Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher

by Jon Meacham

In this special illustrated edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling Thomas The Art of Power by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham, young readers will learn about the life and political philosophy of one of our Founding Fathers. This book is a must-read for President's Day!

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He was one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. But he was also a lawyer and an ambassador, an inventor and a scientist. He had a wide range of interests and hobbies, but his consuming interest was the survival and success of the United States.
 
This book contains a note from Meacham and over 100 archival illustrations, as well as sections throughout the text about subjects such as the Boston Tea Party, the Library of Congress, and Napoléon Bonaparte. Additional materials include a time line; a family tree; a Who’s Who in Jefferson’s world; sections on Jefferson’s original writings and correspondence, “inventions,” interests, places in Jefferson’s world, finding Jefferson in the United States today, additional reading, organizations, and websites; notes; a bibliography; and an index. This adaptation, ideal for those interested in American presidents, biographies, and the founding of the American republic, is an excellent example of informational writing and reflects Meacham’s extensive research using primary source material.

Praise for Thomas President and Philosopher
“A solid resource for young people intrigued by Jefferson.” – Booklist
 
“Comprehensive and engaging.” – Scholastic Instructor
 
“There is a surprising paucity of books about Jefferson at this level and this handsome, well-written, and engaging volume fills that literary gap.” – Horn Book
 
“Wonderfully written and crafted... Entertaining for both kids and adults alike.” – KidsReads.com

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Presidents, Politics, Audiobook, Philosophy

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Jon Ellis Meacham is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer who is serving as the Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. A former executive editor and executive vice president at Random House, he is a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor to Time magazine, and a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He is the author of several books. He won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. He holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Endowed Chair in American Presidency at Vanderbilt University.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the introduction makes it clear that this was written for older kids (mid teens & up, I'd guess) & was fairly short, it was still pretty thorough. Whole books could & have been written about various aspects of his life, even single decisions, but this covers the entire man & does an excellent job of showing just how complex he was. It doesn't excuse his failures nor blow his achievements out of proportion, although the latter would be a chore. He did some incredibly great things that still influence our country.

I really liked the way Meacham points out Jefferson's fears of our country turning into a monarchy via the Federalists & how that caused such a schism with John Adams & Washington. (Meacham didn't give Washington nearly the credit he deserved for not taking the bait, though.) He mentioned Shay's Rebellion without naming it & brought up the Whiskey Rebellion, but supplied only meager details, not enough to really make his point, IMO.

Better yet, he made the point that Jefferson was given to sweeping statements & high philosophy that he couldn't or wouldn't live up to. This was shown in the coverage of his friendship with John Adams; their schism & reconciliation. Jefferson abhorred Adams' Alien & Sedition Acts, yet created the Embargo of 1807. He gave the Navy the authority to wage First Barbary War on the Tripoli pirates & made the Louisiana Purchase. He didn't have the authority to do the last two, yet they had to be done quickly, so he asked after he'd already done the deed. Inconsistent & underhanded? It certainly was according the values he espoused & his fears of the Federalists doing the same, but the last two were good decisions that needed to be made & Congress would have acted too slowly, if at all. The 1807 Embargo was a dismal failure that he passed along to Madison. At any rate, he increased the power of the presidency, a complete reversal of his philosophy to that point.

Meacham also delved into his personal finances & slave holding policies - both awful. We didn't get many details (such as his extensive wine cellar) but he did point out that Monticello had to be sold to pay off all his debts, some of which he'd inherited from his father. He made several attempts to free slaves publicly, but only freed his & Sally's children, the rest being sold with his estate after his death. We are told that while he thought blacks should be free, Jefferson did not believe that two races could live together in equality. How strange from such an intelligent man, but it seems to be one of those basic beliefs (As religion is in many.) that he just couldn't fathom properly. It was undoubtedly propped up by a large dose of selfishness.

There is a lot missing from this book, but it's a really good overview of the man that points out his complexities, public service, brilliance, & utter failures. Very well narrated. Highly recommended for everyone.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that informs the reader about Thomas Jefferson’s life - the good, the bad and the ugly. He was a complicated individual. This would be a great book for an adult who knows very little about T Jefferson. It would also be a great book for a classroom.

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the US and the writer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also a brilliant man -- well versed in literature, philosophy and science. In this young adult, illustrated version of Meacham's book Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, young readers get a good view of Jefferson, the man, and of his place in history. The author is clearly an admirer of Jefferson, but he also does not shy away from less than flattering facts -- that he was a slave owner, father of Sally Hemmings' children, and a religious skeptic or maybe even an atheist.

