Jefferson as Prophet of Republican Government (original) (raw)
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Republican Constitutionalism in Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia"
The Journal of Politics, Vol. 74/1 (2012)
The unusual form and content of Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia have obscured its contribution to the development of republican constitutional theory. We propose an interpretation of the Notes taken as a unified whole, demonstrating how attention to its coherent literary structure and Enlightenment methodology prepares readers for the political reforms and the vision of republican constitutionalism presented therein. We also argue that a careful study of the publication history of the Notes shows Jefferson’s intention to print and distribute the work in America at a critical period during the debates over the proposed Constitution of 1787. The success of his effort to influence the deliberations may be seen in the impact of Jefferson’s vision of republican constitutions in the Notes on James Madison’s contributions to The Federalist.
Cambridge University Press, 2017, 2017
ABSTRACT This political biography of Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia," his only published book, challenges conventional wisdom by demonstrating its core political thought as well as the political aspirations behind its composition, publication and initial dissemination. Building upon a close reading of the book's contents, Jefferson's correspondence and the first comprehensive examination of both its composition and publication history, the authors argue that Jefferson intended his Notes to be read by a wide audience, especially in America, in order to help shape constitutional debates in the critical period of the 1780s. Jefferson, through his determined publication and distribution of his Notes even while serving as American ambassador in Paris, thus brought his own constitutional and political thought into the public sphere - and at times into conflict with the writings of John Adams and James Madison, stimulating a debate over the proper form of Republican constitutionalism that still reverberates in American political thought. CONTENTS Introduction Part I. Origins and Influences: 1. The Composition History of Jefferson's Notes 2. The Formal Structure of Jefferson's Notes Part II. Interpretation: 3. Reading the Notes, Part I - Nature 4. Reading the Notes, Part II - Cautious Philosophy 5. Reading the Notes, Part III - Peoples and Constitutions 6. Reading the Notes, part IV - Republican Reforms Part III. Publication and Reception: 7. The Publication History of Jefferson's Notes 8. Jefferson, Adams, and the View of Rebellion from Abroad 9. Jefferson, Madison, and Republican Constitutionalism Conclusion.
Beyond the Schoolhouse Door: Educating the Political Animal in Jefferson's Little Republics
Democracy Education, 2015
Jefferson believed that citizenship must exhibit republican virtue. While education was necessary in a republican polity, it alone was insufficient in sustaining a revolutionary civic spirit. This paper examines Jefferson's expectations for citizen virtue, specifically related to militia and jury service in his 'little republics. ' Citizens required not only knowledge of history and republican principles, but also public spaces where they could personify what they learned. Jefferson often analogized the nation as a ship at sea, and while navigational instruments are necessary in charting an accurate course, i.e., republican theories, they become inconsequential without the decisive action required for their successful use. W riting to Samuel Kercheval (12 Jul. 1816) regarding his concern over calling a convention to reform Virginia's constitution, Jefferson affirmed his dissatisfaction with the constitution's structural provisions. After expounding on its inadequate design, he disparagingly asked, "Where then is our republicanism to be found" (Jefferson, 1984, p. 1397)? Reminding Kercheval of his earlier and similar disappointment with the nation's organic law, Jefferson (1984) commented, "The infancy of the subject at that moment, and our inexperience of self-government, occasioned gross departures in that draught from genuine republican canons" (p. 1396). His reflection revealed a sense of sustained ineffectuality giving rise to the sterile mechanics of constitutionalism and the administration of state altogether lacking in genuine republican substance. "In truth, " he demurred, "the abuses of monarchy had so much filled all the space of political contemplation, that we imagined everything republican which was not monarchy" (1984, p. 1396). Fear, pessimism, and misunderstanding, rather than a true appreciation of republican doctrine, Jefferson believed, explained the architectural deficiencies in and the diminution of republican principles from the constitutional scaffolding upon which the nation and the State of Virginia were to be governed. Events had proven what Jefferson earlier feared-namely, the potential aggrandizement of national power at the expense of local and state sovereignty. Jefferson's response to this pervasive setback lay in his reliance on abstract republican principles and the ancient democratic Saxon constitution, which he often drew upon as a means of evaluating existing political practices. He perpetuated this Saxon myth by emphasizing the importance of and necessity in developing citizen
Virtuous Empire: The Jeffersonian Vision for America
2012
The Revolution Jefferson's primary contribution to the political thought of the Revolutionary period was his authorship of the Declaration of Independence. The line we all rem.ember from the Declaration is the section from the Preamble on "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This line was clearly influenced by John Locke's principle of "Life, Liberty, and Property" in his Second Treatise on Government. One could take Jefferson's importation of Locke's ideas to mean that he was at heart a Lockean liberal, and that like Locke .:.... he was primarily concerned with economic liberty. Although this interpretation does not tell the whole story, it isn't without grounding given that Jefferson acknowledged he was an admirer of Locke. 4 According to Locke, all men possess certain natural rights that cannot be infringed. Above all, every man possesses a natural right to liberty, meaning that he is not subject to the will of others and owes obedience to no one but himself. However, in a state of nature men can use their liberty to harm others; especially by theft or destruction of another individual's property. This is not a state of affairs under which any rational man would want to live in because he would•be "subject to the inconstant, uncertain, unknown, arbitrary" wills of others. 5 Therefore, in order to be more secure in their property, individuals transfer their natural liberty over to a sovereign that may enforce laws protecting property rights. Locke says that "[t]he great and chief end therefore, of
Madison and Jefferson: An Appeal to the People
James Madison and the Spirit of Republican Self-Government, 2009
In the first study that combines an in-depth examination of James Madison's National Gazette essays of 1791-92 with a study of The Federalist, Colleen A. Sheehan traces the evolution of Madison's conception of the politics of communication and public opinion throughout the Founding period, demonstrating how "the sovereign public" would form and rule in America. Contrary to those scholars who claim that Madison dispensed with the need to form an active and virtuous citizenry, Sheehan argues that Madison's vision for the new nation was informed by the idea of republican self-government, whose manifestation he sought to bring about in the spirit and way of life of the American people. Madison's story is "the story of an idea"-the idea of America.
"Rights and Slavery in Thomas Jefferson's Political Thought"
American Studies in Scandinavia 53:2, 2021
Jefferson is famous for his advocacy of equal rights of men, religious freedom, and democracy throughout the United States. He is equally (in)famous for his racist statements, for his little concern for women's rights, for his apparently unrealistic anti-slavery policies, and for his strongly anti-Federalist politics. This article will make clear that his political solution to the problem of slavery was not as far-fetched at the time as many scholars still tend to think it was. His fame as the high priest of minimal government also needs to be reconsidered given his hugely expensive, governmental solution to the problem of slavery. It is also important to grasp how very restricted a role Jefferson attributed to the federal government in putting his abolition plan into effect. The only aspect concerning the federal government in Jefferson's plan had to do with financing and sending slaves abroad after each state's individual decision of emancipation.