Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of Imagination Book Analysis

Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf published the book Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of Imagination on October 26, 2015. This book is about Thomas Jefferson and how he considered himself a patriot and a leader who fought for development in America while owning slaves, having an affair, and ignoring his family. In this essay, I will analyze whether I believe Thomas Jefferson should be seen as a promoter of Equality or a hypocrite. 

Despite writing that "all men are created equal," Thomas Jefferson saw himself as the “most blessed of the patriarchs” (p. xiii). This certainly makes Jefferson a hypocrite. Thomas Jefferson was living two lives simultaneously, one in public and the other in private. In his personal lifestyle, he owned a plantation and had enslaved over 600 people during his lifetime. In the public eye, he was an outspoken opponent of slavery throughout his whole life. Slavery, he argued, was the biggest threat to the nascent American nation's future, referencing it to torture and horrendous conditions. Slavery, Jefferson believed, was also against the laws of nature, which said that everyone has the right to personal liberty.  These ideas were revolutionary in a world where slave labor was the norm. (Jefferson’s attitudes)

Regarding Jefferson’s view of himself as the most blessed patriarch, patriarchy had two meanings during colonial times. The first meaning associated with all patriarchy is that it is a male-dominated environment. This usually meant women and children were cleaning and cooking while the Husband went out and “represented” his family. The second definition of Patriarchy is when you analyze slaveowners and how they treat their slaves.  Thomas Jefferson’s hypocrisy regarding the plantation and enslaved people can be seen on the first page of chapter two in the book, Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of Imagination. It starts with Jefferson claiming that he had never seen his crop (tobacco) packed and sold. This is sad to hear because this plantation was his primary source of income. Still, you must think that this was probably common for farmers/enslavers as they would constantly be looking for ways to improve their farms and had to overlook the entire operation, which puts them into the most power-creating patriarchy. Another piece of information from chapter two is that he loved horseback riding, which he did wherever he was, but it was mostly done as a symbol of power when he rode around Monticello. This is because it creates a division between the workers and owners of the game.  

Looking at Thomas Jefferson’s lifestyle, he tried to separate his public and private life which is why we can see huge contradictions in his choices. One of the main points in his private life is that his family life seemed to crumble while he was in France. His first decision when going to France was to leave his daughters at home with caretakers to watch over them. This shows that they might not have had the best relationship. However, Onuf and Reed pointed out that Jefferson could have been motivated that his daughters would be affected by the corruptive lifestyle of Paris (Gordon-Reed and Onuf 117). Another part of his decaying family life is that he had a mistress and she got pregnant and bore the child of Thomas Jefferson. On page 127, the authors even say that Hemings was like a substitute wife. This is where Jefferson confronted his feelings about wanting to be looked at as the best possible person. Since a mistress is not in his ideal family plan, he neglected Heming and his children in public.