Thomas Jefferson - Essay Example

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, third president of the united of America, was a farmer, a scientist, an aesthete and a violinist. Historically he was famous for his declaration of independence. However, not everyone saw this side of Jefferson, such as Ellis, who disagreed with the ideologies of Thomas Jefferson in his article “American Sphinx: The Contradictions of Thomas Jefferson” (1997). In this article, he pointed out his contradictions to Jefferson’s statements in his book, “Notes on the State of Virginia” (1995).

 First and foremost, Ellis notes that Jefferson was not a reflective political philosopher, and the efforts Jefferson made at political philosophy were, in most cases, embarrassingly shallow and sometimes quite naive (1997).Secondly, although Ellis (1997) accepts the fact that Jefferson was a brilliant political theologian and visionary, he does not leave out the point that the qualities of Jefferson displayed in his book were those of an irrational and outrageous political personality.

Ellis, in his article, argues that Jefferson was first to come up with the idea that peoples deepest personal longings were, as a matter of fact, achievable in his book, but then went ahead and suggested opposing principles in a way that hides their incompatibility. According to Ellis (1997), Americans saw Jefferson as a reassurance to them because of his many achievements, and any criticism was not welcome.In his book, Jefferson included some of his most memorable statements about the things he believed in especially in the political and social front (1995).

However, Ellis (1997) points out that there are many ways that Jefferson failed to bear the full implications of his beliefs and vision about racism, slavery, and sexism, and wants to expose the underlying contradictions of Thomas Jefferson’s failure. From Ellis’ point of view we can conclude that no matter how influential and powerful a person is, there is always something to criticize him about.ReferencesEllis, J. J. (1997). The Contradictions of Thomas Jefferson. American Sphinx .Jefferson, T. (1995). Notes on the State of Virginia. In G. G.

Colombo, Rereading America, Cultural Contexts For Critical Thinking and Writing (3rd ed.) (pp. 378-383). New York: St. Martins Press.