American Jefferson Essay -- essays research papers

American Sphinx The character of Thomas JeffersonA book by Joseph J. Ellis. Copyright 1997 Vintage.Joseph J. Ellis, a historian who was educated at the College of William and Mary and Yale, is a Ford Foundation Professor of History at Mount Holyoke University. He has written four books on diachronic topics, centered on the time Jefferson was alive, dealing with issues and personalities Jefferson dealt with firsthand. After authoring a book on a politician such as John Adams, Ellis seems to confuse entangle a need or want to focus on Jefferson, presumably because of his status as founding father and main contributor to the constitution. Elliss dissertation in American Sphinx can be summed up by the quote in the prologue by James Parton If Jefferson was wrong, America is wrong. If America is right, Jefferson is right. However, Ellis gave the impression that he was brought reluctantly to the task of researching and writing so extensively on Jefferson. Perhaps he was spurred on by th e rebirth of interest in the Jefferson legacy. In recent years, the pictorial matter of Jeffersons affair and subsequent illegitimate children to a mulatto slave give eard Sally Hemings, and Elliss own experience of watching another scholar of Jefferson imitate him to airless perfection probably inspired Ellis to add a few more notches to his authoring resume. The influence Jefferson has over Ellis is apparent. He began college at a school founded by Jefferson, and is cranky of a statue conspicuously facing the womens dorms on campus. His professional research and scholarship always involved some indirect influence by Jefferson. plain so, in writing this book, Joseph Ellis has taken an unbiased approach to Jefferson, never smoothing over points and incidents in which Thomas had definitely misjudged. Ellis realizes that in reality, no politician or stellar(a) figure can ever amount to the ideal of perfection attributed to some, (i.e. Jesus Christ) but stands by Jefferson in the face of heavy critics who would defame Jeffersons name and work based on issues and or mistakes that happened in life outside the political world. I have also noticed that Ellis, when quoting other Jeffersonian authors, ordain contradict the reference he quoted, but will not dispu... ...wn errors, which will never be intentional and your support against the errors of others, who may condemn what they would not if seen in all its parts. (Pg. 214) Quite profound in comparison to the speeches often heard today by Presidents who would never admit to any wrongdoing. (I did not have sexual relations with THAT woman) After his term of office was over, Jefferson led an active life in American ideals and politics. However, his life was never the same after his married woman died, and many of the current criticisms of Jefferson stem from this post presidential period. It is my firm belief that Jefferson deserved no reprimand for his actions then, or now. To conclude, Jefferson has been tur ned into a hero to me by Ellis, and probably without Ellis intending to do so. A scholar such as Joseph warrants literary acclaim when he creates a biography that so wonderfully illustrates the life of a man to whom this nation owes so much. It is my intention to reread this book, and perhaps others he has read. Based on the fact that this is a book review, I will take off into Bill Cosbys shoes, pretend Im on Reading Rainbow, and sing a little song about this book.