Category — Thomas Jefferson

Marc Leepson’s extraordinary talent as a storyteller is matched by his prowess as a researcher. In Saving Monticello, Leepson has corrected the historical record and added to it. Thanks to his extensive research and raconteur’s skill, the past has been restored in a history that reads like a novel.   Read the rest of this entry »

The judiciary should not rule based on what's popular, or perceived as popular. Instead they should recognize that this is not a democracy but a republic based on the rule of law - and the supreme law of the land is the Constitution. If that Constitution is made of wax, it is of no use.   Read the rest of this entry »

James takes a look at what the newly media-proclaimed "expert" (Richard Stengel) on the Constitution has to say in the most recent edition of Time magazine. (Note, Stengel's no expert, his article is rife with errors and his ideology leaks through all over it.)   Read the rest of this entry »

On this day in 1807, in flagrant violation of United States sovereignty, the British ship Leopard blasts an unprepared American ship, in an event that helps precipitate the war of 1812.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Founders intended the ultimate check on the national government to be the people. They believed that only by limiting government powers could liberty survive the natural tendency of man to dictate the habits of other men.   Read the rest of this entry »

John P. Kaminski's 3 in 1 biography of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison makes for interesting reading and provides a good overview of these three founders.   Read the rest of this entry »

A trip to Monticello yields a bountiful harvest of information about Jefferson and his horticultural hobby. Pat, the "vegetable gardener" (really more of a historian) skips lunch to talk to Martin about the Monticello garden, past and present.   Read the rest of this entry »

"Ideas have consequences," Richard Weaver wrote some 70 years ago in his book urging a return to the transcendental values of Western Civilization. Especially consequential are the ideas in the preamble of the Declaration, as this essay reminds us.   Read the rest of this entry »

The most recent double issue of the Claremont Review of Books contains an interesting essay by Richard Samuelson entitled Jefferson, Adams, and the American Future. It is adapted from a lecture by the author about these two unlikely friends.   Read the rest of this entry »

People often disagree about the import of historical events. However, that the events took place is generally a matter of fact. WWTFT's newest contributor, Craig C. Glass takes issue with Fox News' host Judge Andrew Napolitano's apparent memory lapse.   Read the rest of this entry »