Thomas Jefferson: A Study in Contradiction
Historian Peter Onuf talks about the apparent contradiction between Thomas Jefferson as a champion of freedom, liberty, and democracy, and Thomas Jefferson the aristocrat and slave owner.
Jefferson Before The Revolution
Historian Peter Onuf explains that Thomas Jefferson wrote what may scholars consider to be a "rehearsal" for the Declaration of Independence when he wrote an incendiary pamphlet called the Summary Review of the Rights of British America.
Not Much of a War: Support for Independence Intensifies
Colonial support for independence intensifies with the circulation of "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine. Three weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress meets at the state house in Philadelphia with delegates fr...
Precarious Experiment, A: African American and Native American Viewpoints
The institution of slavery is undermined by the Revolutionary War. Many slaves run away, serving in the Continental Army and eventually gaining their freedom. There is widespread belief that slavery will come to an end because of its incompatibility...
Relationship Between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, The
Historian Peter Onuf explores the complicated personal relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Professor Onuf explains that the two worked very closely for years, but then went through a period of strained relations after Jefferson cha...
American Experiment, The: Steps Toward a Constitutional Democracy
In the 19th century British Prime Minister Gladstone called the American Constitution "the most remarkable work in modern times produced by the human intellect at a single stroke." Historian Bernard Bailyn agrees that our constitutional system is re...
What Justifies the State?: Right to Dissent, The
Philosopher John supports the people's right to dissent against tyrannical regimes. The major problem Locke attributes to the state of nature without government is the difficulty of protecting personal property. The kind of government that is create...