The text is filled with quotes from Jefferson and others of his time. Included are facsimiles and photos of many primary source documents. There are a couple of puzzling moments -- sometimes seemingly random illustrations, the complete lack of illustrations of Jefferson's family, the inclusion of every person Jefferson ever knew (at least it seems like that) and occasional disjointed prose (probably in an effort to make the story more readable for younger readers). But for the most part, this is an interesting biography that provides a look at one of our Founding Fathers. Includes 83 pages of additional information -- timeline, family tree, list of Jefferson's inventions, source notes and index.

[Edward Boyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there is quite a bit of information in this book some of the conclusions are based on faulty logic. We find that often in biographies written by authors in love with the subject. For instance the question about Sally Hemmings is just taken as true with no supporting evidence and a complete disregard for facts. While I don't know if she gave birth to some of Jefferson's children, to say that everybody in Charlottesville knew it, over 200 years ago, is hardly proof especially in light of the fact that the person who started the story, Calendar, had done hatchet jobs on many public figures and was mad that Jefferson would not give him a big job for assaulting John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. The DNA tests that were done later is completely ignored, possibly because it can only be done on male decedents of which there are some from the Hemmings children. Again, I don't know but I would like some evidence from a book on Jefferson, not much to ask and the absence puts much of the work in question. With that said, this is and interesting work but not for a Jefferson historian, and it puts Meacham's Pulitzer work on Andrew Jackson in question.

[Sally Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for MS/JH age, and this old lady enjoyed it as well!

[Nathan Casebolt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided as a teenager to read my way through America’s presidents. I started with Douglas Southall Freeman’s biography of George Washington that runs to seven volumes and 4100 pages. So if you ask me, “Nathan, what book would you recommend for my twelve-year-old to get them interested in the history of America’s presidents,” there’s your answer.

Of course, if you have a child that isn’t fundamentally broken, I’d be harder pressed to answer. I haven’t read biographies aimed at young readers; at least, not until now. Thanks to Jon Meacham, I have one title we can talk about. Two years after he published “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” he cut it way down and released “Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher” for budding young historians.

The change in subtitle tells you something of Meacham’s approach. For adults, he emphasizes Jefferson’s consolidation and use of soft power such as convivial dinners, sparkling conversation, genteel manners, and conflict avoidance to realize his vision for the nation against strong interests with hands on every lever of government. For kiddos, although Meacham still traces this thread of Jeffersonian power, he devotes proportionally more space to his subject’s mental interests: freedom of religion, freedom of thought, science, agriculture, art, and good living.

This streamlined strategy, governed as it is by the most attractive features of Jefferson’s personality, yields a biography that falls short of a hagiography—but not by much. To be fair, Meacham doesn’t hide the least savory bits, such as Jefferson’s youthful attempt to bed his friend’s wife or his long dalliance with Sally Hemings. At the same time, Meacham gives Jefferson the last word on the former as a youthful indiscretion: “When young and single, I offered love to a handsome lady. I acknowledge its incorrectness.” Meacham comes close to hand-waving Sally away on the grounds that every plantation owner had children by their slave women. Jefferson’s disgraceful and under-handed treatment of John Adams is barely part of the conversation, and then only as an interesting artifact of a system capable of electing partisans of opposing parties to the presidency and vice-presidency.

More to my liking, though, is Meacham’s adept synopsis of the most important events of Jefferson’s eventful life. I might quibble with the rosy glow up of the nation’s third president and leading contender for Most Problematic Founding Father; but I give top marks for a tight narrative that, at the very least, might spark a young reader’s interest in Aaron Burr’s deadly duel, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, or Napoleon Bonaparte. The truth is that Thomas Jefferson is such an enigmatic personality that even grown-up biographies strain to encompass the man, so I can’t ask too much of a kid’s book. If Meacham’s adequate survey of an unwasted life sparks a chain reaction of further reading, then that’s good enough for me.

