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A CHARACTER SKETCH
A CHARACTER SKETCH
CONTENTS THOMAS JEFFERSON A CHARACTER SKETCH By Edward Ellis THOMAS JEFFERSON. (1743-1826), By G. Mercer Adam THOMAS JEFFERSON'S FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS—1801. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE, By Isidore A. Zacharias. ANECDOTES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF JEFFERSON. JEFFERSON'S BRIDAL JOURNEY. WOULD MAKE NO PROMISES FOR THE PRESIDENCY. JEFFERSON AS AN INVENTOR. JEFFERSON AND THE JOCKEY. JEFFERSON AND PATRICK HENRY. WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON. INFLUENCE OF PROF. SMALL ON JEFFERSON. JEFFERSON AND THE UNIVERSITY OF
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THOMAS JEFFERSON A CHARACTER SKETCH By Edward S. Ellis
THOMAS JEFFERSON A CHARACTER SKETCH By Edward S. Ellis
No golden eagle, warm from the stamping press of the mint, is more sharply impressed with its image and superscription than was the formative period of our government by the genius and personality of Thomas Jefferson. Standing on the threshold of the nineteenth century, no one who attempted to peer down the shadowy vista, saw more clearly than he the possibilities, the perils, the pitfalls and the achievements that were within the grasp of the Nation. None was inspired by purer patriotism. None
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THOMAS JEFFERSON. (1743-1826), By G. Mercer Adam
THOMAS JEFFERSON. (1743-1826), By G. Mercer Adam
JEFFERSON, when he penned the famous Declaration of Independence, which broke all hope of reconciliation with the motherland and showed England what the deeply-wronged Colonies of the New World unitedly desired and would in the last resort fight for, had then just passed his thirty-third birthday. Who was the man, and what were his upbringings and status in the then young community, that inspired the writing of this great historic document—a document that on its adoption gave these United States
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THOMAS JEFFERSON'S FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS—1801.
THOMAS JEFFERSON'S FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS—1801.
Friends and fellow-citizens:—Called upon to undertake the duties of the first executive office of our country, I avail myself of the presence of that portion of my fellow-citizens which is here assembled, to express my grateful thanks for the favor with which they have been pleased to look toward me, to declare a sincere consciousness that the task is above my talents, and that I approach it with those anxious and awful presentiments which the greatness of the charge and the weakness of my power
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THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE, By Isidore A. Zacharias.
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE, By Isidore A. Zacharias.
From "Self-Culture" Magazine for Jan., 1896 by kind permission of the publishers The Werner Co., Akron, O. No surer or more lasting cause conduced to the political, financial, and national development of this country, no unforeseen or long-sought measure received more universal approbation and revealed to all its great importance, than did the Louisiana purchase. Its acquisition marks a political revolution,—a bloodless and tearless revolution. It gave incomputable energy to the centralization o
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JEFFERSON'S BRIDAL JOURNEY.
JEFFERSON'S BRIDAL JOURNEY.
Jefferson and his young bride, after the marriage ceremony, set out for their Monticello home. The road thither was a rough mountain track, upon which lay the snow to a depth of two feet. At sunset they reached the house of one of their neighbors eight miles distant from Monticello. They arrived at their destination late at night thoroughly chilled with the cold. They found the fires all out, not a light burning, not a morsel of food in the larder, and not a creature in the house. The servants h
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WOULD MAKE NO PROMISES FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
WOULD MAKE NO PROMISES FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
While the Presidential election was taking place in the House of Representatives, amid scenes of great excitement, strife and intrigue, which was to decide whether Jefferson or Burr should be the chief magistrate of the nation, Jefferson was stopped one day, as he was coming out of the Senate chamber, by Gouverneur Morris, a prominent leader of the Federalists. Mr. Morris said, "I wish to have an earnest talk with you, Mr. Jefferson, on the alarming situation of things." "I am very glad," said J
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JEFFERSON AS AN INVENTOR.
JEFFERSON AS AN INVENTOR.
"He sometimes figured as an inventor himself, and on that subject let me relate to you an anecdote which vividly portrays the character of his mind. You know that he had perched his country seat on a mountain height, commanding a magnificent prospect, but exposed to the sweep of wintry winds, and not very convenient of access. "Not far from Monticello, and within the bounds of his estate, was a solitary and lofty hill, so situated as to be exposed to the blast of two currents of wind, coming up
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JEFFERSON AND THE JOCKEY.
JEFFERSON AND THE JOCKEY.
"Jefferson's favorite exercise was riding. He was a judge of a horse, and rode a very good one. "One day, during his presidential term, he was riding somewhere in the neighborhood of Washington, when there came up a cross road, a well-known jockey and dealer in horse-flesh, whose name we will call Jones. "He did not know the President, but his professional eye was caught, in a moment, by the noble steed he rode. "Coming up with an impudent boldness characteristic of the man, he accosted the ride
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JEFFERSON AND PATRICK HENRY.
JEFFERSON AND PATRICK HENRY.
Patrick Henry was an early friend and companion of Jefferson. He was a jovial young fellow noted for mimicry, practical jokes, fiddling and dancing. Jefferson's holidays were sometimes spent with Henry, and the two together would go off on hunting excursions of which each was passionately fond. Both were swift of foot and sound of wind. Deer, turkey, foxes and other game were eagerly pursued. Jefferson looked upon Patrick Henry as the moving spirit of all the fun of the younger circle, and had n
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WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON.
WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON.
Dr. James Schouler says: "That Jefferson did not enter into the rhapsodies of his times which magnified the first President into a demigod infallible, is very certain; and that, sincerely or insincerely, he had written from his distant retreat to private friends in Congress with less veneration for Washington's good judgment on some points of policy than for his personal virtues and honesty, is susceptible of proof by more positive testimony than the once celebrated Mazzei letter. Yet we should
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INFLUENCE OF PROF. SMALL ON JEFFERSON.
INFLUENCE OF PROF. SMALL ON JEFFERSON.
Speaking of the influence exerted over him by Dr. William Small, Professor of Mathematics at William and Mary College, who supplied the place of a father, and was at once "guide, philosopher and friend," Jefferson said: "It was Dr. Small's instruction and intercourse that probably fixed the destinies of my life."...
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JEFFERSON AND THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
JEFFERSON AND THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
In the epitaph of Jefferson, written by himself, there is no mention of his having been Governor of Virginia, Plenipotentiary to France, Secretary of State, Vice President and President of the United States. But the inscription does mention that he was the "Author of the Declaration of American Independence; of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom; and Father of the University of Virginia." These were the three things which, in his own opinion, constituted his most enduring title to fam
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THE FINANCIAL DIARY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON.
THE FINANCIAL DIARY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON.
Thomas Jefferson kept a financial diary and account book from January 1st 1791, to December 28th, 1803, embracing the last three years of his service as Secretary of State under Washington, the four years of his Vice-Presidency under John Adams, and the first three years following his own election to the Presidency. This diary was one of the most valuable treasures in the library of the late Mr. Tilden. Among the items enumerated in the very fine, but neat and legible hand of Mr. Jefferson, is t
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HORSE BACK RIDING TO INAUGURATION.
HORSE BACK RIDING TO INAUGURATION.
It would seem on the authority of Mrs. Randolph, the great-granddaughter of Mr. Jefferson, in her work, "The Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson," that the President rode "the magnificent Wildair" to the capitol, and hitched to the palisades while he went in to deliver his inaugural. The truth of the incident, however, is not established. In Jefferson's diary we have this entry: Feb'y 3, 1801, Rec'd from Col. John Hoomes of the Bowling Green a bay horse Wildair, 7 yr. old, 16 hands high, for which
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COST OF SERVANTS, ETC.
COST OF SERVANTS, ETC.
Jefferson estimated the cost of his ten servants per week, $28.70, or $2.87 per head. Jefferson managed to pay off many of his small debts with his first year's salary as President. It seems never to have occurred to him to lay by anything out of his receipts. He thought that at the end of the second year he had about $300 in hand. It is interesting to know in these temperance days that the wine bill of Jefferson was $1,356.00 per year. Mr. Jefferson, judging by his diary, was an inveterate buye
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WOULD TAKE NO PRESENTS.
WOULD TAKE NO PRESENTS.
The Rev. Mr. Leland sent him a great cheese, presumably as a present. Mr. Jefferson was not in the habit "of deadheading at hotels," nor of receiving presents, however inconsiderable in value, which would place him under any obligation to the donor. The diary contains the following minute regarding the cheese: 1802. Gave Rev'd Mr. Leland, bearer of the cheese of 1235 Ibs weight, 200 D. So the monster article cost the President sixteen cents a pound. It will be a surprise to those who have been e
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INDOLENCE.
INDOLENCE.
In a letter to his daughter Martha, written in March,1787, Jefferson writes: "Of all the cankers of human happiness, none corrodes with so silent, yet baneful a tooth, as indolence. "Body and mind both unemployed, our being becomes a burthen, and every object about us loathsome, even the dearest. "Idleness begets ennui, ennui the hypochondria, and that a diseased body. "No laborious person was ever yet hysterical. "Exercise and application produce order in our affairs, health of body and cheerfu
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He wrote to one of his friends concerning this matter as follows:
He wrote to one of his friends concerning this matter as follows:
"The Senate and Representatives differed about the title of President. The former wanted to style him 'His Highness, George Washington, President of the United States, and Protector of their Liberties.' I hope the terms of Excellency, Honor, Worship, Esquire, forever disappear from among us. I wish that of Mr. would follow them."...
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THE TERM OF THE PRESIDENCY.
THE TERM OF THE PRESIDENCY.
Mr. Jefferson was inclined at first to have the President elected for seven years, and be thereafter ineligible. He afterwards modified his views in favor of the present system, allowing only a continuance for eight years. Regarding a third term, he says in his autobiography: "Should a President consent to be a candidate for a third election, I trust he would be rejected on this demonstration of ambitious views."...
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THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AND LAWYERS.
THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AND LAWYERS.
Mr. Jefferson wrote in his autobiography regarding the Continental Congress in 1783: "Our body was little numerous, but very contentious. Day after day was wasted on the most unimportant questions. "If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise, in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing and talk by the hour? "That one hundred and fifty lawyers should do business together ought not to be ex
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THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
George Bancroft, in glowing words, speaks of this great creation of the genius of Jefferson: "This immortal State paper, which for its composer was the aurora of enduring fame, was 'the genuine effusion of the soul of the country at that time.' "It was the revelation of its mind, when, in its youth, its enthusiasm, its sublime confronting of danger, it rose to the highest creative powers of which man is capable."—Bancroft's U S., vol. 8, ch. 70....
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JEFFERSON AND THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
JEFFERSON AND THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
"On the 30th of April, 1819, some forty-three years after Jefferson's Declaration was written, there appeared in the Raleigh (N. C.) Register what purported to be a Declaration of Independence, drawn up by the citizens of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on May 20th, 1775. As this was nearly fourteen months before the Colonies declared their independence, and as many of the expressions in the Mecklenburg paper bore a striking resemblance to Jefferson's expressions, it excited a good deal of c
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THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE.
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE.
In effecting the purchase of Louisiana, Mr. Jefferson has thus been eulogized by James G. Blaine, in his "Twenty Years of Congress:" "Mr. Jefferson made the largest conquest ever peacefully achieved, at a cost so small that the sum expended for the entire territory does not equal the revenue which has since been collected on its soil in a single month, in time of great public peril."...
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JEFFERSON AND BENEDICT ARNOLD.
JEFFERSON AND BENEDICT ARNOLD.
Benedict Arnold, with the British troops, had entered the Chesapeake in January, 1781, and sailed up the James River. He captured Richmond, the capital, then a town of less than two thousand people, and destroyed everything upon which he could lay his hands. Jefferson summoned the militia, who came by thousands to oppose the traitor. Arnold, however, sailed down to Portsmouth and escaped. Jefferson then urged upon General Muhlenburg the importance of picking out a few of the best men in his comm
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A MAN OF THE PEOPLE.
A MAN OF THE PEOPLE.
Jefferson mingled a great deal with the common people, especially with mechanics. Often, when President, he would walk down to the Navy Yard early on a summer's morning, and sitting down upon an anchor or spar, would enter into conversation with the surprised and delighted shipwrights. He asked many questions of these artisans, who would take the utmost pains to satisfy his enquiries. His political opponents believed unjustly that he did this simply for effect. They would say, "There, see the de
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ARISTOCRACY OF MIND.
ARISTOCRACY OF MIND.
Although Jefferson was an ardent democrat, in some sense he was also an aristocrat. He firmly believed in an aristocracy of mind, and told John Adams that he rejoiced that nature had created such an aristocracy. He unmistakably gave his preference to men of learning and refinement, at least he put these above other recommendations. Mr. Jefferson, however, was not consistent with himself, for he frequently called General Washington "Your Excellency," during the war, and also when he was a private
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EVIL YOUTHFUL COMPANIONS.
EVIL YOUTHFUL COMPANIONS.
Just after his college days Mr. Jefferson fell into company, as so many young men do, of a most undesirable sort. According to his own statements it was a source of amazement even to himself that he ever escaped to be worth anything to the world. He realized in later years what a dangerous risk he had run....
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READ LITTLE FICTION.
READ LITTLE FICTION.
While he was an extensive reader in his early days, going into almost every field of literature, including poetry, he read very little fiction. In fact, there was comparatively but little fiction then worth the name. Not from any sentiment of duty or moral impropriety, but from simple aversion he let it alone....
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NEITHER ORATOR NOR GOOD TALKER.
NEITHER ORATOR NOR GOOD TALKER.
Jefferson was neither an orator nor a good talker. He could not make a speech. His voice would sink downwards instead of rising upwards out of his throat. But as regards legal learning he was in the front rank. No one was more ready than he in ably written opinions and defenses. It was in what John Adams termed "the divine science of politics" that Jefferson won his immortal and resplendent fame....
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SELF-CONTROL.
SELF-CONTROL.
With all his apparent tolerance and good humor, there was a great deal of the arbitrary and despotic in Mr. Jefferson's nature. Stern principle alone enabled him to keep his native imperiousness within proper bounds....
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THE INFLUENCE OF JEFFERSON'S SISTER.
THE INFLUENCE OF JEFFERSON'S SISTER.
Among those who exerted a marked influence on Jefferson's early years was his oldest and favorite sister Jane. She was three years his senior, and was a woman of superior standing and great elevation of character. She was his constant companion when he was at home, and a sympathizing friend to whom he unlocked his heart. She was a "singer of uncommon skill and sweetness, and both were particularly fond of the solemn music used by the Church of England in the Psalms." She died in the fall of 1765
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Lewis Henry Boutell, in his "Jefferson as a Man of Letters," says:
Lewis Henry Boutell, in his "Jefferson as a Man of Letters," says:
"That Jefferson, in justifying the action of the colonists, should have thought more of the metaphysical rights than historical facts, illustrates one of the marked features of his character. He was often more of a doctrinaire than a practical statesman. He reminds us of the words which Burke applied on a certain occasion to Chatham: 'For a wise man he seemed to me at that time to be governed too much by general maxims.'"...
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RECONCILIATION WITH JOHN ADAMS.
RECONCILIATION WITH JOHN ADAMS.
For many years the friendship between Jefferson and John Adams had been broken off. Mrs. Adams had become decidedly hostile in feeling towards Jefferson. But through a mutual friend, Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia, a reconciliation was fully established between them. It was a spectacle in which the whole country greatly rejoiced, to see the intimacy restored between the two venerable men, once Presidents of the United States, and brothers in helping secure the independence of their beloved land. Alth
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NEGRO COLONIZATION.
NEGRO COLONIZATION.
Mr. Jefferson believed in the colonization of negroes to Africa, and the substitution of free white labor in their place. He wrote to John Lynch, of Virginia, in 1811, as follows: "Having long ago made up my mind on this subject (colonization), I have no hesitation in saying that I have ever thought it the most desirable measure which could be adopted, for gradually drawing off this part of our population most advantageously for themselves as well as for us. "Going from a country possessing all
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EDUCATING AMERICAN BOYS ABROAD.
EDUCATING AMERICAN BOYS ABROAD.
Mr. Jefferson was a strong opponent of the practice of sending boys abroad to be educated. He says: "The boy sent to Europe acquires a fondness for European luxury and dissipation, and a contempt for the simplicity of his own country. "He is fascinated with the privileges of the European aristocrats, and sees with abhorrence the lovely equality which the poor enjoy with the rich in his own country. "He contracts a partiality for aristocracy or monarchy. "He forms foreign friendships which will n
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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
Mr. Jefferson always believed the cause of the French Revolution to be just. Its horrors and excesses were the necessary evils attendant upon the death of tyranny and the birth of liberty. Louis the XVI was thoroughly conscientious. At the age of twenty he ascended the throne, and strove to present an example of morality, justice and economy. But he had not firmness of will to support a good minister or to adhere to a good policy. In the course of events a great demonstration of the French popul
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Harmony in the marriage state is the very first object to be aimed at.
Harmony in the marriage state is the very first object to be aimed at.
Nothing can preserve affections uninterrupted but a firm resolution never to differ in will, and a determination in each to consider the love of the other as of more value than any object whatever on which a wish had been fixed. How light, in fact, is the sacrifice of any other wish when weighed against the affections of one with whom we are to pass our whole life!...
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EDITORS AND NEWSPAPERS.
EDITORS AND NEWSPAPERS.
Perhaps an editor might begin a reformation in some such way as this: Divide his paper into four chapters, heading the 1st, Truths; 2nd, Probabilities; 3rd, Possibilities; 4th, Lies. The first chapter would be very short, as it would contain little more than authentic papers, and information from such sources as the editor would be willing to risk his own reputation for their truth. The second would contain what, from a mature consideration of all circumstances, he would conclude to be probably
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ADAMS AND JEFFERSON.
ADAMS AND JEFFERSON.
Discourse in Commemoration of the Lives and Services of John and Thomas Jefferson, Delivered in Faneuil Hall, August 2, 1826. This is an unaccustomed spectacle. For the first time, fellow-citizens, badges of mourning shroud the columns and overhang the arches of this hall. These walls, which were consecrated, so long ago, to the cause of American liberty, which witnessed her infant struggles, and rung with the shouts of her earliest victories, proclaim, now, that distinguished friends and champi
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PROGRAMME FOR A JEFFERSONIAN EVENING.
PROGRAMME FOR A JEFFERSONIAN EVENING.
When and where was Thomas Jefferson born? What was his height? What was the color of his hair and eyes? What can you say of his literary ability? What of his scholarship? What of his moral character? To which of his teachers was he especially indebted? When was his public career begun? What resolution was then taken? What effect would this resolution have upon modern politicians, if it were made and faithfully kept? Upon what subject was his first important speech made? With what result? Whom di
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SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL STUDY.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL STUDY.
For those who wish to read extensively, the following works are especially commended: Life of Thomas Jefferson. By James Parton. Jas. R. Osgood & Co., Boston, 1874. Life of Thomas Jefferson. By Henry S. Randall, LL. D. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia. Life of Thomas Jefferson. John Robert Irelan, M. D., Chicago. Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson, the Man of Letters. Lewis Henry Routell, Chicago. Privately printed. Biography of Thomas Jefferson. Cyclopedia o
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