American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

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Well timed to coincide with Ken Burns's documentary (on which the author served as a consultant), this new biography doesn't aim to displace the many massive tomes about America's third president that already weigh down bookshelves. Instead, as suggested by the subtitle--"The Character of Thomas Jefferson"--Ellis searches for the "living, breathing person" underneath the icon and tries to elucidate his actual beliefs. Jefferson's most ardent admirers may find this perspective too critical, but Ellis's portrait of a complex, sometimes devious man who both sought and abhorred power has the ring of truth.

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For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight--and not only during his active political career. After 1809, his longed-for retirement was compromised by a steady stream of guests and tourists who made of his estate at Monticello a virtual hotel, as well as by more than one thousand letters per year, most from strangers, which he insisted on answering personally. In his twilight years Jefferson was already taking on the luster of a national icon, which was polished off by his auspicious death (on July 4, 1896); and in the subsequent seventeen decades of his celebrity--now verging, thanks to virulent revisionists and television documentaries, on notoriety--has been inflated beyond recognition of the original person.

For the historian Joseph J. Ellis, the experience of writing about Jefferson was "as if a pathologist, just about to begin an autopsy, has discovered that the body on the operating table was still breathing." In American Sphinx, Ellis sifts the facts shrewdly from the legends and the rumors, treading a path between vilification and hero worship in order to formulate a plausible portrait of the man who still today "hover[s] over the political scene like one of those dirigibles cruising above a crowded football stadium, flashing words of inspiration to both teams." For, at the grass roots, Jefferson is no longer liberal or conservative, agrarian or industrialist, pro- or anti-slavery, privileged or populist. He is all things to all people. His own obliviousness to incompatible convictions within himself (which left him deaf to most forms of irony) has leaked out into the world at large--a world determined to idolize him despite his foibles.

From Ellis we learn that Jefferson sang incessantly under his breath; that he delivered only two public speeches in eight years as president, while spending ten hours a day at his writing desk; that sometimes his political sensibilities collided with his domestic agenda, as when he ordered an expensive piano from London during a boycott (and pledged to "keep it in storage"). We see him relishing such projects as the nailery at Monticello that allowed him to interact with his slaves more palatably, as pseudo-employer to pseudo-employees. We grow convinced that he preferred to meet his lovers in the rarefied region of his mind rather than in the actual bedchamber. We watch him exhibiting both great depth and great shallowness, combining massive learning with extraordinary naïveté, piercing insights with self-deception on the grandest scale. We understand why we should neither beatify him nor consign him to the rubbish heap of history, though we are by no means required to stop loving him. He is Thomas Jefferson, after all--our very own sphinx.

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Following his subject from the drafting of the Declaration of Independence to his retirement in Monticello, Joseph Ellis unravels the contradictions of the Jeffersonian character. A marvel of scholarship, a delight to read, and an essential gloss on the Jeffersonian legacy, American Sphinx is "history at its best" (Chicago Tribune).

Customer Reviews:

Entry point for Jefferson.......2007-09-21

This book is a good entry point for a look into the man who was Thomas Jefferson. He is one of the most influential founding fathers of the USA and any serious historian cannot get through American history without studying Jefferson.

Jefferson was a man who wanted to free slaves, but still owned slaves. He wanted personal freedom to trump government intervention, but used the government for the Louisiana purchase. He thought a revolution was good every once in a while but did not like the turns that the French revolution took. Contradictions, brilliance all were a part of this man.

This book is well written. Ellis is a master-historian and I enjoy his books. I can't say I formed a stronger opinion of Jefferson after reading this book, but I can relate to him more after studying his life. We all have contradictions in what we believe, we all are not perfect, same as Jefferson.

