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A Jefferson Profile: Revealed in His Letters - 1st Edition/1st Printing
"Here are lively and often moving letters of Jefferson the father and lover, student and statesman, artist and scientist, philosopher and inventor, educator and champion of democracy."
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Saul K. Padover
70 books5 followershttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1...
Saul Kussiel Padover was an Austrian-born American professor, writer, and historian.
He was married first to Irina Padover and then to screenwriter Peggy Thompson, also known as Peg Fenwick.
Saul Kussiel Padover was an Austrian-born American professor, writer, and historian.
He was married first to Irina Padover and then to screenwriter Peggy Thompson, also known as Peg Fenwick.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 26, 2026
A collection of letters written by American founding father Thomas Jefferson, edited by a Jeffersonian scholar whose devotion to his subject shows. The letters cover the entirety of Jefferson's adult life - the first is from when he entered college, and the last in the collection is the last one he wrote, three weeks before his death in 1826. The letters are grouped by the different periods in Jefferson's career, with the largest group being from after his retirement to Monticello in 1809, when he had his famous correspondence with John Adams. Many of those letters are included. This collection includes the letter where he makes his famous statement about the "tree of liberty" as well as the one where he swears "eternal hostility against any form of tyranny" which also appears on his monument in Washington, DC.
Jefferson's writing style is a bit ornate, I thought, which perhaps was common at the time. He was obviously very well educated, courteous to a fault, and extremely opinionated. He expounds on the superiority of America over Europe, particularly in the realm of civic virtue and self-government. He clearly internalizes the values of patriarchy, praising American women for their domesticity. And he clearly believes in the superiority of the white man over the black, though there is not much mention of slavery in this collection, and certainly no mention of Sally Hemmings, though there are hints of the scandal being on his mind when he writes in the early 1800s about the "calumnies" by the press against him. It's not clear how much this is because he avoided the subject, or because of the editor. The collection contains much personal correspondence to family members - none to his wife, who died young, but many to his children and grandchildren. And it contains many letters filled with philosopical ruminations, written to other luminaries of the time period, including other founding fathers. Jefferson was almost a caricature of an Enlightenment philosophe, and had full faith in the powers of science and reason to liberate the human mind and to guide human destiny. Here you will also find his arguments against the establishment of religion (though the "separation between Church & State" letter is not included) as well as his arguments for why the Constitution should be adjusted and reinterpreted by each new generation, to serve their unique needs as they arise with the progress of time.
Jefferson's writing style is a bit ornate, I thought, which perhaps was common at the time. He was obviously very well educated, courteous to a fault, and extremely opinionated. He expounds on the superiority of America over Europe, particularly in the realm of civic virtue and self-government. He clearly internalizes the values of patriarchy, praising American women for their domesticity. And he clearly believes in the superiority of the white man over the black, though there is not much mention of slavery in this collection, and certainly no mention of Sally Hemmings, though there are hints of the scandal being on his mind when he writes in the early 1800s about the "calumnies" by the press against him. It's not clear how much this is because he avoided the subject, or because of the editor. The collection contains much personal correspondence to family members - none to his wife, who died young, but many to his children and grandchildren. And it contains many letters filled with philosopical ruminations, written to other luminaries of the time period, including other founding fathers. Jefferson was almost a caricature of an Enlightenment philosophe, and had full faith in the powers of science and reason to liberate the human mind and to guide human destiny. Here you will also find his arguments against the establishment of religion (though the "separation between Church & State" letter is not included) as well as his arguments for why the Constitution should be adjusted and reinterpreted by each new generation, to serve their unique needs as they arise with the progress of time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review