Hail to the Chiefs Part III: Mr. Jefferson, Dear Mr. Jefferson
Originally written March 1, 2009
As a historical figure, you don't get much more slippery and elusive than Thomas Jefferson. He's the classic mystery wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in bacon...or however that goes. He was a life-long slave owner, who opposed slavery; an aristocrat who championed the cause of the common man (even though he didn't seem to know any personally...), a man against a strong central government who totally expanded the powers of the executive branch....and the list goes on and on. In the Civil War both the Union and the Confederacy claimed to be fighting for Jeffersonian ideals...and both sides were correct. While I've been preparing to write this, I can't help but thinking of the whining mantra of one of my 4th graders: "It's gonna be HARD."
So let's start with the first thing everyone remembers, The Declaration of Independence.
OK so that isn't remotely what happened....but it always makes me giggle seeing the founding fathers singing about "sexual combustability." At the time it was written, nobody thought the Declaration of Independence was going to be that big of a deal. John Adams thought that what HE was doing would be the bigger deal: debating the issues before the Continental Congress. So it was pretty much "Let's give this to the kid, he has nothing better to do." Jefferson already had a reputation as being a good writer. However as he was very shy and had a lisp...he was never any good at public speaking. Most of what he did in the Continental Congress was take good notes on what everybody ELSE was saying.
Jefferson was missing his wife, though. Martha Jefferson was back home in Virginia struggling through another pregnancy. 6 years later she would die from complications from childbirth.
After the Continental Congress, Jefferson was in the Virginia legislature for a few years, where he helped draft the Virginia state constitution. He then became Governor of Virginia, but did not have much success in that position. At that point, he felt fed up with politics all together. And, for the first of many times in his long political career, basically said *insert Cartman voice here* "Screw you guys! I'm going home!" Jefferson kept claiming that he was really just a farmer at heart. Although really, he was never a very good farmer.
In 1785 his wife had been dead 3 years and he was ready for new distractions. He took the offer to become Benjamin Franklin's replacement as ambassador to France. When he got to France, he met up with his old buddies Franklin and John Adams. The three of them together was a rather goofy sight. As Joseph Ellis puts it "like watching a cannonball, a teapot and a candlestick announce themselves as the American trinity."
Jefferson fell in love with France. He stopped to be repulsed by the decadence for about 30 seconds before he got totally sucked in by it. He brought over one of his slaves to learn about French cooking. Then he mysteriously neglected to inform the slave that technically he was a free man as soon as they landed on French soil. He also brought along his daughter Martha. She didn't get to participate in much of the fun parts of Paris life. She was stuck in a convent most of the time....until she could barely remember her English anymore and announced she was going to become a nun. That was the signal it was time to go back to ole Virginny.
His timing couldn't have been better to leave France. It was 1789 and the French revolution had begun...but the scary Reign of Terror/guillotine part of it was still 4 years away. He managed to be away from the U.S. long enough to avoid the nitty gritty detail work of the Constitutional Convention. But there just in time to be the first Secretary of State. It was on Washington's cabinet where he started locking horns with Alexander Hamilton. Basically Hamilton wanted a strong central government, and a national bank. Jefferson wanted all the power to be among the states...and no national bank. The one time they compromised...Jefferson agreed to relent on the National Bank issue....if the site of the new U.S. Capital would be in Virginia. In the documentary "Founding Brothers" one person pointed out that Jefferson and Hamilton show what happens when you have too much or too little idealism. Jefferson, ever the idealist, was often wildly impractical. Hamilton, who was very pragmatic...also seemed to lack scruples...he was a bit of a Slytherin.
Jefferson eventually got fed up with being on the Cabinet. He (rightly so) felt that Hamilton was a bigger influence on Washington than he was. So once again, he said.....say it with me....Screw you guys, I'm going home! (See also: "You don't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore.") He went into "retirement" at Monticello. The retirement lasted all of 4 years.
By 1796 Washington had decided he'd had enough of being president...and also wanted to make sure he got out of office before he died. The 1796 election was between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was shrewd enough to figure out that whoever was the first guy to follow Washington basically had a doomed administration. The combination of Washington being a hard act to follow...and the honeymoon period of the country being just about over....would just about guarantee an unpopular presidency. Jefferson actually nearly wrote Adams to warn him about this....but Jefferson's sidekick James Madison put the kibosh on that quickly. And it's just as well...Adams wouldn't have listened anyway.
