Difference between revisions of "Thomas Jefferson"

From Conservapedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(trimmed entry, placed on front page and locked in anticipation of vandalism; Sysops, feel free to improve in a sensible way)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Image:TCJJ.jpg|thumb|right|Thomas Jefferson]]
 
[[Image:TCJJ.jpg|thumb|right|Thomas Jefferson]]
−
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), considered by many to be one of the greatest American Presidents, was the third [[President of the United States of America]] and often credited as the author of the [[Declaration of Independence]], though key portions of that document were simply taken from the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]].   
+
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third [[President of the United States of America]] and often credited as the author of the [[Declaration of Independence]], though key portions of that document were simply taken from the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]].   
  
 
Jefferson was a prominent architect, inventor and scientist.  His presidency had significant failures, and is best known for doubling the area of the United States with the controversial [[Louisiana Purchase]] from France.
 
Jefferson was a prominent architect, inventor and scientist.  His presidency had significant failures, and is best known for doubling the area of the United States with the controversial [[Louisiana Purchase]] from France.
  
−
Though Jefferson did not describe his beliefs in that manner, many textbooks and online resources claim that he was a [[deist]].<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Deist_thinkers</ref>  
+
Many liberal textbooks and online resources claim that Jefferson was a [[deist]],<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Deist_thinkers</ref> but in fact Jefferson did not describe his own views in that manner.
  
−
With regard to Christianity, Jefferson admired the ethical and moral teachings of Jesus, but did not believe in the divinity of Christ. He produced a compilation "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels," familiarly known as "The Jefferson Bible," in which he included the passages which he felt described Jesus' life and teachings, while removing references to the miracles and to Jesus' divinity.
+
In one of his writings now inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial in
 +
Washington, D.C., Jefferson said:
  
−
In an 1803 letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, he stated:
+
:God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.
−
:I then promised you that one day or other I would give you my views of [the Christian religion]. They are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others, ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other.<ref>Jefferson, Thomas, April 21, 1803: Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush[http://www.angelfire.com/co/JeffersonBible/jeffbsyl.html]</ref>
 
  
−
"And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors." –Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823
+
Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address implied that, unlike [[deists]], he believed in divine intervention: "I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old."
−
 
 
−
"If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it." Reason is the tool to use to change opinions—not censorship." 1801 Inaugural speech. 
 
−
He died July 4, 1826 at age 83 in Monticello, Virginia. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents Thomas Jefferson]] By Jim Hargrove, Children's Press </ref>
 
  
 
Jefferson, along with [[James Madison]], was a member of the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], an early political group that was opposed by the [[Federalist Party]].  
 
Jefferson, along with [[James Madison]], was a member of the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], an early political group that was opposed by the [[Federalist Party]].  
−
 
−
Jefferson, like many of his elite contemporaries, was a slave owner.  And is believed to have fathered several illegitimate children with his slaves. While it is important to note that he freed his slaves upon his death, this should not absolve him from guilt, considering he gave away something which no longer belonged to him.
 
  
 
----
 
----

Revision as of 06:16, April 13, 2007

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third President of the United States of America and often credited as the author of the Declaration of Independence, though key portions of that document were simply taken from the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

Jefferson was a prominent architect, inventor and scientist. His presidency had significant failures, and is best known for doubling the area of the United States with the controversial Louisiana Purchase from France.

Many liberal textbooks and online resources claim that Jefferson was a deist,[1] but in fact Jefferson did not describe his own views in that manner.

In one of his writings now inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., Jefferson said:

God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.

Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address implied that, unlike deists, he believed in divine intervention: "I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old."

Jefferson, along with James Madison, was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, an early political group that was opposed by the Federalist Party.

References:

  1. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Deist_thinkers
Retrieved from "https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Thomas_Jefferson&oldid=104034"