American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
Cover of 1998 Vintage paperback edition.
|
|
| Author | Joseph Ellis |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | History |
| Publisher | Knopf |
|
Publication date
|
1996 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | (first edition, hardcover) |
| OCLC | 34934008 |
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, is a 1996 book written by Joseph Ellis, a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College. It won the 1997 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
Ellis' approach to explaining the character of Thomas Jefferson begins on June 20, 1775, with Jefferson's arrival in Philadelphia as Virginia's delegate to the Continental Congress and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. He follows through to the president's retirement at Monticello. Central to the book are Jefferson's contradictions and inconsistencies. Ellis covers Jefferson's career as ambassador to France, Secretary of State, planter and president.
He did not always speak exactly as he felt, either towards his friends or his enemies. As a consequence, he has left hanging over a part of his public life a vapor of duplicity..., the presence of which is generally felt more than it is seen.
Ellis showed how Jefferson shied away from public attention. According to Ellis, Jefferson gave just two public speeches as President of the United States. Thomas Jefferson felt far more comfortable writing, to which the Declaration of Independence attests, than public speaking. He worked extensively behind the scenes with other politicians to accomplish his political programs and create alliances.
Ellis praises Thomas Jefferson's first term as one of the most successful of any US presidency in terms of achieving stated goals; in his first term, Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase, which would so affect the character of the United States, and significantly reduced the Federal budget. But what sets Jefferson apart from other US presidents, particularly John Adams, was his uniquely "feminine" approach to politics. Detesting direct confrontation, he was a master "dinner table" politician. He was known for inviting his competitors to dinner to plant the seeds of his ideas and defuse controversies.
Brent Staples in the New York Times Book Review commented, "Joseph J. Ellis's American Sphinx is a brief and elegant return to Monticello. Mr. Ellis...is a remarkably clear writer, mercifully free of both the groveling and the spirit of attack that have dominated the subject in the past....'American Sphinx' is fresh and uncluttered but rich in historical context." Like several of his other books, American Sphinx was a bestseller.
...
Wikipedia