Liberty and Literacy: The Jeffersonian Ideal CHAPTER TWO Liberty and Literacy: The Jeffersonian Ideal

Thomas Jefferson: A Man of Contradictions Authored the Declaration of Independence “...that all men are created equal” Yet owned slaves…

Thomas Jefferson: A Man of Contradictions Authored the Declaration of Independence “...that all men are created equal” Did this apply to women, African Americans, Native Americans...?

Thomas Jefferson: A Man of Contradictions Rejected feudalism... Yet seemed to support “hereditary aristocracy” and “hereditary servitude”

Education in the Age of Jefferson Mid 18th to Early 19th Century Equal access to education? Only the wealthy had access to quality education... Slaves sought education in secret… Select women were given “role” based education…

Education in the Age of Jefferson Jefferson’s Agrarian Vision “...free, independent yeomen farmers as the backbone of the new republic...a family freehold farm, one of the many in which the farmer was freed to pursue politics and ideas because his land was being worked by slaves, and his household managed by women”

Ideology of the Jeffersonian Era Conservativism: Held to the old values, ideas, customs of the European tradition--especially feudalism. Society broken down into “estates” 1st Estate = Nobility 2nd Estate = Clergy 3rd Estate = Commoners

Ideology of the Jeffersonian Era Feudalism was largely broken by the early 19th Century It couldn’t accomodate: New Ideas (Representative Governance) Inventions (Cotton Gin, Print Press in 15th Century) Trade (Growing Wealth of Common Tradesmen) Questioning “Divine Right”

Ideology of the Jeffersonian Era “Classical” Liberalism: Can roughly be defined as a faith in: Reason (the “first born daughter of science”) Natural Law (the “universe as a machine”) Republican Virtue (the virtuous citizen) Progress (the “perfectibility of man”) Nationalism (a sense of “national identity”) Freedom (intellectual, political, civil, and economic)

Jefferson as Classical Liberal “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”

Jefferson and Intellectual Freedom Separation of Church and State The competition of ideas: “...truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.”

Jefferson, Democracy, and Education Jefferson’s educational ideas are informed by his philosophy “Man is destined for society,” endowed with a “moral sense of conscience,” and is capable of self-governance. But…

Jefferson, Democracy, and Education “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education.”

Jefferson’s Plan for Popular Education Jefferson wrote extensively on education His plan was comprised of four interrelated parts 1. Elementary School 2. Grammar School 3. University 4. Lifelong Learning

Jefferson’s Plan for Popular Education Elementary School (early education) Divide the state into 5-6 wards (think: districts) Each Ward would have 10+- schools Ruled over by aldermen “all free children, male and female” (for 3 years at no cost) Would teach the Three Rs The boy of “best genius” selected from each school to attend “grammar school”

Jefferson’s Plan for Popular Education Grammar School (ages 10 - 15) Much like a “boarding school” Approximately 20 were to be established Except for the boys on “scholarship”--students would pay Of the “scholarship” students, 10 would be selected for university at public expense Languages at center of curriculum Also: advanced math, geometry, navigation, and geography

Jefferson’s Plan for Popular Education University Students completely free to choose their classes Earlier education would have prepared them to do so Graduates would become the “natural aristocracy” Jefferson’s plan for education was ultimately defeated. His plan does raise a question though: Was his plan truly democratic, or was it a form of meritocracy?

Jefferson’s Plan for Popular Education Lifelong Learning All education is a preparation for this fourth tier Jefferson established a public library in Richmond Most educational theorists since Jefferson agree

Jefferson on Slavery, Native Americans, and Women Jefferson’s philosophy demanded he reject slavery Nevertheless...he’s wishy-washy in his correspondence As president: Never argued for abolition or education of slaves And then there’s this: He owned slaves.

Jefferson on Slavery, Native Americans, and Women Approved of Native American equal “endowment” Saw their culture as inferior As such, they should be “civilized” or else driven west

Jefferson on Slavery, Native Americans, and Women Succinctly: “His conception of the female was as a wife, homemaker, bearer of children, and delight to her husband--period.” As such: they would only receive elementary education, so that they could participate in “amusement of life” such as dancing, drawing, and music.