Todays lecture is part of English Department lecture series known as the peters rushton seminars, a series that goes back to 1950. Its a series that included speakers such as keith brookes, randall general auden and seamus heaney. Today, were happy to welcome fred kaplan to the west oval room of the rotunda to speak on his designer Thomas Jefferson. Fred kaplan is distinguished Professor Emeritus of english at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of new york. A scholar in century literature, kaplan has become best known as one of the most distinguished biographers of our era. He is published biographies of thomas carlyle, mark twain, henry james, charles dickens, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln gore vidal, and now Thomas Jefferson in his masterly pen. Kaplan offers us a biography of Thomas Jefferson by giving an english professors kind attention to jeffersons written words. Jefferson only published one book in his lifetime notes on the state of virginia. But, of course, jefferson wrote consul treatises like a summary view of the rights of british north america legal briefs, memoranda the declaration of independence, and above all letters, thousands of them, which kaplan calls among his most powerful and revealing writings throughout his masterly pen, kaplan brings a skilled biographers attention to how jefferson reveals himself through his writing, often without without intending to, as kaplan says of notes on the state of virginia. Its a book about jefferson partly because jefferson did not want it to, a book about himself. The jefferson we meet here is not surprisingly learned and forceful. But kaplan also shows this jefferson as a writer whos often evasive with holding anxious selfpity and inconsistent, eager to shield himself from responsibility and, blame kaplans biography also a great read in its own right. Jefferson is not the only one with a masterly panorama out here. Please join me and fred kaplan. Thank you, john. And thank you, jeff stauffer, for such a attentive and kind host and arranging my to be here and to have this occasion to talk about jefferson and an edifice that jefferson designed so i also want to thank of course, English Department and the History Department for being co host of this event, which i had an extra. Warming a welcome to virginia yesterday when i stepped off the plane and, discovered that i was in a different country from where i had departed in the morning. I had departed from east boothbay, maine and the temperature was considerably different. Jefferson hardly noticed or he didnt notice, but typically had something very interesting to say about the difference between the climate of Northern New York and the climate of new england. On the one hand and the climate of virginia on the other hand. It is the case that maybe with the exception of paris now, no matter where jefferson travel, every virginia and everything about it was always better and and again and. 1791, jefferson in with his friend and colleague james went on a combine and travel adventure but mostly political scouting trips to Northern New York and Lake Champlain in particular and into new england. When he arrived and and the Lake Champlain area he made notes about the difference in the climate between Lake Champlain, maine. Northern new york, new england and virginia. And he made it much to virginia his advantage, even at that time of the year because. He arrived in Northern New York, new england in late may, early june. And he he that the summer in Northern New York state, new england was not only hot but quote as hot as could be find and count as could be found in carolina or georgia. I, i suspect, indeed, that heat of northern climates may be more powerful than. Those of southern ones in proportion, as they shorter there is as much fever, other bilious complaints on Lake Champlain as on the swamps of carolina find nothing. Nothing anywhere else in point of climate which virginia need envy to any part the world. And i didnt quite feel that yesterday when i got off the plane, it was not quite what was was going on. And jeff well we know what was going on in jeffersons head. Of course i do i do have remark that i have some summer neighborhood neighbors and east boothbay, maine, who live a good part the year in virginia not too far from here. But they always come to maine for the summer even though jefferson thinks thought that the weather obviously in may virginia was always superior but its just an example. Jeffersons wonderful ability to evade or to twist facts or to make a point thats really about his own emotional and ideological selfinterests, even about this a priority. Virginia to or england, whether without a single. Im happy to be here even in this mild weather and say the the lovely foliage in bloom where i the grass is just about to turn green but not quite yet so of course as we all know, jefferson is our most president the most well, i take that back not almost controversy the president , almost controversial founding father, president. Right. Mostly of his relationship with slavery. He inherited the slaves he bought and sold slave after the death of. His wife, he had six children by Sally Hemings slave woman who was three quarters wife white and that the half sister there of his own wife was a part of his life that a lot of attention has been focused on recently and its certainly a poor out of his life that we now condemn or at least wish had been different. I condemn slavery so did jefferson. I dont condemn jefferson. I, i dont know that i would have done any better if i been in jeffersons position, born into his virginia and into his family. And i dont find it easy to put myself into the shoes of someone from the past and be judgmental all because i know that we are all so much a proud act of circumstance says considerably beyond our