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For anyone looking for a good book on Jefferson, https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Power-Jon-Meacham/dp/1400067669/ https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferso

For anyone looking for a good book on Jefferson, https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Power-Jon-Meacham/dp/1400067669/ https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Power-Jon-Meacham/dp... The competition between Jefferson and Hamilton is also detailed in https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/1594200092/ https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/159..., and it doesn't paint such a great picture of Jefferson. (Alexander Hamilton lived one of the most incredible lives ever. Anyone interested in history needs to read this book)

aaron-lebo 9y ago
Both men's lives are pretty amazing. Jefferson had some really unfortunate parts (views and actions on race), but I struggle to find too many people who were as enlightened as him but also held power. That book, anyway, is really sympathetic towards Jefferson. I started reading the Hamilton book but haven't gotten through it, Hamilton seems a little more power-hungry and less moral. Though not sure if that's bias. It seems like modern media and scholarship has thought more highly of Jefferson than Hamilton. In John Adams, Stannis (just kidding, Jefferson) is the equal, Hamilton isn't very sympathetic. The Chernow book has turned Hamilton's perception a bit. What is an objective view on the two?
- markdog12 9y ago
  > Hamilton seems a little more power-hungry and less moral Hamilton was power hungry, but not for the typical reasons. For instance, he did not make a fortune for himself, while Jefferson lived an extremely lavish lifestyle, while on large debts. Hamilton was incredibly ambitious, but it seems he genuinely did want to improve the lot of all Americans. Hamilton seems less moral? How so? Hamilton did not have slaves, for instance. Both men had affairs, with Hamilton's dirty laundry aired as the first national scandal, while Jefferson took his secret to his grave. > It seems like modern media and scholarship has thought more highly of Jefferson than Hamilton It seems the tide may turn on this, and maybe it already has. At the very least, Hamilton's modern ideas certainly won the day.
  - afarrell 9y ago
    > while Jefferson took his secret to his grave James T. Callender reported on the Jefferson-Hemmings affair.
    - markdog12 9y ago
      Yep, same guy who reported on the Hamilton-Reynolds scandal. Difference is Hamilton confessed, not a lot of people probably believed Callender on Hemmings. Callender was also on Jefferson's payroll specifically to pen rabid attacks on Hamilton. Very interesting dynamic there: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016/08/james_callender_the_attack_dog_who_took_aim_at_alexander_hamilton_and_thomas.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016...

aaron-lebo 9y ago

Both men's lives are pretty amazing. Jefferson had some really unfortunate parts (views and actions on race), but I struggle to find too many people who were as enlightened as him but also held power. That book, anyway, is really sympathetic towards Jefferson. I started reading the Hamilton book but haven't gotten through it, Hamilton seems a little more power-hungry and less moral. Though not sure if that's bias. It seems like modern media and scholarship has thought more highly of Jefferson than Hamilton. In John Adams, Stannis (just kidding, Jefferson) is the equal, Hamilton isn't very sympathetic. The Chernow book has turned Hamilton's perception a bit. What is an objective view on the two?

markdog12 9y ago
> Hamilton seems a little more power-hungry and less moral Hamilton was power hungry, but not for the typical reasons. For instance, he did not make a fortune for himself, while Jefferson lived an extremely lavish lifestyle, while on large debts. Hamilton was incredibly ambitious, but it seems he genuinely did want to improve the lot of all Americans. Hamilton seems less moral? How so? Hamilton did not have slaves, for instance. Both men had affairs, with Hamilton's dirty laundry aired as the first national scandal, while Jefferson took his secret to his grave. > It seems like modern media and scholarship has thought more highly of Jefferson than Hamilton It seems the tide may turn on this, and maybe it already has. At the very least, Hamilton's modern ideas certainly won the day.
- afarrell 9y ago
  > while Jefferson took his secret to his grave James T. Callender reported on the Jefferson-Hemmings affair.
  - markdog12 9y ago
    Yep, same guy who reported on the Hamilton-Reynolds scandal. Difference is Hamilton confessed, not a lot of people probably believed Callender on Hemmings. Callender was also on Jefferson's payroll specifically to pen rabid attacks on Hamilton. Very interesting dynamic there: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016/08/james_callender_the_attack_dog_who_took_aim_at_alexander_hamilton_and_thomas.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016...