[Jonathan Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book
So many thoughts ran through my head while listening to it
Jefferson did many things but my favorites were that he was continuously reading and continuously trying to keep his social relationships smooth
I have two big conclusions after finishing the book
One, politics bring out the worse in people and turn great friendships upside down (Jefferson’s and adams) and don’t allow for two people to become great friends because they are on opposite ideals (Jefferson and Hamilton)
I feel a little that politics should be a part time job so people don’t lose their soul over it
The second conclusion, was that I believe in Jefferson’s views and actions on slavery during that time
In his 20s he proposed a law for slaves to be trained with skills and then freed once they were adults
He received such backlash that he felt felt that even if slaves were free, the only way they could live free would be if they were deported to a different country
Overall, great book
I recommend it to anyone who strives to keep smooth relationships

[Nick Heim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this abridged version of his larger biography to see if it was worth reading. It's a 5-hour audiobook, so 2.5 if you read at 2x speed.

It's pretty shallow level analysis that leans close to being a rose tinted glasses portrayal of its subject. It also seems like a remarkable oversimplification of, arguably, the most morally complicated founder.
Meacham kind of glosses over his relationship with Sally Hemmings. It does highlight the difference in care and attention paid to his children with his wife, compared to his children with Hemmings. However, it reads easy and is pretty engaging as a biography.

I'm about halfway through the Art of Power, the longer version of this. I thought it would provide more historical analysis or maybe be more critical of Jefferson at some points. However, it's not. It does have more details and primary source documents. So far, this shorter book seems to "do the job."

[Danica is Booked · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up mistakenly thinking it was going to be the adult version not the young readers version. So I will read the adult one too.

So I will say this book glosses over Thomas Jefferson’s “relationship” with Sally. It is mentioned throughout but it is stated as a practice many engaged in and then they move on. It paints a fairly positive or normal view of this. I would be curious what the adult version says. I think he could and should have said more on this even in the young reader’s version. For example, that the journalist revealed the affair and people were speculating and asked him about it perhaps indicates it wasn’t as common-place and accepted as the author stated.

I find many will find this depiction of Jefferson to paint the popular and accepted one, but not one that dives into the complexities of his character as slaveholder and Sally and more.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our country’s third president lived in complicated, trying times and this book gave a great picture of Jefferson’s brilliance and contributions to America, but also revealed his contradictions and poor choices. From writing the Declaration of Independence, purchasing the Louisiana Territory, and being an ambassador to France, Mr. Jefferson gave his heart and soul to help develop and foster a young, democratic country. However, he also had a “dark side” which included his interactions with his slave Sally Hemings to his sneaky behind the scene dealings with Federalists like John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and even George Washington. The author dove into both the patriotic work of Thomas as a founding father, but also opened my eyes to his many faults and condemnations.

[Tyler Garries · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good look into the life of Thomas Jefferson and an interesting insights on what it means to study historical figures. The book does not seek to sugar coat some of Jefferson's failings and character flaws but to provide the reader with an understanding that all figures in history were people just like them, and like them have both good and bad parts of themselves. Jefferson for his part comes away from the book looking less of a mythical founding father and more of a rounded person, one who experienced profound loss while helping extol the virtues he exclaimed unalienable in arguably his most important written document; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My biggest complaint about this biography is that it was too brief. I would have enjoyed a lot more detail about Jefferson. Otherwise, the author is sympathetic and admiring of the third President of the United States and includes some information about his children, both those he had with his wife and those he had with Sally Hemmings. Jefferson seems to be the most complicated of the early Presidents. He liked control but didn't like being controlled. He knew slavery was wrong, but kept slaves. He fought with John Adams and others. He lost his wife and all but one of their children before he died, thus his life was certainly full of pain.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Jefferson was a man of many interests, but he was most remembered for writing the Declaration of Independence, being ambassador to France, vice-president to John Adams, and the third president of the United States. As president he bought the Louisiana Purchase from France, a land mass that doubled the size of the United States. He was a very scholarly man and was once quoted as saying to John Adams, "I cannot live without books," when he donated the bulk of his collection to the Library of Congress to replace the books burned by the British in the War of 1812.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great biography with plenty of details I never learned in school. Written with style aimed at the average high school student, feeling at times like a high school text book in history. I liked the parenthetical translations given to many of the words used in our historical documents and speeches that are not readily understood today. Good for the generations of students today who need a clearer understanding of words used then vs words today. ie: British and colonists have similarities of prejudices and predilections (preferences). Thank you author Meacham.