When Adams won the presidency....and Jefferson continued that, thankfully short-lived, tradition of the runner up being vice-president....both men initially thought about extending the olive branch to the other, and creating a bi-partisan administration. Then both ultimately chose loyalty to their respective parties instead. Which is a pity...a combined effort of Adams and Jefferson could have been formidable. Although Jefferson did give me one of my favorite images of the Adams Administration. Apparently once, while Jefferson was attending a Cabinet Meeting, Adams got so frustrated that he hurled his wig on the ground and started stomping on it while screaming and swearing at the cabinet. For some reason this image makes me giggle. I picture him saying what a frustrated customer once said to my mother on the phone. "You PEOPLES are so STU-peed!"
The 1800 election was too close to call. Pretty much the one thing everybody agreed on is they wanted Adams out. It was a deadlock between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Ironically, it was Alexander Hamilton who ultimately won the election for Jefferson. He hated Jefferson, but he hated Aaron Burr more. So he worked his Slytherin magic and wingardium leviosa! Jefferson was president.
Jefferson's 1st term was a major success. The biggest accomplishment was when he totally ignored the Constitution (which he never had much use for...) and his precious states rights....and made the decision all by himself to make the Louisiana Purchase which instantly doubled the size of the country. At the same time he reduced the federal deficit. Some of it prudently....and sometimes not so much. The decision to basically eliminate the Navy would later prove a big problem during the War of 1812. He also, in classic Jefferson style...manage to strengthen the power of the executive branch. Jefferson was a classic one for "Do as I say, not as I do."
Jefferson's 2nd term was almost as horrible as his first one was good. There was a major economic melt down. And of course, Jefferson's veep Aaron Burr had offed Alexander Hamilton....so no more Slytherin magic on the economy. Through out the whole administration there were more and more rumors about Sally Hemings or "Dusky Sally." People found it a mite suspicious that Sally had a red-haired son named Tom that was a dead ringer for the president. When somebody asked John Adams about the situation he neither confirmed or denied that he believed the rumor. But he basically said "Well DUH of COURSE this sort of thing happens when one human being owns another." In 1998, thanks to DNA testing, it was confirmed that Sally Hemings and a male in Jefferson's family had children together. Some of the Hemings were freed in Jefferson's will. Sally was not.
The last time Jefferson slunk back to Monticello it was for good. He continued to rack up debts and remodel his house again and again. And just for good measure, he founded the University of Virginia. He died on the 4th of July 1826 at noon.
I've found in this past month reading about Jefferson that I feel the same way about him as I do about some of my more idealistic friends: simultaneously inspired and infuriated. One the one hand, we do need ideals. We all need something to aspire to. But on the other hand...idealism also leads to rigidity, and obliviousness to reality. Plus, besides totally contradicting everything he claimed to believe in by the way he lived his life....Jefferson, when he wasn't writing elegant prose, was saying some pretty bone-headed things. For example, even when the French Revolution became violent, Jefferson said "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." So in other words....we need some violence periodically. Easy for him to say...the blood shed was never his. (It should be noted that this Jefferson quote was on the front a T-shirt Timothy McVeigh wore when he bombed the Oklahoma City building in 1995.) Jefferson also was lamenting that Black slaves were inferior to Roman ones....and they clearly knew nothing about making music. At this point I wanted to shake him and say "Buddy, if it weren't for the Blacks and the Irish, there would BE no American music!"
Still, that frustrating combination of ideals and shortcomings are what make Thomas Jefferson a perfect symbol for the United States itself. Which leads me to our presidential muppet clip. Another person that I think is a great symbol for the United States is Elvis Presley. So why not combine the two?
</lj-embed>
Ultimately it all comes down to the Declaration of Independence. Even Jefferson himself in his epitaph did not include his presidency, but made sure to mention that he was the author of the Declaration of Independence. On Election Night, the moment when I really lost it was when I turned the sound back on my TV and realized the newscaster was saying "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal." I heaved a sigh of relief and thought "And the republic will continue."
Recommended Viewing: "Thomas Jefferson" - the Ken Burns documentary
"Founding Brothers" - about Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Hamilton and Madison
Recommended Reading: "American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson" by Joseph Ellis
"Biggest Elvis" by P.F. Kluge (OK not directly about Jefferson but a well-crafted and funny novel about 3 Elvis impersonators that is really about American imperialism.)
