Wolf by the Ears [Mass Market Paperback]

John C. Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1980

This analysis of Jefferson's antislavery views and the actions to which they gave rise, the subject matter of The Wolf by the Ears, is necessarily episodic; while chronology has been generally observed, it was not possible to weld this disparate material into the form of a biographical narrative.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this excellent book..Miller offers a thorough account of Jefferson's attitudes and actions regarding slavery, blacks, and black-white relations from the 1760's until Jefferson's death in 1826. Almost nothing related to his subject escapes Miller's notice..A valuable and immensely informative volume.

(Library Journal ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

John Chester Miller is Professor Emeritus of History at Stanford University. He is the author of numerous books on the American Revolution and the Federalist era.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Plume (March 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452006295
• ISBN-13: 978-0452006294
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,057,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Biography of Jefferson--a must read book, March 14, 2010

By 

Barrie W. Bracken "Researcher" (Daytona Beach, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery- (Paperback)

The title is from the famous 1820 quote of Jefferson's, "We have the wolf by the ears; and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in the one scale, and self-preservation in the other." It is a dilema Jefferson faced all his life. He knew slavery; a slave cared for him as an infant and a slave built his coffin in 1826 for his burial at Monticello. His personal peace was disturbed by his concerns with the fact of slavery and the way to eliminate the scar on the revolutionary America. Biographies of Thomas Jefferson are so prevelant it seems nothing new could possibly be written. This is not a new book, published by Macmillan Press in 1977, but it is a book which shows the statesman in a light not seen as well in many of these other books. Miller is a great writer.

Of course the Sally Hemings story is covered in the book, but it is ke[pt in perspective, not overplayed for sensationalism. The author is more interested in the politics of the day which makes this work more worthy of reading than many others. Miller examines the effect of the Revolution on Jefferson's consideration of the place of slavery in America. The decline of the anti-slavery movement during the Presiden's lifetime is examined. Jefferson feared the effect of supporting France in its problems with St. Domingo and the effect the Haitian Tousaint might have on American blacks. Miller examines the effect of the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, John Marshall's strengthening of the Supreme Court's affect on slavery,the Missouri Compromise and even the effect of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.

Jefferson's consideration of the slavery question is admirably summed up by Miller as follows: "The diffusion of slavery...gave the North no ground whatever for moral umbrage because, instead of increasing the numer of slaves it merely redistributed the existing population over a wider area and thereby benefited the slaves, the white population, the South, and the country as a whole....to fence slavery behind a geographical line [the Missouri Compromise line]would not free a single human being and not bring general emancipation a moment closer.[page 239]" Jefferson was not a simple human nor his solution for slavery a clear position. Miller shows us Jefferson as a person who changed his mind as conditions and listeners demanded.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, November 29, 2010

By 

WAL (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery (Paperback)

Four of the many reasons to read this excellent book are: a) It is written with conciseness, minimal use of terms that would be familiar only to specialists, and wit. Serious history doesn't get much more entertaining. b) Jefferson's relationship with slavery was complicated and evolved as he aged and the United States developed, and cannot be simplified. This book, untainted by political correctness and postmodern obfuscation, probably presents as clear a view of it as is now possible. c) Jefferson considered and wrote about most of the moral and political arguments for and against slavery. The book therefore provides a good overview of the arguments used in the political debates on slavery in the antebellum period. d) The book shows that Jefferson recognized that "states rights" and slavery were inseparable. The distancing one from the other is a more recent development.

4.0 out of 5 stars Exegesis over Eisegesis, November 7, 2010

By 

James A. Sullivan "teneo antiquam" (fairfield, ct) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery (Hardcover)

There are history books which tell us what we want to hear (eisegesis). So often, these works contain a thin veneer of history while they aim to confirm in us our own contemporary prejudices. Miller's work on Jefferson is decidedly different. This book is a classic example of "exegesis" or uncovering the truth about Jefferson as calmly as possible. While it was written well before the DNA researches of Dr. Foster, 1999, it puts Sally Hemmings in perspective, while, more importantly, bringing forward Jefferson's own brand of "romantic friendship."

Before Foster found a Y chromosome from the paternal side of Jefferson's family in Eston Hemmings's descendants, I was inclined to view the Jefferson-Cosway "affair" as circumstantial proof that dusky Sally could never have been a lover of Jefferson. But Miller shows convincingly that the alleged Jefferson-Cosway affair was clearly a type of romantic friendship with a non-genital cast. Conclusion: Jefferson's inner-sexuality was uplifted and refined, as far from Sally as it was from Eliot Spitzer.