Thomas Jefferson was a very charismatic
individual. In his own day and even today people have very strong
opinions about him. In The Jefferson Lies, Barton covers six
distortions of Jefferson's beliefs and actions. Thomas Jefferson:
- Fathered Sally Hemings' children
- Founded a secular university
- Wrote his own Bible and edited out the things he didn't agree with
- Was a racist who opposed equality for black Americans
- Advocated a secular public square through the separation of church and state
- Detested the Clergy
- Was an Atheist and not a Christian
Barton does an excellent job of
refuting these misconceptions by quoting from primary sources and
giving an accurate description of what the culture was like in the
1800s. He makes the point that Jefferson was a complex personality,
and his views changed over time. He was a good man who tried to apply
rational thinking to very complex problems. It's one of the
attributes of Jefferson's correspondence that makes them worth
reading in the original.
Barton also makes the point that modern
scholarship is lacking in a number of areas. I think the most
important criticism is that scholars no longer, except in rare cases,
go back to primary sources and study the cultural differences between
today and the period when Jefferson lived. For me, this is a very
serious criticism. Generations of children and young adults are
receiving sloppy instruction. I have no problem with people having
political agendas, but I do think it's wrong to distort history to
prove one's bias.
I highly recommend this book. Both the
scholarly presentation of information about Jefferson and the
argument that too many scholars are dangerously cutting corners in
their research are well worth considering. Whether you agree, or
disagree, this book will make you think.
I reviewed this book as part of the Amazon Vine Program.
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