“This period was, in some ways, the most satisfying period of Jefferson’s life, and in some ways it was the most radical.”
This week, as promised, and in anticipation of Clay’s upcoming cultural tour of Jefferson’s France in October 2019, we devote an entire show to discussion of Jefferson’s time as Minister to France from 1784 to 1789.
Jefferson spent five of the most extraordinary years of his life in France. He fell in love with French people and French culture, but he also got to witness a second great revolution in a single lifetime: the beginnings of the French Revolution. It was one of the most formative times of Mr. Jefferson's life, and he carried what he called the little flame of liberty across the Atlantic in the summer of 1784. Jefferson was thrilled to see that the principles that we had fought for and established in our new system were now being used to change the world — that all of Europe, he thought, was going to follow the path of the United States. It didn't quite work out that way, but that was his optimism.
Further Reading
Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation by Merrill D. Peterson
Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty by John B. Boles
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn M. Brodie
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis
What Would Jefferson Do?
“They existed to promote an Enlightenment view of the world. They had no secret agenda to displace Popes, or to put certain despots on the crown, or remove them, or anything else.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
"Jefferson admits [to John] Adams, you were right and I was wrong about the French Revolution."
— Joseph J. Ellis
We welcome Clay Jenkinson back from his recent cultural tour to France, and speak with author Joseph Ellis about what Jefferson learned in France, and how it changed his outlook of the American dream.
"I don't like confiscation of wealth and I don't like redistribution."
— Clay S. Jenkinson portraying Thomas Jefferson
"We couldn't allow a French national to be here, stirring up anti-administration feeling in this country, or fitting out privateers in our wars."
— Clay S. Jenkinson portraying Thomas Jefferson
"This period was, in some ways, the most satisfying period of Jefferson's life, and in some ways it was the most radical."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
This week, as promised, and in anticipation of Clay’s upcoming cultural tour of Jefferson’s France in October 2019, we devote an entire show to discussion of Jefferson’s time as Minister to France from 1784 to 1789.