Understanding Thomas Jefferson / E.M. Halliday.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Halliday, E. M. (Ernest Milton), 1913-2003.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826.

Jefferson, Thomas.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiii, 284 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : HarperCollins Publishers, [2001]

Summary:

Recent biographies of Thomas Jefferson have stressed the sphinxlike puzzles of his character--famous champion of freedom yet lifelong slaveholder, foe of miscegenation yet secret lover of a beautiful slave for thirty years, aristocrat yet fervent advocate of government by the people. E. M. Halliday's absorbing, compact, and lucid portrait recognizes these and other puzzles about this great founder, but shows us how understandable they can be in the light of his personal and social circumstances and common human experience.

Here are all the pivotal episodes of Jefferson's life: the writing of the Declaration of Independence, his years in Paris, his feud with Alexander Hamilton, the surprising Louisiana Purchase, and his postpresidential reconciliation with John Adams. But Halliday's account takes readers deeper, into Jefferson's personal, private life, exploring his childhood, his literary taste, and his unconventional religious thinking and moral philosophy. Here, too, are his adamant opinions on women, the evolution of his ideas on democracy and freedom of expression, and fresh insights into his long relationship with Sally Hemings.

Contents:

1 "The Vaunted Scene of Europe" 1

2 Surges of Youth 13

3 "Unchequered Happiness" 29

4 My Head, My Heart, and... 56

5 Sunny Interlude 70

6 End of an Affair 81

7 A Big Surprise: Sally Hemings 86

8 Eros on the Champs-Elysees 97

9 Return of the Natives 113

10 On the Bridge of the Ship of State 124

11 Salve Master

and Racist 141

12 Blinkered Historians 161

13 The Heart of the Matter 180

14 "The Tender Breasts of Ladies": A Retrospective 211

15 Two Cheers for Thomas Jefferson 220

16 Postscript: History, Fiction, and Probability 240.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-267) and index.

ISBN:

0060197935

OCLC:

44764180