Thomas Jefferson: The Blood of Patriots (The True Story of Thomas Jefferson)

by Alexander Kennedy

Thomas Jefferson is justly remembered as one of the great presidents of American history. Yet his greatest accomplishments--the Louisiana Purchase, the First Barbary War, the Lewis and Clark expedition--almost all came in his first term in office. His second term saw a sharp reversal of fortunes, as catastrophe engulfed the nation and Jefferson slunk out of office, never to play a role in public affairs again.

While always giving a great man his due, this new biography explores the darker side of Jefferson's political legacy, examining how the flaws in both his personality and ideology led the nation to the brink of war and dissolution. It tells how Jefferson tossed aside legal norms in his pursuit of rival judges and his own vice president, and how his 1807 Embargo Act devastated the national economy, heightened section divisions, and made a subsequent war with Great Britain all but inevitable. Only when we understand the damage that Jefferson did to America, as well as his many achievements, can we begin to grapple with the complex legacy of our nation's most complex president.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

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Genres: Biography

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 12, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short and perfunctory look at Thomas Jefferson’s life, and at first glance seems hardly worth the effort. However, the author does a good job of distilling his life down into the important points and he goes some way to relating what life in the revolutionary period was like and how that may have affected Jefferson’s actions. He certainly gives the most thought out description of why so many of the founding fathers owned slaves I’ve ever read.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary of Jefferson

This book us like a highlights of his life. I do appreciate the references and the way in which the author weaves the complexity of the man into the narrative. I come away with a refreshed since of his role.

[Addie LeMaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very educational. I loved how quick and easy it was to read through.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoughtful book

Thoughtful insight. I liked the concept of focusing on his second term, which is pretty much a massive failure in terms of the man himself. While reading this book, I began to feel that he as well as all of our Founding Fathers, though brilliant, it may have been that brilliance that made them stubborn to see their own flaws. Good read.

[Raymond Medrano · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man of controversy.

This book filled in many of the things which I did not know about Jefferson. Unfortunately many of them were not good. However, he still made many great contributions to our nation's development. I am glad that I read it.

[Anthony Paccioni · Rating 5 out of 5]

History at its finest.

I highly recommend to anyone interested in how the USA developed policies still relevant today. Jefferson was an interesting cat!

[Jon Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adequate history of Jefferson

This is a quick and easy read and not an exhaustive biography I did learn somethings about Jefferson that were not covered in general history books.

[Diane LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jefferson

This book provided a good overview of Jefferson's life. I'm not sure it paints the most positive picture of this founding father. Also it isn't extremely detailed

[Lawrence Peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice concise read of Jefferson

Very well written. It’s an easy read yet packed with enough information to give the reader a good feel for Mr. Jefferson.

[Ray Du]

This book, despite being very short, gives a good portrayal of Thomas Jefferson as a man of lofty ideals (and one of the best spokesperson for these ideals in human history) and also of craftiness that's typical of politicians. And then there's also slavery - the thing that haunted him badly when he was alive, and has been, and will always be marring his reputation as an advocate of the equality of people, regardless of race, that is endowed by their Creator and not to be deprived by government and church authority.
Thomas Jefferson indeed was a remarkable man with great flaws. Recent history has made it seem like he's being dug out from his grave and lynched badly by people who loathe slavery, especially given how he treated his slave maid and mistress Sally Hemings. It is, to me, disturbing to see how we so oftentimes see others in extreme terms--they are either angels insusceptible to human flaws or demons deserving to be destroyed by all means.
Let it always be remembered that TJ was a slave owner, for sure. But let also the ideals of human liberty and equality as was enunciated so powerfully by Thomas Jefferson be remembered and practiced.
I think our views of TJ, heavily influenced by the zeitgeist of times, will probably always evolve. But let's take a moment from our life and thank him for being a prolific writer overall and an obsessive letter-writer. General curiosity and serious intellectual interest in him alike can be pretty readily satisfied because of that.
One last thought...(before many more in the future) it's hard not to admire somebody who could dedicate 12 -15 hours a day to study and use six languages. Jefferson was that somebody.