Thomas
Jefferson
1743-1826
- Portrait of Thomas Jefferson
- From Engeman Thomas Jefferson and the Politics of Nature, front cover
The story of Thomas Jefferson is a very familiar one to most people. In 1776, he was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence. In 1800, he became the president of the United States. As President, he bought the Louisiana Purchase and commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedition. Although he was theoretically against slavery, Jefferson owned slaves at his plantation Monticello in Virginia. One of Jefferson’s greatest contributions was his founding of the University of Virginia. He was involved in all aspects of the university- its planning, building, and administration. Jefferson’s ideology about freedom and his vision for a country of wealthy agrarian workers are well known, but it is not well known that this philosophy extended to the field of education. In fact, Jefferson’s ideas about public education heavily influenced the educational reforms in the Progressive Era.
As a participant in the American Revolution and as a leader of the American people, the ideals of freedom and democracy were of utmost importance to Jefferson. However, Jefferson’s idea of democracy was actually that a group of elite few would run the country, while the common people would not have any real power. Jefferson wanted everyone to be educated so that leaders could pick out potential political leaders who would be able to manage a growing country. Public education would allow this. On the other hand, education was also important because it allowed each person, even the common people, to learn what freedom and democracy are, and how to maintain them. Thus, Jefferson was the first promoter of education for all, even the masses. Jefferson’s promotion of universal education would later be the most basic and most essential ideal of Progressive educational reform.
Michelle Yuen 05/10/2003