Good book - JVD

The title of the book says it all........2007-09-02

Having grown up learning by rote the pablum that was taught in our school system's about our founding fathers, I was a "Founding Fathers" fan. Thinking my entire life that Jefferson penned "The Declaration of Independence" by himself, without any editing and in his own words and finding out that this is false as Washington cutting down the cherry tree is a slap in the face of our educational system. I did not care for Jefferson after having read the book on John Adams by David McCullough. My thinking was turned around 180 degrees about Adams in that book as well as Jefferson. This book merely confirmed my beliefs. In later years Jefferson let others do his dirty work behind the scenes to allow people to believe in his legacy of 1776. Adams was the real hero of the revolution and The Treaty of Paris. What this book proves is that our heroes are fallible and have feet of clay. The reason Jefferson did not free his slaves was because it was not convienent for him and his plantation. Not out of any moral obligation to keep them from the cruel white (and free) world. Jefferson is like another Virginian ,Robert E. Lee, whose myth has grown over the years. Lee was thought invincible until Lincoln found some real generals like U.S. Grant who showed Lee what "total war" was all about. Anyone who fought for the South as a sense of duty to his "country", i.e. Virginia, and the cause of slavery should be labeled what he his, a flawed character much like Jefferson. it is hard to realize that the truths you grew up with were false, but the facts are the facts

Brilliant in spurts, but fatally flawed in its fundamental conclusions.......2007-08-08

This book reminds me of physicists who perform mathematical calculations, decide they must be correct, and then strain to make physical reality fit those equations.

First, credit where it is due. The book is written brilliantly. Ellis has a rare mastery of language, something especially noticeable in the dry historical genres. Many times, I marveled at his use of the PRECISE word or metaphor that conveyed his points the best. Unfortunately, his points, in totality, do not convey Jefferson accurately.

Ellis' thesis is that Jefferson was at heart a naive idealist who preferred simple black-and-white, us-versus-them views of the world, and most of Ellis' analysis of Jefferson is seen through this lens. Though insightful initially, and applicable at times, it grew more strained as the book progressed, eventually distorting Jefferson to make him fit the "theory."

I am neither a Jefferson worshipper, nor hater, and I have read thousands of his letters -- Jefferson is not easy to grasp. Initially I thought Ellis had done what most historians deem impossible, and solved this puzzle, but the further his analysis proceeded, the further it diverged from the real Jefferson. Ellis' interpretations are dangerous because he writes so well -- the arguments are beguiling, and the biases and inconsistencies are masked in the honey of the language. Laypeople in particular may be duped.

Jefferson truly believed in individual freedom and very limited government, and though he is clever and subtle, Ellis cannot mask his disdain for this latter view. Ellis is a liberal, and his personal politics have tainted his interpretation of Jefferson. This isn't about a support or dislike of liberalism, it is about historical integrity.

At times Jefferson's views were too idealistic to translate into prudent policy, or a tenable society, but at other times they are the heart of what made America great. Ellis summarily dismisses Jefferson's views on the evils of debt, the tyranny of judicial review, a society with strong states, etc. . . In dismissing these things, and offering interpretations of history that assume the necessity of big government as a backdrop for almost all analysis, he trivializes some of Jefferson's most core beliefs, and the solutions to modern problems that they might offer. Solutions, unsurprisingly, that are based on principles of limited government, low debt, low taxes, empowered localities, limited federal government, etc.

I don't think Ellis was trying to be intentionally distortive. I think deep in his bones Ellis is a liberal, and without realizing it, he considers the small government Jefferson was fanatical about a deranged absurdity. By pecking word by word, sentence by sentence, page by page, at the tenability of limited government, he is, in some subconscious way, simultaneously distorting and demeaning Jefferson's views while advocating his own.

To repeat, many of Jefferson's views were untenable, but I just don't think Ellis is truly unbiased in his analysis. What a shame.

