Jefferson And The Virginians: Democracy, Constitutions, And Empire (Walter Lynwood Fleming Lectures In Southern History)

In Jefferson and the Virginians, renowned scholar Peter S. Onuf examines the ways in which Thomas Jefferson and his fellow VirginiansùGeorge Washington, James Madison, and Patrick Henryùboth conceptualized their home state from a political and cultural perspective, and understood its position in the new American union. The conversations Onuf reconstructs offer glimpses into the struggle to define Virginiaùand Americaùwithin the context of the upheaval of the Revolutionary War. Onuf also demonstrates why JeffersonÆs identity as a Virginian obscures more than it illuminates about his ideology and career. Onuf contends that Jefferson and his interlocutors sought to define VirginiaÆs character as a self-constituted commonwealth and to determine the stateÆs place in the American union during an era of constitutional change and political polarization. Thus, the outcome of the American Revolution led to ongoing controversies over the identity of Virginians and Americans as a ôpeopleö or ôpeoplesö; over VirginiaÆs boundaries and jurisdiction within the union; and over the system of government in Virginia and for the states collectively. Each debate required a balanced consideration of corporate identity and collective interests, which inevitably raised broader questions about the character of the Articles of Confederation and the newly formed federal union. OnufÆs well-researched study reveals how this indeterminacy demanded definition and, likewise, how the need for definition prompted further controversy.

• | Author: Peter Onuf
• | Publisher: Lsu Press
• | Publication Date: Oct 10, 2018
• | Number of Pages: 208 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Hardcover/History
• | ISBN-10: 0807169897
• | ISBN-13: 9780807169896