The Radical Politics of Thomas JeffersonRichard K. Matthewsxii, 172 pages, 5-1/2 x 8-1/2
It is Matthews's intent to "extricate Jefferson from the myths that surround, envelop, and ultimately distort him." The interpretation of Jeffersons's idea of democracy presented here could spark new thinking about contemporary democracy as the bicentennial of the Constitution approaches. "One of the most provocative studies of Jefferson of the last thirty years. Effectively challenges the received wisdom of Jefferson's politics--and more generally on the origins of American democracy--in refreshing and wholly original ways."--Sean Wilentz, author of Chants Democratic
RICHARD K. MATTHEWS is professor and chair of the department of government at Lehigh University. The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson is the first volume in his revisionist trilogy on the Founding that continues with If Men Were Angels and that will conclude with Alexander Hamilton and the Creation of the Heroic State. Home | About the Press | Recent Awards | Contact Us | Order
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Richard Matthews argues that despite
scores of books and hundreds of articles, Thomas Jefferson remains
the most seriously misrepresented and misunderstood Founding
Father. Matthews's Jefferson emerges as America's first and foremost
advocate of permanent revolution, a democratic communitarian,
and an anit-market theorist. this interpretation has been suggested
in the past, but seldom has it been argued so persuasovely or
so intensely.