Finally, one must, unfortunately, question the integrity of a man who has fabricated Vietnam War service, and lied to many, including his own students. Ellis also put his name to ads supporting Clinton during the impeachment, and then came public with Hemings' (the slave Jefferson supposedly fathered the children of) information during this impeachment, presumably (but this is not certain) to make what Clinton did seem a historically mundane, and therefore pardonable, act. I could care less about Clinton in this context, but I want a historian who tries to be unbiased, or admits his biases, rather than one who is a documented liar, and distorts every view through the spectacles of collectivism. How surprising that a man who himself lied about his past was willing to forgive a leader that did the same? It is naïve to think that this morality (or lack of it) will not creep into his work, and it has. Character matters, not just in leaders, but in our historians--we all have partisan views, but in analyzing our Founders, I expect more integrity and objectivity from renowned historians.

A good addition to the Thomas Jefferson Legacy.......2007-08-07

Joseph Ellis provides a very good biography of Thomas Jefferson and the contradictions in his nature. This book is not meant to be a day by day account of Jefferson's life but a look at the times when Jefferson's thoughts were forming and how those conclusions were reached. The book does jump around quite a bit and leaves out some years that I think the reader would like to know which is the main reason for the four stars instead of five. While Ellis shows how American's have misunderstood Thomas Jefferson he spends a lot of time trying to justify Jefferson's decisions that we clearly have little historical evidence for. Jefferson may remain one of our least understood figures and Ellis approach tries to summarize what we conclusively know without taking too many liberties. The legacy of Thomas Jefferson takes up almost the final 50 pages of the book and Ellis explores how current philosophers and historians are trying to interpret the messages Thomas Jefferson left behind. Much of this philosophy is based upon letters exchanged between Adams and Jefferson after they made peace. The surprising contradictions of Jefferson's character lead the reader to still have an air of mystery even after reading this book. There is little doubt of the man's political genius and this is a must read for fans of the American Revolution, political philosophy or the early republic. It puts a lot of things in perspective and while I wish it had covered more areas it does a wonderful job of those that it does.

The Founding Father for whom the 'Spirit of 76' often trumped anything the U.S. Constitution proclaimed........2007-06-28

The man you think you know, whose spirit spoke so much to the future, whose words resonate even now, actually looked askance at the grand bargain of the US Constitution under which we still live; exalting as he did, the spirit of 1776 over the miracle of 1787-88---the world's oldest, and most successful, written Constitution. "Unlike Madison, who had a deep appreciation for the Constitution as an artful arrangement of juxtaposed principles and powers with abiding influence over future generations, Jefferson tended to view it as a merely convenient agreement about political institutions that ought not bind future generations or prevent the seminal source of all political power---popular opinion---from dictating government policy" (p.192). Jefferson, of course, wasn't involved in the horse trading during those heady days that produced the document of 1787 so he was less invested in it than the Declaration of Independence, which, of course he crafted himself, right?

"All men are created equally free and independent and have certain inherent and natural rights..., among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety." Sounds familiar, but different too, right? Well that's because it's not all Jefferson. "On June 12 the Virginians unanimously adopted a preamble [for the Virginia state constitution] drafted by George Mason that contained these words." Yes, this was 1776. Jefferson had a standard response for when those inclined to try to put 2 and 2 together and question who wrote what first on more than one occasion offered this: "'Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing,' he explained, he drew his ideas from 'the harmonizing sentiments of the day, whether expressed in letters, printed essays or in the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc.'" (p.64-65).

So, let's say Jefferson did exactly what was asked from him by John Adams, namely codifying into a document the ideas that were driving America's Founding Fathers on the eve of independence. Of course, Jefferson put a lot of himself into it too & we are fortunate that such a fine hand was employed for the task. ( Though Gouverneur---his mother's maiden name---Morris, who similarly put his stamp on the American Constitution, gets almost no credit for similar work: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." That's Morris, but other than Morris Avenue/Park in the Bronx (on land that he once owned), I cannot think of any memorials to, in Richard Brookhiser's phrase, "The Rake who wrote the Constitution.")

