Thomas Jefferson
14 items
Thomas Jefferson and Prudence: Heroes & Villains
Video
Video
2 Min
How can prudence help leaders make decisions in difficult circumstances? Explore the story of Thomas Jefferson in this video feature of BRI's Heroes and Villains Curriculum to help determine how he exhibited the virtue of prudence.
Heroes and Villains uses narratives to discuss the concepts of civic virtue in all classrooms. Each virtue narrative includes corresponding discussion guides, journal templates, a toolbox with additional activities, and suggestions for further reading on each topic or virtue.
2 Min
Thomas Jefferson, Confounding Father with Robert M. S. McDonald | BRI Scholar Talks
Video
Video
29 Min
Author of the Declaration of Independence, leader of the political opposition, and third president, Thomas Jefferson is one of the most eminent and yet most controversial historical figures in his time and today. Demonized as a demagogue and radical, Jefferson had many critics and political enemies. In this video, distinguished scholar Robert M. S. McDonald and BRI Senior Teaching Fellow Tony Williams discuss his new book, “Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson's Image in His Own Time.” What were the concerns that Jefferson’s contemporaries had relating to his style of governance? How did his relationship with Sally Hemings affect his political endeavors?
29 Min
Thomas Jefferson: American Revolution, Independence & Controversy w/ Thomas Kidd | BRI Scholar Talks
Video
Video
26 Min
What core contributions did the various Founders make to liberty and constitutional self-governance? BRI’s new “American Founders” Scholar Talk Series seeks to answer this question. In this first episode, Dr. Thomas S. Kidd, Senior Research Scholar at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion and Research Professor of Church History at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary joins BRI Fellow Tony Williams to discuss his book, “Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh.” They discuss the contributions and complexities of one of America’s most significant Founders, including Jefferson’s religious views, political beliefs, and the problem of slavery in the American constitutional order.
26 Min
Letters between Thomas Jefferson and the Danbury Baptists (1802)
Primary Source - 823 Words
Primary Source
823 Words
Thomas Jefferson wrote to a letter to a Baptist Church from Danbury, Connecticut, in which he explained his beliefs about federalism and the meaning of the Establishment Clause. Jefferson did not address the subject of state-sponsored churches, but assured the congregation that the federal government could not interfere with their church or offer special favors to any particular sect.
Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence
Essay - 3472 Words
Essay
3472 Words
Why did the colonists declare independence from Britain?
Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
50 Min
President Thomas Jefferson, elected at the end of the Quasi-War with France, faced domestic unease when Spain returned Louisiana to France at Napoleon’s insistence. Aware of the strategic importance of New Orleans and wary of Napoleon’s desire to build an empire in North America, Jefferson sent negotiators to France to purchase land east of the Mississippi. As time went on, though, France had other priorities and in the spring of 1803 offered the United States the whole Louisiana territory—more than 800,000 acres—for $15 million. Jefferson had always feared the costs of loose construction of the powers delegated to the national government in the Constitution, and the Constitution did not provide for the incorporation of news lands into the US. Jefferson urged bringing the issue to the people to approve with a constitutional amendment, but a special session of Congress disregarded his draft amendment. The Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in October of 1803. While Jefferson did his best to follow what he believed was proper constitutional procedure, not enough of his contemporaries agreed with him and he eventually assented.
50 Min
Thomas Jefferson on the Compromise of 1790
Activity
Activity
40 Min
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
