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I am a big fan of Jefferson. He was an intellectual, exceptionally eloquent, bought Oregon from the French,etc., liked to stick up for the farmers,etc., but the constant quoting of Jefferson as some demigod gets old. He is a president from over 200 years ago! Will we be quoting Bush or Obama as a super human sage in 2312? No friggin way!
He was just a president! His viewpoints mean no more or less than those of Washington, Adams, Jackson, Lincoln, Garfield, Roosevelt,etc.,etc.,etc.
I am a big fan of Jefferson. He was an intellectual, exceptionally eloquent, bought Oregon from the French,etc., liked to stick up for the farmers,etc., but the constant quoting of Jefferson as some demigod gets old. He is a president from over 200 years ago! Will we be quoting Bush or Obama as a super human sage in 2312? No friggin way!
He was just a president! His viewpoints mean no more or less than those of Washington, Adams, Jackson, Lincoln, Garfield, Roosevelt,etc.,etc.,etc.
I suppose he is often quoted because he left a legacy I believe 16,000 letter he wrote during his lifetime. He made sure to make copies of his writings. Also, he did write the Declaration of Independence. He, of course was a Founding Father. Whether his viewpoints mean no more or no less than other American historical figures is a matter of personal opinion I suppose. For some reason historians quote him a lot. As I said I suppose it has to do for the simple fact that he left a huge legacy in his writings.
Also, keep in mind that he was a President, embassador, governor, vice-president, inventor, architect, etc. Ah! how about the University of Virginia.
Maybe his viewpoints are often quoted because he seems to have written more than on them than the other figures you quote. Take care.
People back then had better minds and honor, and their ideas of Freedom o speech were tempered with Dueling on the Field of honor. At that time you were bound by your honor, and if you insulted people like is done here on CD you were subject to backing up your BS or being banished as a coward..
If this happened on CD only half of us would be left now.
Evidently in urban areas these days too many males are drinking too much estrogen laden water....
As John Kennedy said to a gathering of Nobel Prize winners in the White House-- "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
Jefferson was a brilliant writer (although James Madison was probably even better), and had one of the great, questing minds of his or any age. He designed not only Monticello but the original campus of the University of Virginia, both national treasures. He is the father of the Louisiana Purchase, the single most important act that made the United States into a world power. He was an endless inventor and experimenter, especially regarding horticulture. As for writing, I think the day we stop quoting the best-known thing he wrote--the Declaration of Independence-- we'll be lost as a country. Here's his rough draft of the first page of the Declaration.
He was also a ruthless politician and I won't attempt to justify his two-faced attitude towards freedom on the one hand and slavery on the other. But he was a great man in a time when the country was blessed to have so many great men, and needed every one of them to survive.
Go to Monticello if you've never been and see the world he created.
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