Bowman, Rebecca L.

Scope and Contents

An astute historian aware of the simplification or misrepresentation that time and a historian’s bias can bring, Jefferson took pains to establish an accurate but positive image for posterity. He encouraged the critical study of history of all nations, and endeavored to secure America’s history from antiquity to the revolutionary period. Louis Girardin was enlisted to write a history of Jefferson’s time based on Jefferson’s extensive collection of books and documents.

Scope and Contents Although Jefferson was not a linguist and professed distaste for the profession of law, he was committed to adapting the language and laws of the new Republic to suit the governed and be accessible to them. His revolutionary outlook is embodied in his advocacy of an ever-expanding English language dictated by usage, and adept use of language to author bold legislation in the founding of the nation while making his profession more the voice of the people than their legal representation or...