Co-authors Francis D. Cogliano and Peter S. Onuf offer a fresh interpretation of Thomas Jefferson’s powerful appeal to fellow patriots of his own and future generations to vindicate the new American nation’s claims to independence. What we call “democracy” emerged in the midst of war as a new, self-declared people mobilized to defend their country and the liberties they cherished. 

Seeking a more perfect union, Jefferson and his fellow Revolutionaries were acutely conscious of their own imperfection, recognizing that Americans in the future would also face crises that threatened the republic’s survival. Jefferson did not have all the answers, but he raised the right questions. Jefferson’s moment anticipates ours: that is why he matters. This is a remote presentation.