Notes on Thomas Jefferson (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1885. Excerpt: ... RiETHMULi-iER, in his Life and Times of Hamilton, states that Jefferson, when a boy at school, was in the habit of putting forward other boys to ask for what he wanted. This indirectness, this desire to avoid personal responsibility, which characterized the child, was apparent in the man. Though he organized and long controlled a great political party, he never mounted the hustings to explain or defend its tenets: he issued no pamphlets or open letters; he contributed no article to magazine or newspaper in advocacy of his own doctrines, or in refutation of those of his political opponents. Mr. Hildreth, in his history, rightly observes that Jefferson was, perhaps, the only prominent man of his time, who " never touched pen to paper for the political enlightenment of the contemporaneous public." The brilliant success which he achieved for himself and his party, was won by the agency of others. He was the most skilful political "wire-puller" of his day. But he was much more. He was an efficient organizer; he possessed great tenacity of purpose. The stirring words, too, which he addressed, through his subalterns, to his adherents, were bugle-calls to battle. He so finely portrayed the beauties and the blessings of Republicanism, so strongly denounced those friends of monarchial institutions who, he pretended, were striving to overthrow it, that the hearts of his partisans glowed with euthusiam for the good cause, and with indignation against its enemies. He might with propriety have been styled the commanderin-chief of the Republicans, but for the fact that he never appeared at the head of his forces. When Hamilton, over the signatures of " Metellus" and " An American," pointed out the inconsistency of a man's remaining a prominent member of an administratio...