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Jefferson's Grand Experiment: Education and the Challenges of Citizenship"

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Jefferson's Grand Experiment: Education and the Challenges of Citizenship "Jefferson's Grand Experiment: Education and the Challenges of Citizenship" By Carolyn Ann Warner Submitted to Professor Lisa Jane Graham In partial fulfillment of the requirements of History 400: Senior Thesis Seminar 22 April 2010 CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgments Introduction Studying Jefferson Through the Lens of Education Section One 8 A World In Transition: From Religion to Reason Section Two 14 Jefferson's Curriculum and the Creation of Citizens Section Three 29 Educating Citizens, Sustaining Democracy Section Four 44 Jefferson's Vision of Democratic Society Conclusion 53 Jefferson Then and Now Bibliography 57 ABSTRACT In a letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty." As this quotation indicates, Jefferson viewed education as the cornerstone of a free and enduring democracy, for he conjectured that all citizens could receive an education in morality and critical thinking which prepared them for citizenship. He detailed duties for citizens, freedoms granted to citizens, and checks to limit the power of the government, based on an assumption of an educated citizen body using their education to participate in the democracy. For Jefferson, morality, reasoning, and education intertwined to influence his conception of democracy. In order to comprehend Jefferson's notion of democracy, therefore, one must also understand his educational plans and the connections between the two. Likewise, in order to appreciate Jefferson's educational plans, an awareness of the role those plans played in Jefferson's democracy is critical. This thesis begins with a discussion of the changes in philosophical thinking taking place in the Enlightenment era, as Jefferson relied on these changes to construct his experiment in democracy. As the elites transitioned from a world defined by God and religion to one defined by science and rationality, the value of an education rose accordingly. Jefferson capitalized on the new mode of thinking to design an educational curriculum that cultivated individuals trained to feel morally and reason critically, in an independent manner, as discussed in Section Two. This section highlights Jefferson's moral philosophy, the faith he placed in the power of education, and the separation of religion from education. Section Three explains Jefferson's definition of democracy, his plan for a system of 1Thomas Jefferson, Correspondence," To James Madison, December 20, 1787". (Charlottesburg: University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center, 1993). <http://etext.virginia.eduitoc/modeng/publialefLett.html .›. universal education, and the University of Virginia as a model for a secular state. Jefferson viewed a de-centralized government, which incorporated a diversity of elected officials at all different levels, as the best form of democracy. To ensure the success of that democracy, he asked all citizens to participate, either as elected officials or as voters who monitored the actions of the government. Jefferson assumed that a system of universal education prepared all citizens to face those challenges in an intellectual manner Given Jefferson's assumptions about his educated citizen body, Jefferson desired the Bill of Rights, as educated citizens deserved those freedoms. Section Four analyzes Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Religion as a means in which the citizens protected their rights from the government, and as a way in which Jefferson tried to stop the government from corrupting the analytical and independent thinking skills of his citizens. Additionally, Jefferson rejected political parties, as they, too, corrupted the independent thinking of citizens. Lastly, Jefferson recommended rebellions as a means of speaking out against the government when they violated the rights of citizens in an extreme manner. The conclusion extends this conversation to today, commenting on the role of Jefferson's philosophy in today's political discourse and our system of education. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Professor Graham for her guidance and insightful questions about Jefferson and his ideas. With her help and encouragement, my vague topic turned into a senior thesis. For insights into the Enlightenment, I am indebted to Professor Graham and her class on the French Enlightenment at Haverford College and to Dr Thomas Ahnert and his class on the Scottish Enlightenment at the University of Edinburgh. I would like to thank my parents, for their support, patience, and editing skills. With our family vacations, my parents first inspired, and nurtured, my love for American history. Finally, I would like to thank Sharon. Keith and Elizabeth for putting up with me and not complaining when I talked about my thesis or history too much. 1 INTRODUCTION: Studying Jefferson Through the Lens of Education In a letter to Judge John Tyler, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end up in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth."' In this quotation, Jefferson described his experiment in education, which he used as the foundation of American democracy. Jefferson viewed himself as a practical man concerned with building a successful and enduring democracy, and not as a philosopher. He turned, therefore, to education as the tool that allowed him to create the Enlightened democracy in which he theoretically believed. In order to understand Jefferson's conception of democracy, therefore, one must analyze more than his political philosophy. Studying Jefferson's experiment — his plans for education — as the pragmatic actualization of his philosophical thinking illuminates the connections between his different theories. He linked his disparate ideas together using education as the thread. One cannot appreciate the nuances in Jefferson's conception of a democracy and the reasons for the different parts of it without also understanding the way it incorporates his assumption of an educated citizen body and the faith he placed in that education. Analyzing the value Jefferson attributed to the powers of education enriches our understanding of Jeffersonian democracy and the rights and duties granted to citizens in that democracy. This thesis uses Jefferson's correspondence to explore his theories on education, linking them to his conceptions of a democratic society. An engaging and personable writer, Jefferson 1 Thomas Jefferson, Correspondence,"To John Tyler, June 28, 1804". (Charlottesburg: University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center, 1993). <http://etextvirginia.eduitoc/modeng/public/JefLett.html .> From this point on, I will list each letter by its recipient and the date. I do not refer to page numbers in the letter, as the page numbers vary. In Jefferson's letters, I updated the spelling. 2 corresponded prolifically with numerous other men and women on topics ranging from farming techniques, proper etiquette, and models for living a happy life, to philosophy, politics, and education. Letter writing allowed Jefferson to explore his beliefs and the connections between his different ideas in ways more helpful than writing documents on isolated subjects, such as the Declaration of Independence, for example, or his plans for establishing universal education in Virginia. Jefferson unpacked his ideas through letters; reading those letters deepens our understanding of Jefferson's thoughts. Whereas in the Declaration of Independence he focused only on man's civil rights in a democracy, in his letters he discussed the Declaration in conjunction with the happiness of man, and he elaborated on his beliefs that democratic citizens needed an education to fulfill their duties as citizens. Letter writing presented Jefferson with the freedom and opportunity to explore his thinking without boundaries or limits, escaping the confines of philosophical topics. Thus, by studying his letters, instead of moral, educational, and political treatises, the links between the topics are apparent, allowing us to understand Jefferson's views more deeply. I focused on the letters including syllabi that Jefferson wrote to the students he mentored, and the letters Jefferson wrote discussing his plans for the University of Virginia and his plans for universal education, which he established in Virginia and hoped would spread to the rest of the country. 2 Jefferson's correspondence spanned from 1760 to 1820. In his letters, he wrote to well- known men such as John Adams, James Madison, Scottish philosopher Lord Kames, and Abigail Adams. He wrote to family members, such as his nephew, Peter Carr, his brother-in-law, Robert Skipwith, and his son-in-law, Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr, the twenty-first governor of Virginia. 2 As President, Jefferson tried, and failed, to enact a constitutional amendment requiring all states to fund public schools. As Governor of Virginia, Jefferson also tried to implement universal education and again failed. For more information, see Roy Honeywell's The Educational Work of Thomas Jefferson, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1931.). 3 Jefferson also corresponded with fellow Virginians: Littleton Waller Tazewell, the twenty-fifth governor of Virginia, Joseph C. Cabell, a Virginia State senator, and James Breckenridge, a lawyer from Virginia, as well as other prominent men throughout America and Europe. Historians tend to categorize
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