History Writing AssignmentQuestioning Where Thomas Jefferson’s Immortality LiesJohn F. Kennedy once described a White House reception for Nobellaureates as “the most extraordinary collection of talent, of humanknowledge, that has ever gathered together at the White House, with thepossible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. ” Thomas Jeffersonwas a man noted not only for his great intelligence, but also as a man whobelieved in the rights of the people to govern themselves.
As one of thenation’s Founding Fathers, and as its third president, Jefferson regularlydisplayed both qualities. During the first five decades of this nation’shistory, Jefferson was pre-eminent among his peers as an advocate of therights of man. The inspiring appeal of his philosophy and the eloquentforce of his expression have made him a powerful symbol of freedomthroughout the Western world, and his influence has been even greater indeath than in life. Even in today’s society, he is still known throughoutthe world – he is immortal. Some dwell on Thomas Jefferson’s character andportray him as scoundrel and focus on his immorality, while others preferto explore Jefferson’s system of ideas on government, economics, andslavery.
However, people should focus on what makes Thomas Jefferson, theparagon of reason, one of the most talked about man. During his publicaddress, Woodrow Wilson said “The immortality of Jefferson does not lie inany one of his achievements, but in his attitude toward mankind”. However,I believe that Thomas Jefferson’s immortality lies in his work thatreflects his attitude toward mankind. The Declaration of Independence,founding the America’s public education system, Louisiana Purchase are someof works Thomas Jefferson’s works that show his moral character. The Declaration of Independence is one of the greatest Americanpoems. His document shows not only his strongly held belief in that peoplewere created equal, but his acceptance of belief.
Everybody subscribes toit in a way. Jefferson states that “all men are equal” and argues thatevery man has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Thomas Jefferson intended it to be a very emotional argument in a greatpoem in which he itemizes all those things against the king. It turned outto be a very powerful document. Few people realize that Thomas Jefferson was the founder ofAmerica’s public education system. This is another example of his work thatreflects his moral attitude towards mankind.
During the last years of hislife, he was “entirely absorbed in endeavors to effect the establishment ofa general system of education” (T. Jefferson). Thomas Jefferson believedthat the most important bill in the whole code is the diffusion ofknowledge among the people. He believed that no other sure foundation canbe devised for the preservation of freedom, and happiness. To achieve thisgoal, Jefferson made sure that the students studying under his system leftschool with a clear understanding of the “laws of Nature and Nature’s God;the US Constitution, which embodies these laws; and American history, whichcelebrates the founding of a nation based on the self evident truth thatall men are equal”.
Unlike the first two examples, the Louisiana Purchase reflectsThomas Jefferson’s moral character in a different way. It shows that hemade decisions based on the people’s best interest. The Louisiana Territorywas bought from France for $15 million. The area totaled about 830,000square miles and just about doubled the size of our nation.
The boundarieswere indefinite. The Mississippi River was the eastern border. On the souththe territory extended to the Gulf of Mexico, on the west to the RockyMountains, and on the north to Canada. This land deal was arguably thegreatest achievement of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency but also posed amajor philosophical problem for Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was stronglyanti-federalist.
While he might have written the Declaration ofIndependence, he definitely did not author the Constitution. Instead, thatdocument was mainly written by James Madison. Jefferson spoke against astrong federal government and instead advocated states’ rights. He fearedtyranny of any kind and only recognized the need for a strong, centralgovernment in terms of foreign affairs.
Jefferson changed his attitudetoward England and France, as soon as France threatened our use of theMississippi River. It was strange for him to be pro-English, but he did itfor the nation’s best interest. “The Constitution has made no provision forour holding foreign territory, still less for incorporating foreign nationsinto our Union” (T. Jefferson) No officer of the federal government, nodepartment had the right to exercise any power or do anything unless thatpower was expressly and clearly stated in the Constitution.
But nowhere inthe Constitution did it say the president can buy a massive area of land. On the other hand, the Constitution did say in the Tenth Amendment that anypower not given to US and not denied to the states did belong to the statesand the people. “But we shall not be disavowed by the nation, and their actof indemnity will confirm and not weaken the Constitution, by more stronglymarking out its lines. ” (T.
Jefferson) Jefferson saw that what must be donefor reasons of national interest would violate his basic principles. Hisinclination was to take the issue to the Congress. . Luckily, the people ofthe United States basically agreed that this was an excellent move. Thomas Jefferson was a man who wanted to be remembered more for hisachievements to the people, rather than to government. It is only fitting,for a man who believed that government was the servant of the people.
It ishis achievements that reflected his moral character and altruistic towardsmankind. Anyone can be those things, but to reflect upon those, iscourageous and something to revere. In his epitaph, it shows that he didwant to be remembered for his achievements. In his own epitaph, rather thanmake mention of his long and varied public service, mentions only severalof his contributions to society. “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Authorof the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia forReligious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.”