Jefferson wasn't only the drafter of the Declaration of Independence, of course; he was a paradox too. Jefferson, the gentlemen farmer who lived beyond his means and was less than successful in this endeavor desired America to be nation peopled primarily of citizen farmers. Jefferson was a gentlemen who waged a nasty campaign against John Adams while denying doing so; and was a man who championed equality but never made a gesture like Washington did; (calling for emancipation but doing nothing himself by way of putting words into action). Jefferson was the champion of states' rights, but also the purchaser of the Louisiana Territory, an (albeit laudatory) action with huge repercussions that was taken over the heads of the states. And we also have Jefferson, the man who championed individual rights like few others, but excused away the terror of the French Revolution seemingly as the 'ends justify any means.' (On the French revolution: "My own affections have been deeply wounded by some of the martyrs to this cause, but rather than it should have failed I would have seen half the earth desolated. Were there but an Adam and an Eve left in every country, and left free, it would be better than it is now.") The Revolutionary French government having carte blanche to run roughshod over anything and everything was OK for a long time with Jefferson, despite those French having blood on their hands. Yet anything Federalists did (with hands clean of blood) was vociferously castigated. Ellis quotes herein Chief Justice John Marshall, whose biography of George Washington, includes these words: "[T]he continent was divided into two great political parties, the one of which contemplated America as a nation, and labored incessantly to invest the federal head with powers competent to its preservation of the union. The other attached itself to the state authorities, viewed all the powers of congress with jealousy, and assented reluctantly to measures which would enable the head to act, in any respect, independently of the members." And Jefferson was the head and/or Godfather of the latter party. But Jefferson was optimistic, even utopian. This spirit, Jefferson's embodiment, notwithstanding the contradictions inherent in it---and all the contradictory impulses enumerated above---is why Jefferson remains ever present, even as his character defies definitive characterization. Hence the title of this engaging book---which is more snapshot than chronological biography---by Mr. Ellis (who finds much to respect in Mr. Jefferson). (07June) Cheers

3 Book Set By Joseph J. Ellis; American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson; His Excellency: George Washington; Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

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3 Book Set By Joseph J. Ellis; American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson; His Excellency: George Washington; Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Joseph J. Ellis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VU9GYU

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3 Book Set By Joseph J. Ellis; American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson; His Excellency: George Washington; Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation.

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American Sphinx The Character of Thomas Jefferson
Ellis Joseph J
Manufacturer: Alfred a . Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LCIWGG

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AMERICAN SPHINX: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
Joseph J. Ellis
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P249N2

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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
Joseph J. Ellis
Manufacturer: Vintage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LU16DY

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson.: An article from: Journal of Southern History

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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson.: An article from: Journal of Southern History
Robert P. Sutton
Manufacturer: Southern Historical Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008HDA2K
Release Date: 2005-07-28

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Southern Historical Association on August 1, 2000. The length of the article is 752 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson.
Author: Robert P. Sutton
Publication: Journal of Southern History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2000
Publisher: Southern Historical Association
Volume: 66 Issue: 3 Page: 612

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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson.: An article from: Presidential Studies Quarterly

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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson.: An article from: Presidential Studies Quarterly
Arthur K. Steinberg
Manufacturer: Center for the Study of the Presidency
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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This digital document is an article from Presidential Studies Quarterly, published by Center for the Study of the Presidency on September 22, 1997. The length of the article is 897 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson.
Author: Arthur K. Steinberg
Publication: Presidential Studies Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1997
Publisher: Center for the Study of the Presidency
Volume: v27 Issue: n4 Page: p855(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

This is the first complete detailed study of the military aspects of the first half of this important conflict (1618-1635). Each chapter deals with a particular battle, but Guthrie also examines wider questions of strategy, leadership, armaments, organization, logistics, and war finances. The main emphasis is on the unique character and aspects of the Thirty Years War, with attention to the evolution of warfare and weapons, the impact of this evolution on actual operations, and the replacement of the previously dominant "tercio" style of warfare by the nascent linear system. The Thirty Years War is considered within its own context, rather than merely as a poor relation to the linear or Napoleonic periods. The campaigns covered in this volume include the defeat of the Bohemian and German Protestants (1618-1623), the Danish War (1625-1629), the victories of the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus (1630-1632), and the final defeat of the Swedes at Nordlingen in 1634. Guthrie also pays particular notice to the important battle of Breitenfeld. With the inclusion of many secondary theaters and minor actions, the whole of this work constitutes a complete military history of the German War.

