As Jefferson explained here, Virginia’s leaders considered the gradual abolition of slavery in their state during the 1780s. Jefferson himself was a diplomat in Paris when the state’s legislators debated...
In this letter, Thomas Jefferson, the American minister to France, writes to John Adams, the American minister to Great Britain. Discussing the federal Convention currently meeting in Philadelphia, Jefferson objects...
In this letter to John Adams, Jefferson reviewed the mostly unpleasant news from Europe. An exception was the Greek war for independence, which began a few months earlier. Many Americans...
In this letter, Thomas Jefferson writes to John Adams comparing the French people and their government with the American people and their government. Jefferson expresses great confidence in the American...
In this letter to the English reformer John Cartwright, Jefferson restated his long-held belief that the only purpose of government was to protect people’s rights. Cartwright had pushed for democratic...
In the spring of 1811, Jefferson worried about how partisan conflict would affect U.S. foreign policy. Caught between warring European powers, President Madison tried to keep the U.S. out of...
In this letter, Thomas Jefferson writes to his fellow Virginian, John Randolph, who has fled to England. By this time in 1775, Americans had formed the Continental Congress and Continental...
In this letter, Thomas Jefferson writes to his fellow Virginian, John Randolph, who has fled to England. By this time in 1775, Americans had formed the Continental Congress and Continental...
In this letter to Madame de Tessé, who Jefferson met while serving as minister to France, Jefferson shares his appreciation for the classical architecture he had seen during his travels...
Jefferson wrote this letter shortly after his return home after spending nearly five years in Europe . He observed that the recent adoption of the new federal Constitution—which he approved—was...