Founding Brothers

by

Joseph J. Ellis

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Thomas Jefferson Character Analysis

Thomas Jefferson was a member of the Founding Fathers and the author of the Declaration of Independence. He was Governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War and went on to be the third president of the United States, having served as vice president under John Adams. He was born in Virginia and was a wealthy landowner and slaveholder, although he publicly stated that he opposed slavery and believed it should be abolished. (Although this does not appear prominently in the book, it has been proven that Jefferson fathered several children with one of the enslaved women on his estate, Sally Hemings.) Jefferson served as Minister to France, and developed a highly favorable opinion of the French Revolution. Jefferson was a Republican; although he denied being strongly partisan, his behavior often indicated otherwise. His strong opposition to what he saw as the Federalist takeover of government at times took the form of a paranoid “conspiracy theory,” and even led him to fall out with George Washington. He had a close but tumultuous friendship with Adams, which involved a period of twelve years in which they did not speak. The two reconciled later in life, and exchanged many letters in which they nostalgically reflected on the revolutionary era and continued to debate political matters. He and Adams both died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of American Independence.

Thomas Jefferson Quotes in Founding Brothers

The Founding Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by Thomas Jefferson or refer to Thomas Jefferson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Conflict vs. Compromise Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

In fact, Jefferson’s headache coincided with a veritable plague that seemed to descend on the leadership of the Virginia dynasty. Madison was laid up with dysentery, Edmund Randolph remained in Virginia to care for his wife, who had nearly died delivering a stillborn baby, and, most ominously of all, George Washington came down with the flu and developed pulmonary complications that the physicians considered life-threatening. "You cannot conceive the public alarm on this occasion," Jefferson reported to William Short, his former secretary in Paris, adding that Washington's demise would in all probability have meant the abrupt end of the whole national experiment.

Related Characters: Thomas Jefferson (speaker), George Washington, James Madison
Page Number: 66
Explanation and Analysis:

The permanent residence of the capital on the Potomac institutionalized political values designed to carry the nation in a fundamentally different direction. It was also symbolic in a personal sense for Jefferson and Madison. For the Compromise of 1790 signaled the resumption of their political partnership after five years of separation. Now, “the great collaboration" was truly an alliance worthy of its name.

Related Characters: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison
Related Symbols: The Capital
Page Number: 80
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

For that city and the name it was destined to carry, symbolized the conspiracy that threatened, so Jefferson and his followers thought, all that Virginia stood for.

Related Characters: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson
Related Symbols: The Capital
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

Jefferson's position on political parties, like his stance on slavery, seemed to straddle a rather massive contradiction. In both instances his posture of public probity—slavery should be ended and political parties were evil agents that corrupted republican values—was at odds with his personal behavior and political interest.

Related Characters: Thomas Jefferson
Page Number: 210
Explanation and Analysis:

The correspondence can be read as an extended conversation between two gods on Mount Olympus because both men were determined to project that impression.

Related Characters: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson
Page Number: 225
Explanation and Analysis:
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Thomas Jefferson Quotes in Founding Brothers

The Founding Brothers quotes below are all either spoken by Thomas Jefferson or refer to Thomas Jefferson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Conflict vs. Compromise Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

In fact, Jefferson’s headache coincided with a veritable plague that seemed to descend on the leadership of the Virginia dynasty. Madison was laid up with dysentery, Edmund Randolph remained in Virginia to care for his wife, who had nearly died delivering a stillborn baby, and, most ominously of all, George Washington came down with the flu and developed pulmonary complications that the physicians considered life-threatening. "You cannot conceive the public alarm on this occasion," Jefferson reported to William Short, his former secretary in Paris, adding that Washington's demise would in all probability have meant the abrupt end of the whole national experiment.

Related Characters: Thomas Jefferson (speaker), George Washington, James Madison
Page Number: 66
Explanation and Analysis:

The permanent residence of the capital on the Potomac institutionalized political values designed to carry the nation in a fundamentally different direction. It was also symbolic in a personal sense for Jefferson and Madison. For the Compromise of 1790 signaled the resumption of their political partnership after five years of separation. Now, “the great collaboration" was truly an alliance worthy of its name.

Related Characters: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison
Related Symbols: The Capital
Page Number: 80
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

For that city and the name it was destined to carry, symbolized the conspiracy that threatened, so Jefferson and his followers thought, all that Virginia stood for.

Related Characters: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson
Related Symbols: The Capital
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

Jefferson's position on political parties, like his stance on slavery, seemed to straddle a rather massive contradiction. In both instances his posture of public probity—slavery should be ended and political parties were evil agents that corrupted republican values—was at odds with his personal behavior and political interest.

Related Characters: Thomas Jefferson
Page Number: 210
Explanation and Analysis:

The correspondence can be read as an extended conversation between two gods on Mount Olympus because both men were determined to project that impression.

Related Characters: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson
Page Number: 225
Explanation and Analysis: