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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not really biography, and not mainly about Jefferson,
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This review is from: Jefferson the President: First Term 1801-1805 - Volume IV (Jefferson & His Time) (Paperback)
When I opened the first volume of Dumas Malone's biography of Thomas Jefferson, I expected to spend hours of reading in the company of one of the greatest men who ever lived, vicariously reliving his life in its minutest details and basking in his genius. These expectations were partly satisfied with the first volume, which describes Jefferson's formative years- if such years can indeed be set apart from the life of a man who never ceased to grow. However, as I closed this fourth volume, I was forced to admit that I had gained very little new insight in its purported subject, and that the whole volume had proved rather tedious to read.The six-volume series has been described as « a major achievement in the half-way house between history and biography ». Laudatory though this comment may be, it summarizes for me the major flaw of Malone's enterprise : its failure as biographical writing. Nowhere is this clearer than in this fourth volume, where Jefferson himself seems to recede in the background while the author retells the most tedious details of the workings of his administration, however unrelated to Jefferson himself. The « un-biographical » character of the work is reinforced by its format : instead of following Jefferson chronologically, Malone has chosen to offer us a series of chapters organized around such themes as the executive appointments, Marbury vs. Madison or the Louisiana Purchase, thus imposing conventional textbook divisions on the organic flow of Jefferson's life. As a result, the « biography » reads as a series of historical essays, and certain important topics are relegated to the next volume. Nothing is said for instance about Jefferson's personal relation with Meriwether Lewis or his involvement in the preparations of the Lewis and Clarke expedition. Perhaps even more regrettable is the general impression of Jefferson given by Malone as a relatively unintellectual man who had apparently done most of his reading in his youth and never bothered to systematize his thinking, being more concerned with his presidential duties, his social life and the occasional joys of the countryside. Apart from a few interesting chapters, therefore, such as « The Religion of a Reasonable Man », and the welcome refutation of the Sally Hemings myth, this curious hybrid of a volume should be eschewed by those who seek a genuine understanding of Jefferson the man. To them, David Mayer's « The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson », and a good selection of Jefferson's own writings, should prove much more profitable reading.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jefferson in power,
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This review is from: Jefferson the President: First Term 1801-1805 - Volume IV (Jefferson & His Time) (Paperback)
What can be said about this monument to Jefferson scholarship? I am sure that somewhere in universities around the United States there are "scholar squirrels who want to put down this invaluable resource in Jefferson studies. It is always the way that mice attempt to gnaw at lions. This is not a perfect work (and my remarks refer to all of the books in the series as a whole), there are somethings, namely Sally Hemmings references which are wrong and will not sit well with American 21st century mores. There is the issue of slavery which was handled much differently 50 years ago than it is now. Jefferson is not worthy of our interest because of Sally Hemmings and because he kept slaves. Jefferson is great because of the Declaration of Independence and his fight for the rights of man. While it may have been hypocritical to preach liberty and keep slaves, it is doubtful that slavery ever would have been abolished if Jefferson had never gained the prominence that he did. This book and the others that follow show why we should continue to honor the public man even though his private side may have been wanting.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jefferson: The President First Term 1801-1805,
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This review is from: Jefferson the President: First Term 1801-1805 - Volume IV (Jefferson & His Time) (Paperback)
Jefferson: The President First Term 1801 - 1805 is the fourth volume in a series of six. This volume is exclusively Jefferson as the President of the United States. Jefferson's first task as President was to unite a politically divided country.Jefferson's immediate goal was to show a peaceful transfer of authority and then never lose sight of this goal then maintain unity within his party. Jefferson was more moderate politically than his party partisians, but he did require unity and loyalty. Jefferson was a man of paradox, he was recognied as the head of his party, but he longed of his home in the Virginia foothills. Jefferson put his faith in the individual as he sought to increase personal freedoms, but he was plagued early on by the Hamiltonians wanting a stronger central government. Later on John Marshall appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by John Adams in his waining Presidency would be at odds with Jefferson. This conflict was mainly a political viewpoint, but the arguments would be heated as the successive phases took shape. Jefferson had forethought and wanted the river rights of the Mississippi. This later worked toward the Louisiana purchase and the expansion of the United States west of the Mississippi. Jefferson was determined that New Orleans should be part of the United States. So, by shrewd dipolmacy, the deal was struck. But to acquire West Florida was not to come till his second term and so with the exploration of the Louisiana territory with Lewis and Clark. Jefferson symbolized freedom and democracy, but friends clearly showed respect. Jefferson's composure while President showed and he ran a balanced government. This is a very good and scholarly work, but the deals and facts are there... only thing the author needed to do was bring out Jefferson the man more to the forefront.
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