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S'està carregant… Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power (2012)de Jon Meacham
  
The Presidents (6) » 7 més No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra.   ) nivramkoorb | Nov 22, 2023 |  The book showed me a different perspective on Jefferson — previously, I thought he was merely a great philosopher and visionary, rather than a pragmatic man of power who was willing to deviate from his tightly principles when necessary. He was certainly a very philosophical person who held his beliefs about republicanism very close to him, but he knew when to lay aside his philosophy for the greater good. This is especially true when it comes to things like the Louisiana Purchase, and the war with the Barbary pirates. By knowing when to deviate from his principles when necessary, he did a lot to ensure the long term success of America. Without the enormous Louisiana Territory full of fertile land and long river systems, it is highly unlikely that the United States would have developed into the global behemoth it is today. One very interesting fact I learned is that Jefferson received two bear cubs as a gift from one of his friends. He kept the bear cubs for some time in the White House (or President’s House, as it was known back then) in a cage without chaining them. The bears apparently did not get along initially, but overtime they became friendly and would play with each other all the time. Eventually, Jefferson sent the bear cubs to a Philadelphia zoo. He also had a mockingbird that would sit on his shoulder or fly around the room when he was engaging in presidential business. These are somewhat unimportant details, but they are the ones that stood out to me the most. (  ) Atul_Murali | Jul 2, 2023 |  ) Pferdina | Mar 11, 2023 | ) Schneider | Feb 5, 2023 | In his early life Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. There he was educated and was known for his love of the English classics. He learned Greek, Latin, and French, and became versed in ancient philosophy. But on graduation he sought a political life, and was elected to the House of Burgess. Jefferson became prominent in Philadelphia, and active with the American colonies break from Great Britain. He was instrumental in writing the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was later governor of Virginia at the time of the American revolution. Jefferson was Secretary of State during the presidency of George Washington. John Adams was Washington’s vice president. Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of Treasury. But Jefferson was on a collision course with Hamilton. When Washington retired Adams became president. Jefferson was against the administration’s Alien and Sedition Acts. He was always fearful that America’s newly independent nation would revert to monarchical rule. In the next election when Jefferson became president Aaron Burr, his vice president was always a problem. (He killed Hamilton in a duel). Jefferson pursued a Republican agenda. The Federalists under Adams had packed the courts with justices so, Jefferson did what he could to alleviate this situation. While in office he was living in Washington DC, and away from his home at Monticello. Jefferson was known to have an ongoing relationship with his slave Sally Hemings since his days in France as an ambassador. The next election when Jefferson was again the victor he was faced with other problems. There was an attack on the USS Chesapeake that roiled the nation. There was a fierce debate whether America should go to war with the British. There was also good news for Jefferson with the Louisiana purchase from France that increased the size of the nation. Still, like it was before, there was talk about secession of the Northern states. The Louis and Clarke expedition to the Western seaboard was promising for American interests. But an American embargo caused problems, and Americans had difficulties making the necessary adjustments. In retirement Jefferson moved to Monticello. He was able to supervise his slaves, read, wrote letters, build, and took horseback rides. His pet project was the establishment of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826 on the 50th anniversary of the America’s independence. It was also on this same date that John Adams also died with whom he had been able to renew their friendship. ( ) erwinkennythomas | Nov 8, 2022 |
 Meacham has chosen storytelling over analysis, offering up a genial but meandering narrative. There is some meat in the book, but finding it requires dexterity and doggedness—checking the endnotes after every ten pages or so to see what is missing from the passing panorama. Meacham has read the scholarly literature on Jefferson—some of it critical—but doesn’t let enough of this debate intrude on the storytelling, which nearly always puts Jefferson in the best possible light.  Mr. Meacham intends “The Art of Power” as a portrait that “neither lionizes nor indicts Jefferson, but instead restores him to his full and rich role as an American statesman who resists easy categorization.” That sounds bolder than it proves to be. It’s a polite way of staking out middle ground. PremisDistincionsLlistes notables
Biography & Autobiography.
History.
Nonfiction.
HTML:NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review ? The Washington Post ? Entertainment Weekly ? The Seattle Times ? St. Louis Post-Dispatch ? Bloomberg Businessweek In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize??winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era. Philosophers think; politicians maneuver. Jefferson??s genius was that he was both and could do both, often simultaneously. Such is the art of power. Thomas Jefferson hated confrontation, and yet his understanding of power and of human nature enabled him to move men and to marshal ideas, to learn from his mistakes, and to prevail. Passionate about many things??women, his family, books, science, architecture, gardens, friends, Monticello, and Paris??Jefferson loved America most, and he strove over and over again, despite fierce opposition, to realize his vision: the creation, survival, and success of popular government in America. Jon Meacham lets us see Jefferson??s world as Jefferson himself saw it, and to appreciate how Jefferson found the means to endure and win in the face of rife partisan division, economic uncertainty, and external threat. Drawing on archives in the United States, England, and France, as well as unpublished Jefferson presidential papers, Meacham presents Jefferson as the most successful political leader of the early republic, and perhaps in all of American history. The father of the ideal of individual liberty, of the Louisiana Purchase, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and of the settling of the West, Jefferson recognized that the genius of humanity??and the genius of the new nation??lay in the possibility of progress, of discovering the undiscovered and seeking the unknown. From the writing of the Declaration of Independence to elegant dinners in Paris and in the President??s House; from political maneuverings in the boardinghouses and legislative halls of Philadelphia and New York to the infant capital on the Potomac; from his complicated life at Monticello, his breathtaking house and plantation in Virginia, to the creation of the University of Virginia, Jefferson was central to the age. Here too is the personal Jefferson, a man of appetite, sensuality, and passion. The Jefferson story resonates today not least because he led his nation through ferocious partisanship and cultural warfare amid economic change and external threats, and also because he embodies an eternal drama, the struggle of the leadership of a nation to achieve greatness in a difficult and confounding world. Praise for Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power ??This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written.???Gordon S. Wood ??A big, grand, absorbing exploration of not just Jefferson and his role in history but also Jefferson the man, humanized as never before.???Entertainment Weekly ??[Meacham] captures who Jefferson was, not just as a statesman but as a man. . . . By the end of the book . . . the reader is likely to feel as if he is losing a dear friend. . . . [An] absorbing tale.???The Christian Science Monitor ??This terrific book allows us to see the No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
Autor amb llibres seus als Crítics Matiners de LibraryThingEl llibre de Jon Meacham The Art of Power estava disponible a LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Debats actualsCapCobertes populars
 Google Books — S'està carregant…GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)973.4History and Geography North America United States Constitutional period (1789-1809)LCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana: (4)
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