Bibliograph

Thomas Jefferson, author of America, Christopher Hitchens

Type

Label

Thomas Jefferson, author of America, Christopher Hitchens

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Thomas Jefferson

Oclc number

262886592

Responsibility statement

Christopher Hitchens

Series statement

Eminent lives

Sub title

author of America

Summary

Hitchens brings the character of Jefferson to life as a man of his time and also as a symbolic figure beyond it. Conflicted by power, Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and acted as Minister to France yet yearned for a quieter career in the Virginia legislature. Predicting that slavery would shape the future of America's development, this professed proponent of emancipation continued to own human property. He negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with France, doubling the size of the nation, and authorized the Lewis and Clark expedition, opening up the American frontier. The Barbary War, a lesser-known chapter of his political career, led to the building of the U.S. Navy and the fortification of America's reputation regarding national defense. In the background is the fledgling nation's struggle for independence, formed in the crucible of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, and, in its shadow, the deformation of that struggle in the excesses of the French Revolution. --From publisher description

Table Of Contents

All politics is local: Virginia to Philadelphia -- War and Revolution in Virginia -- Revolution in France (and a meeting with Sally) -- Interregnum -- Secretary of State -- In waiting -- Mr. President -- Disappointment: the second term -- Declining years

Creator