The Political Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was a political leader, lawyer, artist, inventor, architect, musician, scholar, book collector, philosopher, educator, and perhaps many other things. It is for his writing, however, that we best remember him. His authorship of the Great Declaration, though others had a hand in it, is perhaps the greatest document to come out of the Age of Enlightment. His first inaugural address is one of the such such addresses that are truly memorable. His “Notes on the State of Virginia,” the Virginia Resolutions of 1798, and his long correspondence with John Adams, among others, remain as treasures from the mind of Jefferson.
President John F. Kennedy paid homage to Jefferson in a semi-humorous manner as follows:
“I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
(Remarks at dinner honoring Nobel Prize winners of the Western Hemisphere, the White House, April 29, 1962, Public Papers of the Presidents: 1962, p. 347.)
Here are some links to Jefferson's words, on both this site and others.
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Jefferson's Reaction to the Missouri Compromise of 1820
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Jefferson's First Inaugural Address
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Jefferson on States' Rights
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Jefferson on the National Bank
- A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia
A collection of Jefferson Quotations at the University of Virginia
Selected Works of Thomas Jefferson at the Constitution Organization.
