The Nexus Archive
American Republicanism
Thomas Jefferson
The Paradox of Liberty · American Founding, 1743-1826
Jefferson gives America some of its highest words about liberty while embodying some of its deepest contradictions.
- Natural rights
- Republican liberty
- Religious freedom
- Agrarian independence
- American contradiction
Start with Declaration of Independence
Life
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, the third president of the United States, and a central figure in American republican thought. His life joins liberty, empire, education, party politics, and the unresolved contradiction of slavery.
The question
“Can a republic proclaim equality while living against it?”
Argued against
Monarchy, inherited privilege, centralized power, and established religion.
Why Thomas Jefferson matters
Jefferson forces Nexus to face both the language of liberty and the contradictions built into the American founding.
Where to start
Declaration of Independence The obvious entry point into Jefferson's political imagination and America's claim about equality.
Works
- Declaration of Independence State paper · Beginner The central American statement of equality, rights, consent, and independence.
- First Inaugural Address Address · Beginner Jefferson's attempt to define republican unity after a bitter election.
- Notes on the State of Virginia Essay · Advanced Jefferson's wide-ranging reflections on nature, society, race, politics, and Virginia.
Quests with Thomas Jefferson
- Liberty Earned A revolutionary test of liberty, power, union, and the price of self-rule. Founding Fathers Quest