A Revisionist perspective of the election of Thomas Jefferson

The Election of Thomas Jefferson Consensus historians paint Thomas Jefferson as the great father of democracy, referring to his election to the presidency as the “revolution of 1800.” In actuality, Thomas Jefferson was an inconsistent man, who was philosophically against the Federalists, but who did not bring about any significant political or ideological changes during his presidency. Recently, revisionist historians have begun to question the notion of Jefferson as the “representative of the common man.” Many …

…is the antithesis of the belief held by many historians that the election of Thomas Jefferson was a “revolution,” In actuality there were no significant political, economic, or ideological changes made. Some of Jefferson’s theories and political writings deserve merit for advocating human rights and democracy, while his actions deserve condemnation for disregarding his own philosophical beliefs in order to remain popular. Jefferson was both contradictory and inconsistent, often synthesizing Federalist and Republican policies.