A revelatory new biography of Thomas Jefferson, focusing on his
ethical and spiritual life
"Kidd's biography may well be the best treatment of Jefferson's
religious and moral life available, and certainly it is among the few to
take those two subjects seriously while carefully avoiding hagiography
or anachronism. It deserves a wide readership."--Miles Smith,
National Review
"Set aside everything you think you know about Thomas Jefferson and
religion, and read this book. This is the definitive account. It is well
written, well researched, judicious, and entirely convincing."--Timothy
Larsen, Wheaton College
Thomas Jefferson was arguably the most brilliant and inspiring political
writer in American history. But the ethical realities of his personal
life and political career did not live up to his soaring rhetoric.
Indeed, three tensions defined Jefferson's moral life: democracy versus
slavery, republican virtue versus dissolute consumption, and veneration
for Jesus versus skepticism about Christianity.
In this book Thomas S. Kidd tells the story of Jefferson's ethical life
through the lens of these tensions, including an unapologetic focus on
the issue where Jefferson's idealistic philosophy and lived reality
clashed most obviously: his sexual relationship with his enslaved woman
Sally Hemings. In doing so, he offers a unique perspective on one of
American history's most studied figures.