As a historical figure, you don't get much more slippery and elusive than Thomas Jefferson. He's the classic mystery wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in bacon...or however that goes. He was a life-long slave owner, who opposed slavery; an aristocrat who championed the cause of the common man (even though he didn't seem to know any personally...), a man against a strong central government who totally expanded the powers of the executive branch....and the list goes on and on. In the Civil War both the Union and the Confederacy claimed to be fighting for Jeffersonian ideals...and both sides were correct. While I've been preparing to write this, I can't help but thinking of the whining mantra of one of my 4th graders: "It's gonna be HARD."
So let's start with the first thing everyone remembers, The Declaration of Independence.
OK so that isn't remotely what happened....but it always makes me giggle seeing the founding fathers singing about "sexual combustability." At the time it was written, nobody thought the Declaration of Independence was going to be that big of a deal. John Adams thought that what HE was doing would be the bigger deal: debating the issues before the Continental Congress. So it was pretty much "Let's give this to the kid, he has nothing better to do." Jefferson already had a reputation as being a good writer. However as he was very shy and had a lisp...he was never any good at public speaking. Most of what he did in the Continental Congress was take good notes on what everybody ELSE was saying.
Jefferson was missing his wife, though. Martha Jefferson was back home in Virginia struggling through another pregnancy. 6 years later she would die from complications from childbirth.
After the Continental Congress, Jefferson was in the Virginia legislature for a few years, where he helped draft the Virginia state constitution. He then became Governor of Virginia, but did not have much success in that position. At that point, he felt fed up with politics all together. And, for the first of many times in his long political career, basically said *insert Cartman voice here* "Screw you guys! I'm going home!" Jefferson kept claiming that he was really just a farmer at heart. Although really, he was never a very good farmer.
In 1785 his wife had been dead 3 years and he was ready for new distractions. He took the offer to become Benjamin Franklin's replacement as ambassador to France. When he got to France, he met up with his old buddies Franklin and John Adams. The three of them together was a rather goofy sight. As Joseph Ellis puts it "like watching a cannonball, a teapot and a candlestick announce themselves as the American trinity."
Jefferson fell in love with France. He stopped to be repulsed by the decadence for about 30 seconds before he got totally sucked in by it. He brought over one of his slaves to learn about French cooking. Then he mysteriously neglected to inform the slave that technically he was a free man as soon as they landed on French soil. He also brought along his daughter Martha. She didn't get to participate in much of the fun parts of Paris life. She was stuck in a convent most of the time....until she could barely remember her English anymore and announced she was going to become a nun. That was the signal it was time to go back to ole Virginny.
His timing couldn't have been better to leave France. It was 1789 and the French revolution had begun...but the scary Reign of Terror/guillotine part of it was still 4 years away. He managed to be away from the U.S. long enough to avoid the nitty gritty detail work of the Constitutional Convention. But there just in time to be the first Secretary of State. It was on Washington's cabinet where he started locking horns with Alexander Hamilton. Basically Hamilton wanted a strong central government, and a national bank. Jefferson wanted all the power to be among the states...and no national bank. The one time they compromised...Jefferson agreed to relent on the National Bank issue....if the site of the new U.S. Capital would be in Virginia. In the documentary "Founding Brothers" one person pointed out that Jefferson and Hamilton show what happens when you have too much or too little idealism. Jefferson, ever the idealist, was often wildly impractical. Hamilton, who was very pragmatic...also seemed to lack scruples...he was a bit of a Slytherin.
Jefferson eventually got fed up with being on the Cabinet. He (rightly so) felt that Hamilton was a bigger influence on Washington than he was. So once again, he said.....say it with me....Screw you guys, I'm going home! (See also: "You don't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore.") He went into "retirement" at Monticello. The retirement lasted all of 4 years.
By 1796 Washington had decided he'd had enough of being president...and also wanted to make sure he got out of office before he died. The 1796 election was between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was shrewd enough to figure out that whoever was the first guy to follow Washington basically had a doomed administration. The combination of Washington being a hard act to follow...and the honeymoon period of the country being just about over....would just about guarantee an unpopular presidency. Jefferson actually nearly wrote Adams to warn him about this....but Jefferson's sidekick James Madison put the kibosh on that quickly. And it's just as well...Adams wouldn't have listened anyway.
