Jefferson and the Rights of Man - Volume II

This book is the second volume in Dumas Malone's six volume biography called "Jefferson and His Time". In the introduction Mr. Malone explains that, although he originally planned to cover Jefferson's life from the end of the Revolution and his appointment as Minister to France through the beginning of Jefferson's presidency as part of an originally projected 4 volume work, the depth of material required him to split this into two volumes. From the outset his decision to expand his work into an extra volume (as he would also later do with the period covering Jefferson's presidency) seemed as it might be an unwelcome one. Mr. Malone's straightforward prose, that I enjoyed and appreciated in the fist volume, was replaced with a more scholarly and cumbersome style. Especially during the first half of the book, covering Mr. Jefferson's time in France, Mr. Malone's excessive and often redundant analysis at times made me feel like a hamster in a wheel. Part of the issue seems to stem from Mr. Malone's decision to abandon the chronological flow of the first volume for topic themed chapters with considerable chronological overlap. While this does serve to organize related information, it also leads to much of the redundancy mentioned earlier. Luckily the second half of the volume, covering Mr. Jefferson's tenure as Secretary of State under George Washington's first term and the beginnings of his political rivalry with Alexander Hamilton, comes into much more distinct focus, and is very enjoyable. I do not doubt that this volume is as Mr. Malone intended, although for me it was not as enjoyable to read as the first, and regardless of the intent of the author or the strength of the material presented, is the most important factor in making my recommendation. More specifically, the first half of the book would receive 3 stars and the second half the full 5.

What can be said about this monument to Jefferson scholarship? I am sure that somewhere in universities around the United States there are "scholar squirrels who want to put down this invaluable resource in Jefferson studies. It is always the way that mice attempt to gnaw at lions. This is not a perfect work (and my remarks refer to all of the books in the series as a whole), there are somethings, namely Sally Hemmings references which are wrong and will not sit well with American 21st century mores. There is the issue of slavery which was handled much differently 50 years ago than it is now. Jefferson is not worthy of our interest because of Sally Hemmings and because he kept slaves. Jefferson is great because of the Declaration of Independence and his fight for the rights of man. While it may have been hypocritical to preach liberty and keep slaves, it is doubtful that slavery ever would have been abolished if Jefferson had never gained the prominence that he did. This book and the others that follow show why we should continue to honor the public man even though his private side may have been wanting.

Jefferson and the Rights of Man written by Dumas Malone is the second installment of a six part biography of Thomas Jefferson. As the first volume Jefferson: The Virginian was in the time frame of (1743 - 1784), this volume takes us from where the first volume ended in Jefferson's life, to the end of Washington's first term as President of the United States and his subsequent unanimous re-election, (1784 - 1792).Jefferson's European mission starts off this volume, concluding with his service as the United States's first Secretary of State under George Washington. But, in between we see Jefferson laying the seeds of his philosophy and the implication regarded as timeless and universal. George Washington's first term was a proving ground for Jefferson to get his views across to Washington, but Washington has Hamilton and there in lies the rub. As political parties were in their infancy, the time was ripe for a political view points to be exploited and Hamilton was up to task. So, naturally Jefferson had a different view point and was voicing his opinion to Washington. Jefferson in this period of time was primarily concerned with foreign affairs which kept him busy as Great Britain was being pulled into a European war. But the "war" between Jefferson and Hamilton was just begining. Jefferson was well aware of the implicit dangers in the political and economic situation, but Enlightenment was budding and thus, begining to give proof of his undying faith, that men and society can be saved by means of knowledge. This period in Jefferson's life is the richest with regards to private friendships and will lay the bricks to the foundation to the rest of his life. As Jefferson begins his battle with the Federalists, Hamilton is his primary opposition.

The first part of this book is slow, but the end of the book (which details the beginning of conflict between Jefferson and Hamilton) makes up for it. Malone says that Hamilton and the other federalists were the instigators of conflict. I don't know if that's true, but Malone certainly proves that Hamilton's attacks were filled with lies and deceit. As with the first volume, the biggest flaw is that Malone does not deal enough with Jefferson's shortcomings. He doesn't even mention Sally Hemmings. But otherwise, I give this book two thumbs up.