Thomas Jefferson: A Life of Human Rights and Legacy

In this brief yet dense biography released as part of Haper Collins' eminent lives series of short portraits, Christopher Hitchens traces Thomas Jefferson's legacy over the past two hundred years. He brings his character as a man of his time and a symbolic figure beyond it. Hitchens suggests that what Thomas Jefferson wrote on the declaration of independence, where he first established the concept of human rights, helped design America.

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In the biography, Hitchens does not hesitate to point out the contradiction that Jefferson was a slaveholder and later an advocate for freedom and human rights. Hitchens explores bot the private and public aspects of Jefferson's life, beginning with his childhood upbringing, which was purportedly viewed by Jefferson as indifference.

Hitchens also looks into Jefferson's political philosophies, with many excerpts from Jefferson's writings, he carefully analyses Jefferson's words to reveal the genius ideas that later shaped American policy, like the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments. In his 1778 proposed bill, "Bill of Proportion in Crimes and Punishments", he wrote, "had satisfied the reasonable world of the unrightfulness and inefficiency of the punishment of crimes by death" (Hitchens, pg. 39).

In his narration, Hitchens view the handling of the Barbary pirates in Jefferson first presidential term, as to initiating the united states as an international presence while the purchase of Louisiana from France as an assurance of united states predominance across the continent and the expedition of Lewis and Clark as essential in establishing united states new territory.

Hitchens in this biography succeeds in shedding light on Jefferson's politics of the time and his complex personality to make both the journal an excellent review of early American history and Jefferson a fascinating character to study.

The Success of the Book

Hitchens affirms Jefferson's greatness as a thinker and a president as he mentions in his Book, Jefferson was not a man of the Enlightenment only in the ordinary sense that he believed in reason or perhaps rationality. He was very specifically one of those who thought that human redemption lay in education, discovery, innovation, and experiment' (Hitchens, pg. 43). He wisely gives readers of the biography a measured sketch that faults him. Instead of making Jefferson too modern like some authors, Hitchens can correctly place him in his time.

The success of Hitchens in producing an American history through the biography of one of the most admired presidents of the United States is credited to the fact that Jefferson was the most literate of politicians in his time. Hitchens's view on Jefferson's writings, especially the famous "declaration of independence," are among the significant factors Jefferson is regarded by major communists, liberal reformers, aspiring democrats, and political parties in the United States as an inspirational symbol and incandescent icon.

Besides being one of the most influential American politicians during the time of United States birth, he was a human rights advocate who believed that all men deserve necessary social guarantees. Jefferson's leadership lessons principles from the book are admirable and are a source of inspiration to scholars and leaders today. Since we live in the revisionist times, different scholars want to learn from the fathers of revolution making the book a success one.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Book

The book above all is a short biography of history's most influential figure, his caption of events around Thomas Jefferson in a not so big publication makes the book compelling. Hitchens provides a close portrait of Jefferson from his involvement in Virginia to the righting of declarations of independence to Jefferson's conflicting word of self-evident truth. Hitchens's focus on Jefferson's political and his driving force is among Hitchens's breathtaking views of the book, how he picks specific achievements by Jefferson, and labels them as America changing and argues why.

Hitchens is doing an excellent work of taking us through Jefferson's shifting opinions such as questions of powers of government, centralization versus state rights, international relations, and the necessity of revolution. He succeeds at writing on Jefferson's biography by carefully bringing the character of Jefferson to life as a symbolic figure and as a man of his time.

The weaknesses of the book are that it is too short to be used as a meaningful biography of Thomas Jefferson, and it has fewer details of Jefferson's life only to focus on few political and personal issues that made up the man Thomas Jefferson. In addition, one has to be familiar with early American history, specifically on Thomas Jefferson, to grasp all the facts in the book.

The other weakness of the book is that, the few pages it has makes it far from being a comprehensive biography of Jefferson, and it certainly lacks the Olympian objectivity we get from most modern biographers.

Reasons for Writing the Book

Hitchens's ability to discuss the success and failures Jefferson had in helping frame the constitution and fight for democracy for the common person are among the reasons behind the title of the Book. Hitchens mentions, 'Thomas Jefferson, indeed, is one of the small handfuls of people to have his very name associated with a form of democracy.' (Hitchens, pg. 26)

The many available biographies on Jefferson published are in large print books. Hitchens created this short biography in less than 200 pages to help readers or anyone who would want to brush on Thomas Jefferson and know the basics of his times.

Even though Hitchens succeeds at showing what made Jefferson famous and regarded a revolutionist, he does not shy away from criticizing him if and where he felt necessary. Hitchens points out some of Jefferson's personal and political hypocrisy that are left out by other authors of Jefferson's biography.

Reasons for the Title Author of America

Hitchens's decision to designate the book "Author of America" comes with the views to voice the role of Thomas Jefferson in shaping the United States. His covering of the specific parts of Jefferson's career where he ensures only precarious situations of the United States are accurately described, is believed to help shape America, hence the title Author of America.

Besides being one of the founding fathers of the United States and a primary drafter of declaration of independence, the accomplishments, and events in the surrounding of Thomas Jefferson, his political and personal activities, and participation in the fight for human rights revered him as one of the American Founding Fathers.

Themes of the Book

The biography by Christopher Hitchens touches on three of the great themes. That is the fight for America's democratic ideals, the advocacy of freedom, and human rights.

The book places Jefferson within the context of America's evolution; he becomes the author of the declaration of independence, which is a fundamental text of American democracy and an essential document in world history. Though Jefferson other colonized, people worldwide rallied for their freedom.

Although Jefferson was a slave owner, he was a champion of the ordinary people, and advocate for liberty and a spokesperson for freedom. He championed for equal rights stating that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain absolute rights that are, life liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

Work Cited

Hitchens, Christopher. Thomas Jefferson. HarperCollins e-books, 2014.

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