Thomas Jefferson: Reputation And Legacy

by Francis D. Cogliano

In his probing new study, Francis Cogliano focuses on Thomas Jeffersonâ s relation to history, both as the context in which he lived, and as something he made considerable, and conscious, efforts to influence. He was acutely aware that he would be judged by posterity, and he believed that the fate of the republican experiment depended to a large extent on how it was rendered by historians.The first half of the book situates Jefferson's ideas about history within the context of eighteenth-century historical thought. It then considers the efforts Jefferson made to shape the way the history of his life and times would be through the careful preservation of most of his personal and public papers, and through the institutions he left behind, including his home, Monticello, and the University of Virginia. The second half of the book considers the results of Jefferson's efforts to shape historical writings about himself and his period, which have issued forth in an unbroken stream from his day to our own. Although Jefferson seemed to have achieved apotheosis in the years following World War II, his rise above controversy was short-lived. Earlier political questions were replaced by arguments over race, class, and gender, and recent scholarship has criticized Jefferson's attitudes and actions with regard to civil liberties, Native Americans, slaves, and women, not least in the context of debates surrounding his relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings. Our complex feelings about Jeffersonâ s relation to these issues are a reflection of the man who helped engineer their place in our historical discourse.

Genres: History

276 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2006

About the author

Francis D. Cogliano is Reader in American History at the University of Edinburgh. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he has held research fellowships at the Virginia Historical Society and the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello.

Reviews

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Thomas Jefferson: Reputation and Legacy, Francis Cogliano presents a compelling argument suggesting that Thomas Jefferson, in his lifetime, actively shaped his own legacy to ensure the preservation of his historical reputation. According to Cogliano, Jefferson recognized the importance of reputation and how his might affect the longevity of American republicanism. To Jefferson, historical writing had consequences in both the present and the future, and that history that represented the “right lessons” promoted liberty and suppressed tyranny. Jefferson believed that the American Revolution was intricately linked to his own image, he believed that positive historical reflection of his legacy would ensure the likewise treatment of that of the Revolution. Through the careful curation of his writings, the design and renovations of Monticello, and his authorship of his own epitaph and autobiography, Thomas Jefferson sought to safeguard his legacy by making himself central to the establishment of American republicanism.
To build support for his main thesis, Cogliano also provides a historiography of Jeffersonian memory and identifies and outlines four stages in the history of Thomas Jefferson’s reputation. The first began with Jefferson’s death in 1826 and lasted until the final year of the Civil War, and saw his image interpreted through the lenses of slavery, nullification, secession, and states’ rights. The second stage extended from 1865 until the 1920s, during which postbellum Americans indirectly blamed him for the Civil War. Cogliano points out that it is during this period that, as Jefferson’s reputation declined, that of his rival Alexander Hamilton skyrocketed. From the 1920s through World War II, Jefferson’s image was rehabilitated during this third stage. The fourth and final stage saw the treatment of Jefferson’s reputation by revisionist historians, beginning with the publication of Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker Side by Leonard W. Levy in 1963.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Jefferson tried to shape the way Americans would remember him, but since his death scholars and the general public have shifted their assessment of him, at times lauding his achievements and at other times lamenting his shortcomings. Only those people particularly interested in Jefferson, the nation's founders, or in historical memory will likely have the patience to read this series of essays, which is too bad because the issues Cogliano raises are of importance to us all.

[Jordan Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent a week at a Gilder Lehrman teacher seminar at UVA on Jefferson which was moderated by the author, as well as another foremost scholar on TJ. It is always interesting to meet an author in person, especially in a setting such as we were in, and then reread his book. Very insightful and glad to have had the opportunity to get a glimpse of the scholar's world.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. good insights on the historiography surrounding the ever complex Jefferson. Met the author, great guy.