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Here is Albert Jay Nock’s classic study on the life and thought of Thomas Jefferson, a book which draws out points other biographers have missed: his radicalism, his opposition to all centralized government, his attachment to liberty and property, and his dedication to the idea of revolution. In the process, Nock tells a story of the founding that you have likely never heard.
Jefferson – âthe opinions and belief of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed” Nock’s Jefferson is honorable, erudite, politically naive, stoic, loyal and died hopelessly in debt. And much more is shown by quoting much of Jefferson’s own writing, especially personal letters, such as to John and Abigail Adams, etc., etc.. For example, this letter to Joseph Priestly -”His letters are silent about his mother, and speak of his father only once, by way of gratitude for having had him taught Greek and Latin. âI thank on my knees him who directed my early…
A study in conduct and character I have read many biographies of Jefferson and many histories of his time. This book is different, more stimulating, and forces deeper thinking. It places in context Mr. Jefferson’s (that’s how Nock refers to hm throughout) philosophy and his opposition to the Hamiltonian system constructed on top of the Constitution to favor the banking and merchant classes, the “rich and well-born”. It also explores his thinking about morals, standards of behavior, art, literature and science. It is compact,…