square with the Postmodernism of our present age? The two philosophical viewpoints seem diametrically opposed -- a collision waiting to happen. Would our postmodern society shun or receive such a disciplined gentleman as he?
Admittedly, we do have to take into account that there is a gross difference in the culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and that of the twenty-first century. Whether that is good or bad is a matter of opinion, and Jefferson would certainly have an opinion. His passions were many, encompassing a myriad of subjects ranging from horticulture to the exhumation of a mammoth fossil. His Virginian home was a virtual museum showcasing Indian artifacts, European art, and an utilitarian display of inventions designed by Jefferson himself. No one could deny the breadth of his genius. A quest for knowledge and a quest for truth were as elemental as breathing to him.
Initially, we need to briefly define the terms Enlightenment and Postmodernism. The German thinker, Immanuel Kant, wrote that the motto of the Enlightenment might be “Have courage to use your own reason” (Lauzon, 2005). Reason held preeminence. The Age of Reason contributed most prominently in the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson’s authorship of this document was based on reason and truth. He believed the reasoning mind could ascertain truth. Reason and science were the hallmarks and the bulwark of the Enlightenment.
Conversely, truth to the postmodernist is whatever works for each individual. Thomas Jefferson wouldn’t be able to wrap his head...
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Klages, M. (2007). “Literary theory: A guide for the perplexed.” Retrieved from
http://www.colorado.edu/English/courses/ENGL2012Klages.
Koch, A. (1971). Jefferson. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.
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http://millercenter.org/president/jefferson/essays/biography/2.
As political philosopher, Jefferson was a man of the Enlightenment, who met several of the
First is Jefferson’s introduction to the National scene between 1775-1776. Afterward, he served on a diplomatic mission to Paris (1784-1789), and it was during his stay with the French that he bore witness to the beginning of the French Revolution. Subsequently, between 1794 and 1797, the man resided in Monticello in semi-retirement before finally serving as the President of the United States between 1801 and 1805. Eventually, Ellis covers the last ten years of Jefferson 's life; thus completing the mentioned propitious
For most of Thomas Jefferson’s life, Anglicanism had a firm grip on those around him—Virginia in particular. Jefferson did not necessarily disfavor Anglicanism itself, but he was not fond of the lack of diversity within the surrounding area. Many individuals including John Locke, George Wythe, and James Maury inspired him beyond belief as he grew older. He was introduced to the Enlightenment, the age of reason, the influence of nature, the importance of truth, the presence of morality, etc. Which led to one
Jefferson had made promises to Americans, some of his promises in particularly the increase of land for the yeoman farmer and promised not kept were decreasing National debt and Federal power. Jefferson’s presidency was to a certain extent a “Republican Revolution” but at the same time it had also become a continuation of Federalists policies. While making decisions for the best interests of Democratic Republicans, Jefferson had chosen the same path of the Federalist in order to keep his promises, and had to sacrifice some of the ideals and promises of the “Republican Revolution.”
Thomas Jefferson was an agrarian soul who favored popular rule. He placed his trust in the land and the people who farmed it and desired that America would remain a nation of farmers. He emphasized liberty, democracy, and social welfare and believed that the main purpose of government was to assure freedom of its individual citizens. He had a fear of tyranny and distrusted centralized power, especially from an aristocracy or a moneyed class. Thomas Jefferson favored the spread of power ranging from the federal level to state and local levels. Jefferson stated, ?I have never observed men?s honesty to increase with their riches.';
The Enlightenment had the most immediate impact on the founding fathers who were framers of the United States Constitution. Europeans often called the Enlightenment century as the Age of Reason. The Enlightenment is a period of uproar in America’s thirteen colonies in the early eighteenth century. It provoked a cry for a new government with a Constitution to assure liberty. It influenced the founding fathers because we needed structure such as human rights, civil rights and separation of church and state. The Enlightenment thinker’s affected the new nation. During this period, the Enlightenment began the revolution of change in thinking.
During the 18th Century America was dealing with independence from Europe and trying to establish them as a strong country. As far as government goes, a monarchal government was not in question. Many people saw great opportunity to step up and contribute ideas that will make America into the country of preference. One of these men was 3rd president and member of the original founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. While most Americans view Thomas Jefferson as an upstanding and honorable man, he was plagued with the moral contradiction of having fathered children with one of his slaves Sally Heming’s and as a result spurred a great deal of controversy. As a result of his action’s Jefferson’s virtuous demeanor is questioned and shows how hypocritical he is.
Thomas Jefferson was an educated, articulate and accomplished man from a well-respected family. He had a great understanding of farming and of the relationship between man and his environment, working diligently to balance the two for the best interest of each. He “considered himself first and always a man of the land” (Jewett, 2005). His vision of the New World was of true, idealistic freedom with limited government involvement; an educated farmer, a moral man who would sustain himself off of the very land his freedom was based.
He wrote many times that salve ownership was directly against one’s personal and God given freedoms and liberties. On the contrary, he owned slaves and quite a few at that. Naturally, people are quick to label Mr. Jefferson a hypocrite because of this. But once you look deeper into Jefferson’s situation and his life you see some complications he would quickly run into if he were to release his slaves. During his lifetime, Jefferson was in a lot of debt and his slaves were his property. So his slaves acted as collateral to his debt. If he was to release his slaves then he would have run into some pretty heavy financial problems. I think that Jefferson had a big realization about deserved freedom for all humans but by the time he realized all of this it was too late. He already had an established life and if were to give it all up because of his realizations he would have been ruining his own life. He knew that he couldn’t do that to himself or his family. I don’t think we can stamp hypocrisy onto Mr. Jefferson. His heart was in the right place I think he might have just been too scared to completely give up his life for his beliefs because he knew what the consequences would
...th of these ideas were significant, they did not truly change how the nation operated as a whole. For all his talk, Jefferson did little to change the Federalist policies established by his predecessors and ultimately ended up embracing many of them. Yes, the election represented change, but was the election was really the “Revolution of 1800”, as claimed by some? Perhaps the greatest proof against this idea is that the national government has more or less existed in the same form since it was established by the Constitution.
A Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States are all descriptors of the accomplished Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson has not only completed these successful feats, but he also managed to proficiently manage an astounding amount of other contributions to this country. Thomas Jefferson is associated not only with the founding of our strong nation, but he has completed a great many acts that have facilitated the growth of the United States. Thomas Jefferson accomplished numerous endeavors in his life, and this is why he is so respected and admired, even centuries after he was on the earth. Thomas Jefferson’s early life, contributions to the Revolution, and his life during and after
The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.
Thomas Jefferson wrote his Draft of the Declaration and was influenced by many of the ideas and concepts of John Locke. He did modify some of Locke’s ideas but most of them were the product of Locke’s belief in the Law’s of Nature and the fundamental unalienable rights of all human beings. As a result, their writings influence and demonstrate basic rights of people and make up our government. The world in which we live in is a product of the ideals of these men, who lived over 200 years ago; we are a representation of a republic
The Hypocrisy behind Thomas Jefferson One of Thomas Jefferson’s greatest accomplishments was being an author of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that slavery was morally wrong and that the United States should abolish it once and for all. In addition, Jefferson believed that all men were created equal, but as a slave owner he refused to let go of his own slaves. There is evidence behind the thought that his words did not always match his actions, especially when it came to individual rights and freedom.
Jefferson’s use of strategies and language is ineffective in making his points and persuading readers of his arguments. Using hasty generalization, begging the question, and insulting language in his analysis is a huge flaw which lessens the credibility of his argument and offenses his readers. Jefferson should use other argumentative strategies and prevent himself from using insulting language in order to convince readers of his arguments.