It would be impossible to imagine Jefferson with messy handwriting. It would literally be out of character for him. His letters are a window on his soul, and his soul was orderly.
Guns and Violence in America
So You Want to Live in a Democracy
Joseph Ellis is a National Treasure.
Meeting Joseph Ellis
Thomas Jefferson: A Summing Up
On the Road with Thomas Jefferson
"A traveler, sais I, retired at night to his chamber in an inn, all his effects contained in a single trunk, all his cares circumscribed by the walls of his apartment, unknown to all, unheeded, and undisturbed, writes, reads, thinks, sleeps, just in the moments when nature and the movements of his body and mind require."
An End to Jefferson 101
The Ethics of Food
In the end food is just fuel. It keeps the engine running, and for me the engine was designed to do the work of the soul—to read books and maybe write some too, to imagine the world you want to live in, to evaluate the events that take place in the public square, to lift oneself and those around you to a higher plane of enlightenment, to do what you can—in Jefferson’s words—to ameliorate the condition of mankind.
Mild Protest
Not with a Bang, But a Whimper
The Seven Ages of Jefferson
Time to Roll Up the Garden Hoses
The Eclipse of Authenticity
Thomas Jefferson: Weeping for America
Jefferson wrote, "I regret that I am now to die in the belief that the useless sacrifice of themselves, by the generation of 1776, to acquire self government and happiness to their country, is to be thrown away by the unwise and unworthy passions of their sons, and that my only consolation is to be that I live not to weep over it."
It’s the Vision, Not Always the Man
Real Radio
The Community We’re Creating
Spelunking for Truth in a Disillusioned Era
A Word About Fathers and Daughters
If you ask me what the most successful relationship was in Jefferson’s 83-year life, I can answer unequivocally that it was with his elder daughter Martha, whom he called Patsy, at least when she was young. She adored her father, and was a fierce and lifelong protector of his privacies, his sensitive spirit, and his reputation.