[Mina E · Rating 5 out of 5]

اتابع المؤرخ جون ميتشم باستمرار، اول مرة اقرا كتاب له ، جيفرسون الرئيس و الفيلسوف، قراءة الكتاب رغم انه تاريخي الا انه اشبه بجولة عبر الزمن ، اسلوب ادبي سلس للغاية، احداث كثيرة ، رسائل حقيقة بينه و بين اصدقاءه ، و عائلته، و اصدقاءه من السياسيين و الاباء المؤسسين للولايات المتحدة، تخلل هذا اقتباسات من خطاباته، اعلان الاستقلال الذي كتبه في الثلاثينات،. امريكا اليوم تشبه كثيرا افكار جيفرسون ، فهو ذو اهتمامات عديدة علمية و طبية ، و جغرافية ، و ادبية ، برايه ان الابداع ليس سوى نتاج الحرية الشخصية ، و كان يؤمن ان الاجيال القادمة بالولايات المتحدة ستكون اكثر حكمة من الاجداد، رؤى تقدمية تسبق زمنه.
تفاصيل كثيرة نفتقدها اليوم ببلادنا امن هو بها منذ عشرات العقود، مثال ؛ حرية الصحافة ، و هنا ذكر ميتشم قصة لجيفرسون ،فاحد معاونيه و هو رئيس عرض عليه صحيفة هاجمته ، مطالبا جيفرسون فرض غرامة او عقوبة على الصحيفة ، او اغلاقها، الا انه رفض لايمانه باهمية الحرية حتى وان كانت تطال الرئيس..
الاحداث التي عاصرها جيفرسون مثيرة جدا، فهو تواجد بباريس اثناء الثورة الفرنسية، كان ممن واجهوا الهيمنة البريطانية على امريكا ، عاصر نابليون و اشترى منه المستعمرات الفرنسية بغرب الولايات المتحدة فتوسعت الاراضي الامريكية الضعف.
كتاب رائع

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disliked the man, appreciated the story. It was great that Meacham tried to encapsulate the many facets of Jefferson's life and personality, painting him as a morally gray character. He wrote with a style neither too flowery or bland. There is a lot more to Jefferson that I knew or, indeed, wanted to know (especially the fact that he assaulted his 14-year-old slave, and didn't even have to decency to free her nor his biracial children immediately!), but still, the book was quite well done.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this novel on audio from the public library (bless public libraries for all that they do), and was curious to see what section this read would be included in. Such a short non-fiction read I would assume the teen section. For a teen read, this was fantastic and the description even states it's an "illustrated edition;" which is lost in the audio version. If I had read the graphic novel version, I am certain I would have given it 5 stars. Jon Meacham did what all young adult authors aspire to do, foster in readers a desire to learn more.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good general over view of Jefferson's life and political career. Meacham doesn't go deep into the private issues but neither does he gloss them over. It isn't meant to be a critical biography --at least I don't think so -- so he gets a pass on the feud with Hamilton and other, less-than-statesmanlike escapades. I was about to visit Monticello and wanted a Jefferson refresher before I went. Fit the bill perfectly.

[maddie :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was well written but considering I had to read it for school, I didn’t like it that much. I’m a huge fan of Hamilton the musical so I got very excited when I got to learn about stuff that occurred in the musical, but this book did not add to that excitement. Sure, I did learn stuff from this book. I mainly learned that Jefferson’s only coping strategy was to flirt with people. Again, this book was written well and it was informative, but I was just not a huge fan.

[Evan Kostelka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great primer on Thomas Jefferson from birth to death. This version of the biography is adapted for younger readers so it doesn't go into great detail but has a lot of photographs, graphs, maps, and explanations. I found this to be very helpful and still a great biography. One of the finer details about his life I didn't read in here was his need to make the Jefferson Bible (only briefly mentioned). Still a great biography of a man who has influenced the USA as much as any other.

[Edd Trettel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just an excellent portrayal of Jefferson, warts and all. I take my hat off to Jon Meacham. His citation of sources throughout the book is the mark of a real historian and scholar.

I highly recommend this book.

[Cynthia Thomeer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easy and enjoyable read.

[Randall Dodds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great informative book an Jefferson; and his life’s beliefs and term as president

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually meant for a YA audience, but I still found it interesting.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a dumbed down version for younger readers but it does a good job of scratching the service. Edward Hermann narrates the audio version which is always a pleasure.

[Fox Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have been more detailed but otherwise enjoyable

[Jessica Kuznicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

biggest hypocrite that ever lived

[Mady Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this is meant for kids I actually thought it was perfect for a nice rainy day read.

[Mike Corgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Jefferson book by Jon Meacham.

[Morgan Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro to the president. Overall, it viewed him more favorably, but that doesn’t mean it ignored the stains on his character.