Customer Reviews:

Guthrie's Military History of the Thirty Years War.......2006-10-11

This book and its companion volume are an excellent addition to anyone interested in military history. The scope of Guthrie's work is limited in discussion of the tertiary theaters during this conflict, but this only serves to pique the reader's interest. Political causes for each campaign are only briefly described. The real value of this volume is the detail regarding unit strengths, positions, composition, and command quality and control. The reader is guided into a better grasp of the tactical and strategic evolutions of each phase of the war. Highly recommended to those requiring more than the usual cursory synopsis of early 17th century warfare.

Must Have Despite Some Flaws.......2005-07-18

On the one hand, this book fills a gaping hole in the literature of English language military history, something that those who study this period know all too well. Guthrie has provided us with orders of battle for major and minor acions, as well as descriptions of battles presented in a level of detail previously unheard of.

On the other hand, it is not the scholarly presentation some might hope for. The author makes statements, many controversial, that are not even footnoted. In fact, the footnotes, when they are there, are explanatory, and cite no source. This is most regretable as many of the authors, assertions, besides being most interesting, have been challenged or questioned by scholars on the subject, yet we have no way of understanding what led the author to his views. A fairly extensive, multi-language bibliography is however, included in the back.

I was especially disappointed with Guthrie's failure to take into account some of the latest research, especially that of Richard Brzezinski, concerning the tactics and quality of the Swedish and League cavalry. Guthrie persists in repeating the outdated, IMO, view that the League/Imperial cavalry used the caracole as their primary method of attack, while the Swedes charged with swords drawn.

This book has received some mixed reviews on internet discussion boards. For all its flaws it is still a must have, mainly because nothing like it exists in the English language. Primary source material is lacking on the Thirty Years War anyway, and controversy is inevitable. I prefer to welcome this effort by Guthrie and look foreward to his future works.

BATTLES OF THE THIRTY YEARS WAR. FROM WHITE MOUNTAIN TO NORDLINGEN, 1618-1635

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BATTLES OF THE THIRTY YEARS WAR. FROM WHITE MOUNTAIN TO NORDLINGEN, 1618-1635
W.P. Guthrie
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTRGG8

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One Planet, Many People is intended for environmental policy makers, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academics, teachers and citizens. This colorful and approachable atlas contains photographs, satellite images, maps and narratives that provide insights into the many ways people around the world have changed, and continue to change, the environment. Objectives: The main purpose of this hard-cover, 332-page, large-format atlas is to document visual evidence of global environmental changes resulting from natural processes and human-induced activities. Special objectives of One Planet, Many People include: generating awareness of human interactions with the environment that alter the environment in demonstrable ways; providing scientific measurement of over-exploitation of the environment and consequences of such action. To meet these objectives, the atlas provides: a collection of spectacular before and after satellite image pairs on various themes for 80 sites around the world; over 30 environmental case studies supported by narratives, images and ground photographs; and a compilation of recently released environmental maps. A fantastic collection of maps and satellite images, which will enrich the environmental section of any library.

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presents a global view of change.......2005-09-11

This book deserves to be in many libraries. It gives a very visual and understandable commentary on many environmental trends around the globe. Under the auspices of the United Nations, the book lets you step back from any local environmental issues and take in the big picture.

Plus, the many colour photos of people in different societies interacting with their environments is a nice National Geographic-style photo essay. Hopefully giving you some understanding of other societies.

The book documents change. Notably in the satellite imagery of before and after sites for various events. Graphically showing extensive alterations.

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"[When You and I Were Young, Whitefish is] a lighthearted look into the life of a growing Western town in the early twentieth century. These fresh, jaunty tales of youth radiate good humor." -American West

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