Historical interpretations of Thomas Jefferson's presidency, including progressive, counter-progressive, and republican views.

Historian Gordon Wood writes in 1993, Jefferson scarcely seems to exist as a real diachronic person. Almost from the beginning he has been a symbol, a touchst star, of we as a people be, rough invented, humannessipulated, rancid into something we Americans like or dislike, fear or pine away for, inwardly ourselves - whether it is populism or elitism, agrarianism or racism, atheism or liberalism. In verbalise this, Wood strikes on one of the main problems in historical writing, the tendency to use history to further ones proclaim ideas. almost historiographers do not do this consciously, but every historian has an agenda which, consciously or not, he slips into his work. Because of this, to the highest degree every piece of objective history run shorts an outlet for one persons political, ethical, or religious point of view. The various interpretations of Thomas Jefferson are ideal examples of this historiographical agenda-pushing. Thomas Jefferson has ceased to be a real man to Americans, if he ever was. He has become instead a unreal entity: the author of the Declaration of Independence, a founder of our nation. Jefferson has become larger than life, a giant among men, in our nations collective memory. In truth, Jefferson was ripe one man with many qualities, both peachy and crappy.

He had both solemn and ignoble intentions, made sober and bad decisions, had practical and utopian dreams for the new republic. Unfortunately, few historians are adapted to express Jefferson in these terms. They take the good or the bad, the noble or the ignoble, the practical or t he idealistic, rarely both. They cede Jeff! erson as a liberal, moral, inspired leader, or as a power-hungry, half-baked elitist. This sort of historical writing perpetuates the nations view of Jefferson as a caricature, a symbol, rather than a man. Many historians arrogate these same(p) qualities to... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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