Rejebian Series Presents Peter Onuf and Francis Cogliano: "Thomas Jefferson Survives" interviewed by Talmage Boston

Thomas Jefferson has been reinvented more than perhaps any American president in history. In the 19th century, slavery defenders invoked Jefferson’s defense of states’ rights while abolitionists drew on his antislavery writings in support of their cause. After the Civil War, Jefferson’s reputation declined because of his association with secession and disunion, but in the 20th century, his image soared as he came to embody the democratic values America fought for during World War II. Unsurprisingly, Jefferson’s legacy has shifted yet again in the 21st century, effectively becoming a partisan talisman—jettisoned by the left as a plantation patriarch and repurposed by the right as an avatar of white nationalism.

Dissatisfied with these political caricatures and manic swings, leading Jefferson scholars Peter S. Onuf and Francis D. Cogliano instead situate the founding father in his complicated historical context and reveal how his wisdom can be applied today. In a series of three interrelated essays, the authors paint a nuanced portrait. Taken together, “Thomas Jefferson Survives” demonstrates how, even amid crisis, Jefferson managed to articulate a capacious and optimistic vision for the future of the American people.

About Peter S. Onuf
Peter S. Onuf is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He is the New York Times best-selling author or coauthor of 14 books, including, with Annette Gordon-Reed, “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs.” He lives in Connecticut and Maine.

About Francis D. Cogliano
Francis D. Cogliano is the author of “A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic.” A fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Cogliano is professor of American history at the University of Edinburgh.