Thomas Jefferson's Views on Revolution

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Jefferson (1977), statement, “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical”, clearly demonstrates that he supported revolution (p.417). During the time that Jefferson was penning down this statement there was wide dissent by revolutionary war veterans owing to the failure of the government to enact the necessary reforms. Most of the veterans had not been paid for the service they offered in the fight for independence. There was heavy taxes imposed by the states and those who could not be able to pay their taxes had their farms seized by the government. Most of the veterans in Massachusetts had ganged up against the government in a mini-revolt that came to be known as the “shays’ rebellion”. Considering the hardship that Americans were experiencing, Jefferson thought that a revolution was inevitable. There are three revolutions which we can visit to explain Jefferson views on revolution: the American Revolution (declaration of independence), election of Jefferson to presidency (what he referred to as a ‘revolution of the 1800’) and the French revolution. Jefferson was the instrumental author in declaration of independence that actually brought down the British rule. From the time he published a political pamphlet, Jefferson was considered radical. Jefferson became too critical of the George Washington administration. He regretted that the ills they had fought too much to liberate Americans on were rife in Washington administration. Of particular concern to him were the antidemocratic ideals of the secretary of state, Alexander Hamilton (Jefferson, 1977). When finally Jefferson was elected president, he had considered this as a revolution. He believed that all t... ... middle of paper ... ...he case, change is inevitable. This is the concession that Jefferson had when he declared that the people of America supported the French revolution. Although he regretted the French situation, he lamented that the steps taken by the French, such as disposing their king, were indeed necessary (Jefferson, 1977) In his view of revolution, Jefferson was ultimately persuasive. The manner in which he captured the Americans ideals in his writing was indeed awesome. He was eloquent and had good writing skills. His ability to speak in more than five languages added into his great oratory skills. It’s out of his persuasiveness that he was able to climb the ladder of political leadership up to its apex. Some of Jefferson quotes continues to fascinate scholars even to date, two centuries later. He is regarded as one of the most famous presidents in Americans times.

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