The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Jefferson

by Edited by Frank Shuffelton

• ISBN13: 9780521867313
• ISBN10: 0521867312
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-02-02
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This Companion forms an accessible introduction to the life and work of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence. Essays explore Jefferson's political thought, his policies towards Native Americans, his attitude to race and slavery, as well as his interests in science, architecture, religion and education. Contributors include leading literary scholars and historians; the essays offer up to date overviews of his many interests, his friendships and his legacy. Together, they reveal his importance in the cultural and political life of early America. At the same time these original essays speak to abiding modern concerns about American culture and Jefferson's place in it. This Companion will be essential reading for students and scholars of Jefferson, and is designed for use by students of American literature and American history.

Table of Contents

Notes on contributors	p. vii
Chronology	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
The Declaration of Independence and the new nation	p. 12
Jefferson's conception of republican government	p. 35
Notes on the State of Virginia and the Jeffersonian West	p. 47
Jefferson and Native Americans: policy and archive	p. 61
Race and slavery in the era of Jefferson	p. 73
Jefferson's people: slavery at Monticello	p. 83
Jefferson, science, and the Enlightenment	p. 101
Thomas Jefferson and the creation of the American architectural image	p. 114
The politics of pedagogy: Thomas Jefferson and the education of a democratic citizenry	p. 127
Jefferson and religion: private belief, public policy	p. 143
Jefferson and the language of friendship	p. 155
Jefferson and Adams: friendship and the power of the letter	p. 168
The resonance of minds: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the republic of letters	p. 179
Jefferson and the democratic future	p. 193
Guide to further reading	p. 205
Index	p. 208
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