control. Jefferson was hated in his own, of course, just as to some extent hes hated now. Hes hated as a jacobean revolutionary, as a, theist as and agnostic, as a populist demagogue. He was also a president to preached against strong executive but excess, very strong executive power when he felt it was in his ideological and his view of the nations selfish to do so. For example, of course, the louisiana purchased a it was also a man who preached against and detested actually more than preached. Again, she detested a lot of the things we take for granted as desirable like banks and banking and wall street and industry any sizable way. And he certainly detested irvin ization that foul appeared of iniquity and disease ease and putrefaction that he thought of what that came to mind immediately when he thought of baltimore or philadelphia or washington and so was remarking early as you were the one city that he never had anything harsh to say against, was paris, where he spent five years and wasnt fact expecting to go back to when he returned to United States on the mission to bring his to two daughters back so that they could be brought up not as french women, but as proper a virginia lady is. And he was planning to return to to to paris unfortunately or fortunately president washington newly elected decided that he would enlist jeffries who had mixed feelings about it and was to probably remove regret his agreement to become the first United States secretary of. Well controversy all president s certainly and our attitudes are going to be divided about him and contested about him for as long as we read about it, as as we study our history. Jefferson as john eloquently remarked, gave a gave eloquent to the founding ideas of the United States, many of which are still bellwether values of this country. He helped, of course. The sentiment of rebellion, a declaration whose first paragraph became a world affirmation of personal liberty and republican government. The country would avenge embrace his proposal calls on religious liberty or on inheritance reform and a confederation. Congress. He did a herculean job. His writing talent went to great effect was used to great effect. And of course in after he became the first secretary of state skipping his unhappy presidency he a two term president of washington our first two term president adams not so one president president , one term as president and all three went in march 1801. And in came jefferson with the the notion as historians have credited him for, of intra dosing the revolution of 1801 the jeffersonian revolution. I dont quite see it that way but theres lots of room for looking at things differently as john remarked, greatest strengths was his pen. He was a reluctant and a poor public speaker. He spent more time writing and putting aside things like sleeping and in his active life he spent more time writing than in any other. And the relationship between his writing personal and his public life are a sort of an inseparable triad. He was constantly in the act, defining himself by literal. 10,000 and more letters that you referred to theres an actual account. I dont remember what it is, but it is huge, right . And in a summary view of british america and of course, notes the state of virginia, which is an book and which i had considered talking about today, but decided no, i would put probably talk about the declaration of independence because at least i would could count on some familiarity with some of the most important phrases in the declaration of independence whereas to talk about notes on the state of virginia would take me longer because i would have, in a sense more to say. But i would also have to prepare the seed ground a little more than would have to in talking about the declaration of independence to jefferson through his writings helps us get into his mind and it contributes to our understanding of his strengths and limitations and fosters in a appreciation of his role as a propaganda and test of the revolution of how he made recorded crucial aspects of the first years of our republic. It shows how jefferson wrote in different voices to different constituencies his and it also helps to enable us to see how in his later years he was a revisionist himself, attempting to do his best to both selectively select and selectively rewrite the history of the world that. He had played such an Important Role in in addition and this is terribly important to me it helps us to read and appreciate the prose of the highest literary and intellectual quality and it bookmarks jefferson i think was lincoln as a master of the english language the we all know best as the author of the declaration of independence. To me there are other writings of equal power and literary finesse. Some review which been mentioned notes on the state, virginia, which has been mentioned, of course, his first inaugural address, which isnt addressed it deserves considerable attention. His letters to his para lover, maria causeway. We dont know exactly, are they the intimacy of that love relationship . But it was not love relationship of the body it was certainly a love relation of the heart. And in his letters to maria causeway, the most famous and the longest of them is called a dialog between the head and the heart. Well, there are other wonderful and relatively under, unaddressed or unjust writings of jefferson selectively from the letters, particularly his letters, his grandchildren. Because he was a doting grandfather and had a wonderful grandfatherly voice. A few a few selections of which i will i regalia with a little later on. The im going to focus today on the declaration of independence. Of course his best known contribution to the american historical and its something were all somewhat familiar and its something that still intrigues those of who read not only