Seeing Jefferson anew: in his time and ours

Thomas Jefferson's ideas have been so important in shaping the character andaspirations of the United States that it has proven impossible to think about the state of thenation at almost any moment without implicit or explicit reference to his words and actions.

Insimilar fashion, each generation has understood Jefferson in the context of the central issues ofits time.

Jefferson has, for better or for worse, been a man for all seasons.The essays inthis collection seek to update and reevaluate several key aspects of Jefferson's attitudes andpolicies in light of the newest research and at the same time take care to consider his ideas aboutsuch controversial topics as race, gender, and religion in the context of his own time and place.

Simultaneously, the contributing authors analyze the relevance of Jefferson for our own age,conscious of how contemporary judgments about slavery, religion, and Native Americans, for example,shape our coming to terms with the nation's history.

Here is no simple search for a usablepast, but instead a tough-minded but fair examination of a complex man who in fundamental waysrepresents both the promise and the problems of the American experience.ContributorsJohn B.

Boles, Rice University * Thomas E. Buckley, Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara Universityat Berkeley * Andrew Burstein, Louisiana State University * Randal L.

Hall, Rice University* Peter J. Kastor, Washington University at St. Louis * Jan Ellen Lewis, Rutgers University* Peter S.

Onuf, University of Virginia * Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy, Director of theRobert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies * Adam Rothman, Georgetown University* Eva Sheppard Wolf, San Francisco State University