When Adams won the presidency....and Jefferson continued that, thankfully short-lived, tradition of the runner up being vice-president....both men initially thought about extending the olive branch to the other, and creating a bi-partisan administration. Then both ultimately chose loyalty to their respective parties instead. Which is a pity...a combined effort of Adams and Jefferson could have been formidable. Although Jefferson did give me one of my favorite images of the Adams Administration. Apparently once, while Jefferson was attending a Cabinet Meeting, Adams got so frustrated that he hurled his wig on the ground and started stomping on it while screaming and swearing at the cabinet. For some reason this image makes me giggle. I picture him saying what a frustrated customer once said to my mother on the phone. "You PEOPLES are so STU-peed!"
The 1800 election was too close to call. Pretty much the one thing everybody agreed on is they wanted Adams out. It was a deadlock between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Ironically, it was Alexander Hamilton who ultimately won the election for Jefferson. He hated Jefferson, but he hated Aaron Burr more. So he worked his Slytherin magic and wingardium leviosa! Jefferson was president.
Jefferson's 1st term was a major success. The biggest accomplishment was when he totally ignored the Constitution (which he never had much use for...) and his precious states rights....and made the decision all by himself to make the Louisiana Purchase which instantly doubled the size of the country. At the same time he reduced the federal deficit. Some of it prudently....and sometimes not so much. The decision to basically eliminate the Navy would later prove a big problem during the War of 1812. He also, in classic Jefferson style...manage to strengthen the power of the executive branch. Jefferson was a classic one for "Do as I say, not as I do."
Jefferson's 2nd term was almost as horrible as his first one was good. There was a major economic melt down. And of course, Jefferson's veep Aaron Burr had offed Alexander Hamilton....so no more Slytherin magic on the economy. Through out the whole administration there were more and more rumors about Sally Hemings or "Dusky Sally." People found it a mite suspicious that Sally had a red-haired son named Tom that was a dead ringer for the president. When somebody asked John Adams about the situation he neither confirmed or denied that he believed the rumor. But he basically said "Well DUH of COURSE this sort of thing happens when one human being owns another." In 1998, thanks to DNA testing, it was confirmed that Sally Hemings and a male in Jefferson's family had children together. Some of the Hemings were freed in Jefferson's will. Sally was not.
The last time Jefferson slunk back to Monticello it was for good. He continued to rack up debts and remodel his house again and again. And just for good measure, he founded the University of Virginia. He died on the 4th of July 1826 at noon.
I've found in this past month reading about Jefferson that I feel the same way about him as I do about some of my more idealistic friends: simultaneously inspired and infuriated. One the one hand, we do need ideals. We all need something to aspire to. But on the other hand...idealism also leads to rigidity, and obliviousness to reality. Plus, besides totally contradicting everything he claimed to believe in by the way he lived his life....Jefferson, when he wasn't writing elegant prose, was saying some pretty bone-headed things. For example, even when the French Revolution became violent, Jefferson said "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." So in other words....we need some violence periodically. Easy for him to say...the blood shed was never his. (It should be noted that this Jefferson quote was on the front a T-shirt Timothy McVeigh wore when he bombed the Oklahoma City building in 1995.) Jefferson also was lamenting that Black slaves were inferior to Roman ones....and they clearly knew nothing about making music. At this point I wanted to shake him and say "Buddy, if it weren't for the Blacks and the Irish, there would BE no American music!"
Still, that frustrating combination of ideals and shortcomings are what make Thomas Jefferson a perfect symbol for the United States itself. Which leads me to our presidential muppet clip. Another person that I think is a great symbol for the United States is Elvis Presley. So why not combine the two?
</lj-embed>
Ultimately it all comes down to the Declaration of Independence. Even Jefferson himself in his epitaph did not include his presidency, but made sure to mention that he was the author of the Declaration of Independence. On Election Night, the moment when I really lost it was when I turned the sound back on my TV and realized the newscaster was saying "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal." I heaved a sigh of relief and thought "And the republic will continue."
Recommended Viewing: "Thomas Jefferson" - the Ken Burns documentary
"Founding Brothers" - about Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Hamilton and Madison
Recommended Reading: "American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson" by Joseph Ellis
"Biggest Elvis" by P.F. Kluge (OK not directly about Jefferson but a well-crafted and funny novel about 3 Elvis impersonators that is really about American imperialism.)