the preamble but the entirety of the declaration of independence. As you know, he wrote it philadelphia. In 1776. He was a reluctant not attendee at. The Confederation Congress and june and july of 1770 said he preferred be in williamsburg where the house of burgesses burgeoning out of being the house burgesses into the Virginia State legislature and so on. In this transitional period was writing a constitution for the state of and he really wanted to be there he wanted a practice debate in the writing of that constitution. He felt himself to be a constitution maker, constitutional writer. That was something he felt destined to do. And he had already had some significant experience rewriting the laws for the state. Virginia, which had been in progress and was to then continue to be in for some for some. So he listened to debates. He hardly said a he much preferred to be in williamsburg. He wrote to williamsburg, suggesting to one of the movers and shakers in williamsburg that wanted to be a good idea for some of the virginia delegation to the confederation to be back to work on the the Virginia State constitution. And by that he meant himself and he was told, no, no, no, weve got this under control. And so on. You stay there for a while longer and well get you back to, virginia, as soon as we can. On june six,. 1776, a member of the virginia delegation, Richard Henry lay, acting on instructions, the Virginia Legislature itself stood up and the Confederation Congress proposed that the various solution declaring complete in dependance and congress immediately appointed a committee of five most members. The congress for not eager. Some were eager. Some were less eager, somewhat reconciled, etc. , to hearing that the committee of five that was nominated was lee himself course benjamin franklin, john adams, Roger ShermanRobert Livingston and Jefferson Lee was busy work on the articles of confederation racial the elderly. Franklin was the committees most famous writer and personality hed recently from london, where hed been representing pennsylvania small art craft, a tactful he wasnt interested in a writing. John adams was a passionate participant in the floor and the challenge writer. He, however, felt overburdened with Important Committee work. The other two appointments livingston from new york and sherman from canada. Kent had no special interest in or talent writers. All five, though, are of the same mind so as congress they wanted another document, this one a conclusive statement for almost every delegate already signed on to a declaration. The colonies were now independence states was to be a document justifying to the world their reasons for this extraordinary assertion was to be a collective statement intended to be signed by every delegate they all had read. Jeffersons summary view of british america. His writing talent was recognized. It helped that he was from virginia, one of the two tales that, wag the colonies dog. Every member of congress understood he would have a chance some later stage in the process to participate in revising the committees document at a later date. Adams wrote that he and jefferson had had a conversation about which one of them should write to draft each deferred to the other. Adams felt he more important work to do jefferson had no competition then no one else wanted it. Jeff ison immediately agreed to take it on its a conversation may or may not have happened, or at least the way that adams report in it some years later he viewed it as one of the greatest mistakes of his life. He would have decided differing lay if he had anticipated that its statement of First Principles would become with the preamble to the constitution and, say what . The gettysburg address, one of the three most widely quoted statements by any writer. And, of course, adams could have anticipated that at a much later date it would become one of the most constant a virtual in its claims that all men are created equal. Adams never got over it. Never got over it. Hes got about later in life. Why didnt i do it . I didnt let him do it. Yeah. Jefferson was i was pressured to get, to get, get it written quickly. There wasnt much time we dont know very much about on what days actually wrote, how much at each sitting, how many days he spent revising, what papers or book and books. He had with him. Thats partly known. He had a copy, of course, of Richard Henry lees june six declaration resolution independence. He had his copy of the draft constitution he had written before leaving williamsburg to come to philadelphia in of which you are very with that draft he hoped to get as quickly as possible to williamsburg. So his draft could become the dominant draft he had that with him and that contained a lengthy forensic indictment of george the third and an amplified list of grievances and clearly jefferson drew extensively his draft for the constitution he drew on his own as some of british america he also drew on his virginia colleague, george masons declaration of rights, which the Virginia Legislature had passed in june and which jefferson had a car of and George George masons declaration of rights had a phrase in it. Thats all most familiar, but not in its total holiday, because masons draft emphasized the life, liberty and the pursuit of property and that is an interesting change that that that is and it is of great interest of course that jefferson and his colleagues changed pursuit of property to pursuit of happiness. Jefferson and, his Confederate Congress colleagues were on the whole not all of them wealthy landowners and slave owners, gun owners, rich people on whole. And so why the change from. Property to happiness . Why speculation . Not a must, but a may as that the emphasis that they wanted, the emphasis to transcend and the limitations of class and social and wealth so on. They wan