OF MONTICELLO

THOMAS JEFFERSON’S PERSPECTIVE OF THE

FRENCH REVOLUTION

"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." --Thomas Jefferson*

Thomas Jefferson, Minister To France

Thomas Jefferson was sent to Paris in 1784 as a commissioner to help negotiate commercial treaties.Then in 1785, he succeeded Benjamin Franklin, http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jan/franklin.html , as minister to France.Thomas Jefferson served as the American Minister to France from 1785 to late in 1789, and thus witnessed the last crisis of the ancient régime.It was during Thomas Jefferson’s role as United States minister to France that Thomas Jefferson became an ardent supporter of the French Revolution, even allowing his residence to be used as a meeting place for the rebels led by General Lafayette.View the actual writing of Thomas Jefferson to William Short defending the French Revolution and General Lafayette at http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffworld.html.How did Thomas Jefferson’s passion of defending the French Revolution cause him political turmoil in the United States?

The Declaration Of The Rights Of Man

Recognized in Europe as the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson quickly became a focal point for revolutionaries in Europe.No mere observer of the revolution, Thomas Jefferson is believed to have played a part in formulating the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/images/vc184p2.jpg , adopted by the National Assembly, the revolutionary heir to the Estates General, on August 26, 1789.Thomas Jefferson often consulted with General Lafayette during the drafting of this French declaration of rights in July 1789.Thomas Jefferson's immersion in the French Revolution and his influence on the Republican leaders can be seen in a letter from General Lafayette asking for Thomas Jefferson's observations on the bill of rights before General Lafayette presented it to the National Assembly.http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffworld.html

While exploring this site question whether Thomas Jefferson’s role in the writing of the Declaration of Independence was the contributing factor in the overwhelming influence he had in the writing of the French Declaration of Rights.Jefferson had doubts whether the French people could duplicate the American example of republican government. He found that France was indifferent to American economic overtures. "They seemed, in fact," Jefferson wrote, "to know little about us . . . . They were ignorant of our commerce, and of the exchange of articles it might offer advantageously to both parties."With this observation in mind, Jefferson advised General Lafayette that France should emulate the British system.

Supporter and Defender of the French Revolution

As the champion of the French Revolution, Jefferson was an ardent believer in, and prophet of civil religion.That is, he sought to animate an apparently secular and political idea of liberty being the true god by breathing into it the kinds of emotions with which religion had been invested in the Age of Faith.Of this religion, Thomas Jefferson was not just a mere prophet but also a pope.“He possessed the magisterium of liberty.He could define heresy and excommunicate heretics.”Thomas Jefferson was an ardent, impassioned defender of the French Revolution believing that the French Revolution was the continuation and fulfillment of the American one, both being manifestations of a kindred spirit of liberty.To fail to acknowledge that the French Revolution was an integral part of the holy cause of liberty, along with the American Revolution, was heresy, and the heretic had to be driven from public life. http://www.theatlantic.com//issues/96oct/obrien/obrien.htm

Within a few years that proposition was to become bitterly divisive, both among the American people and among the Founding Fathers themselves.This became a key policy of his opposition political party and led Thomas Jefferson to be at odds with Hamilton.The United States policy towards France varied from Thomas Jefferson and Madison, supported by James Monroe, to Hamilton and Adams.President Washington tried to maintain the balance between the two differing beliefs but ultimately sided against the Jeffersonian theory of the continuity and kinship of the two revolutions of constitutional monarchy.Thomas Jefferson’s sympathy for the French Revolution also led him to conflict with William Short.Sensing rising criticism of the excesses of the French Revolution in the letters of William Short, chargé des affaires in Paris, Jefferson sharply chastised Short and praised the revolution despite its rising irrationality and violence:In letters addressed to Short, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "…and was ever such a prize won with so little innocent blood?My own affections have been deeply wounded by some of the martyrs to this cause, but rather than it should have failed, I would have seen half the earth desolated.Were there but an Adam and Eve left in every country, left free, it would be better than as it now is."In these letters Thomas Jefferson expresses deep sorrow for the beheading of several acquaintances he knew in Paris and the recent imprisonment of General Lafayette, yet he argues that such sacrifices of "innocent blood" are a small price to pay for the liberty he believes will follow the excesses of the Revolution. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mtjhtml/mtjtime3b.html .

In summary, Thomas Jefferson maintained his support for the French Revolution, even during the most violent and bloody stages.His experiences with the American Revolution and authoring the Declaration of Independence allowed him insight to the meaning of our modern democracy, especially as he watched the events leading to the French Revolution unfold. Jefferson’s eyewitness account of the French Revolution gave him a clearer and deeper understanding of what the American Revolution meant to the American people.In the years after the American and French Revolutions, Thomas Jefferson was a stout supporter of “liberty and justice for all” and advocated dispelling those that thought otherwise.

A GLIMPSE OF MONTICELLO

"I am savage enough to prefer the woods, the wilds, and the independence of Monticello, to all the brilliant pleasures of this gay capital [Paris] . . for tho' there is less wealth there, there is more freedom, more ease, and less misery."

(TJ to Baron Geismar, 6 September, B.8.500)

The Little Mountain

Thomas Jefferson’s true love was his home in Virginia in which he called Monticello.The exact source of the word "Monticello" remains a mystery.Jefferson’s interest in Italian may provide guidance.Since Monticello means "hillock" or "little mountain" in Italian, there is a logical explanation for Jefferson's choice.The local county deed book refers to the property on which Thomas Jefferson built his home as Little Mountain, which he could have translated into Italian the name, Monticello.

Monticello-A Masterpiece

Monticello is the autobiographical masterpiece of Thomas Jefferson, designed and redesigned and built and rebuilt for more than forty years.For a virtual tour of the house see: http://www.monticello.ord/house/index.html .Imagine living in this grandiose house in the late 1700’s, when viewing this site consider how the architecture of France influenced the building of Thomas Jefferson’s home.Monticello was, however, not just a house, but a farm, garden and plantation. The Monticello plantation of 5,000 acres, with its four farms, was a center of agriculture and industry.Th farm included crops and livestock.Nails and barrels, cloth and carriages were also made on the farm.See: http://www.monticello.org/plantation/index.html.At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson also cultivated over 250 vegetable varieties in his 1000-foot-long garden terrace and 170 fruit varieties in the eight-acre fruit garden, designed romantic grottoes, garden temples, and ornamental groves, and took visitors on rambling surveys of his favorite "pet trees." For a glimpse of the garden see:http://www.monticello.org/grounds/index.html.During the excursion of this site consider the number of slaves Thomas Jefferson must have needed to care for such a large estate.

The Passing of Greatness

It was at Monticello in which Thomas Jefferson spent his remaining days and passed away on July 4, 1826.His remains were buried there.Thomas Jefferson passed away leaving a debt of more than a $100,000.00.With such a huge debt, his heirs were forced to sell his beloved Monticello.Today, Monticello is owned and operated by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, Virginia.

For a virtual tour:http://www.monticello.org/.

Additional Reading Material

·Quotes on Monticellohttp://www.monticello.org/resources/life/monticello.html

·The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 1785-1800 by Conor

Cruise O'Brien, published by http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/616533.html

·Biography http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/biog/lj23.htm

·Jefferson quotations http://etext.virginia.edu/jeffersonquotations/jeff1770.ht

Tony Bancroft

HIST1301

November 26, 2001

San Antonio College