The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson

by Boorstin, Daniel J.

• ISBN13: 9780226064970
• ISBN10: 0226064972
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

In this classic work by one of America's most distinguished historians, Daniel Boorstin enters into Thomas Jefferson's world of ideas. By analysing writings of 'the Jeffersonian Circle,' Boorstin explores concepts of God, nature, equality, toleration, education and government in order to illuminate their underlying world view. The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson demonstrates why on the 250th anniversary of his birth, this American leader's message has remained relevant to our national crises and grand concerns. "The volume is too subtle, too rich in ideas for anyone to do justice to it in brief summary, too heavily documented and too carefully wrought for anyone to dismiss its thesis. . . . It is a major contribution not only to Jefferson studies but to American intellectual history. . . . All who work in the history of ideas will find themselves in Mr. Boorstin's debt."Richard Hofstadter, South Atlantic Monthly

Table of Contents

Preface to the 1993 Edition	vii
Preface	xi
INTRODUCTION	1	(234)
`The Influence of America on the Mind'	3	(5)
The Jeffersonian Circle	8	(19)
The Supreme Workman	27	(30)
Nature as the Work of Art	30	(11)
The Economy of Nature	41	(13)
The Apotheosis of Nature	54	(3)
The Equality of the Human Species	57	(52)
The Adaptability of Man	61	(7)
The Dispersion of the Human Species	68	(13)
Varieties of Mankind: the Indian and the Negro	81	(17)
The Fulfillment of Human Equality	98	(11)
The Physiology of Thought and Morals	109	(58)
`The Mode of Action Called Thinking'	112	(7)
The Happy Variety of Minds	119	(9)
The Perils of Metaphysics	128	(12)
The Moral Sense and the Life of Action	140	(11)
Jeffersonian Christianity	151	(16)
The Natural History of a New Society	167	(68)
Natural History and Political Science	171	(15)
The Use of Government	186	(8)
A Philosophy of Rights	194	(10)
The Sovereignty of the Present Generation	204	(9)
The Quest for Useful Knowledge	213	(12)
The American Destiny	225	(10)
CONCLUSION	235	(14)
The Promise of Jeffersonian Thought	237	(6)
The God of the Republic	243	(6)
Notes	249	(46)
Index	295