This short biography, by C. James Taylor, chronicling the life of John Adams focuses on his political life, relationship with his wife Abigail, and his presidency. It is a good introduction to Adams and his background.
In this letter from Thomas Jefferson to Abigail Adams dated on June 13th, 1804, Jefferson writes about and his friendship and rivalry with previous President John Adams. He discusses his frustration regarding the appointments of his political enemies by Adams soon before Adams left office, but…
This article describes the Founding Fathers' views of the role that the federal government should take towards educating its citizenry. The author discusses the views of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and how they felt regarding whether or not the federal government should fund education.…
This document, drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777 and introduced to the Virginia General Assembly in 1779, called for freedom of religion for peoples of all faiths and disestablished the Church of England in Virginia. The statute was a precursor to the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise…
The original rough draft of The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson, includes a passage that condemns slavery and King George's involvement in it. This draft was very controversial because of the Southern and Northern delegates who represented merchants actively involved in…
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> When he offered Congress his library, his foes charged that it was full of books which “never ought to be read” and probably ought to be burned</span> </span></p>
<p>Among his many other achievements, Jefferson was one of the leading architects of his day, responsible for the introduction of the Greek Revival style into America.</p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> Medicine was primitive and their knowledge of it limited, but in their hazardous journey to the Pacific, Lewis and Clark lost only one patient</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck">Jefferson and Madison led a revolutionary fight for complete separation of church and state. Their reasons probed the basic relation between religion and democracy</span></p>
<p>The American system of choosing a President has not worked out badly, far as it may be from the Founding Fathers’ vision of a natural aristocracy </p>
<p><span class="deck">Back from France with an epicure’s knowledge of <span class="typestyle"> haute cuisine</span> , our third President served the most lavish dinners in White House history </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> In a strange message to the intriguing General Wilkinson, the soldier-explorer seemed to predict his own geographical befuddlement and his capture by the Spanish.</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck">Is it libel to say that the President of the United States tried to seduce his neighbor’s wife—even if he did? Thomas Jefferson tried to gag the venomous editor of upstate New York’s <span class="typestyle"> Wasp;</span> Alexander Hamilton argued brilliantly in defense of journalistic candor.</span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> The idea goes back to the very beginnings of our national history. Then as now, it was built upon human relationships, and these—as Mr. Jefferson found to his sorrow—make a fragile foundation.</span> </p>
<p><span class="deck"> The revival in the nineteenth century of medieval motifs in architecture extended from villas and furniture to farmhouses and vineries</span> </p>
<p>We have come a long way from the philosophy of the Enlightenment...a shift that represents a retreat rather than an advance, argues the noted historian.</p>
<p>A seasoned scholar examines in detail evidence that the widowed Thomas Jefferson took as his mistress Sally Hemings, the beautiful quadroon half sister of his late wife</p>
<p><span class="deck"> A careless America has lost or ignored most of its priceless collection of patent models. Sometimes exquisite,sometimes little more than toys, those that remain display in the inventors’ own handiwork the history of our technology</span> </p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> The brilliant Polish engineer who made possible the victory at Saratoga was a fighter for freedom in both America and his homeland</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck">In the most famous duel in American history, Aaron Burr is usually seen as the villain, Alexander Hamilton as the noble victim. But was it really that simple?</span></p>
<p><span class="deck"><span class="typestyle">Vain, snobbish, distinctly upper-class in his libertine social habits, Gouverneur Morris nevertheless saw himself justifiably as "A Representative of America"</span></span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> The city has been a lure for millions, but most of the great American minds have been appalled by its excesses. Here an eminent observer, who knows firsthand the city’s threat, surveys the subject.</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> In the underpinnings of our cities, in desolate swampland, beneath coastal waters—wherever the early settlers left traces of their lives—a new generation of archaeologists is uncovering a lost world</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> A HERITAGE PRESERVED<br />
The brief mid-nineteenth-century popularity of eight-sided houses has left us a strange and delightful architectural legacy </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> The early years of our republic produced dozens of great leaders. A historian explains how men like Adams and Jefferson were selected for public office, and tells why the machinery that raised them became obsolete.</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> Banking as we’ve known it for centuries is dead, and we don’t really know the consequences of what is taking its place. A historical overview.</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> In designing, the University of Virginia, Jefferson sought not only to educate young men for leadership, but to bring aesthetic maturity to the new nation</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> <span class="typestyle"> The Founding, Fathers never did agree about the proper relationship between church and state. No wonder the Supreme Court has been backing and filling on the principle ever since.</span> </span></p>
<p><span class="deck">The framers of the Constitution were proud of what they had done but might be astonished that their words still carry so much weight. A distinguished scholar tells us how the great charter has survived and flourished.</span></p>
<p><span class="deck"> A knowledgeable and passionate guide takes us for a walk down Wall Street, and we find the buildings there eloquent of the whole history of American finance</span> </p>
<p><span class="deck">Every one of the founders was a historian who believed that only history could protect us from tyranny and coercion. In their reactions to the long, bloody pageant of the English past, we can see the framers’ intentions.</span></p>
<p><span class="deck">150 years ago, a sea of grass spread from the Ohio to the Rockies. Now, only bits and pieces of that awesome wilderness remain for the traveler to discover.</span></p>
