1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910827852303321

Autore

Cogliano Francis D.

Titolo

Emperor of liberty : Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy / / Francis D. Cogliano ; Sonia Shannon, design

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven, Connecticut : , : Yale University Press, , 2014

©2014

ISBN

0-300-18244-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (317 p.)

Collana

The Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History

Disciplina

327.73009/034

Soggetti

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of State

United States Foreign relations 1801-1809

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- A Note On Sources -- Introduction. Three Emperors -- Chapter 1. According To The Judgment Of A Good Man -- Chapter 2. "To Compel The Pyratical States To Perpetual Peace" -- Chapter 3. "Mr. Jeff Erson Is A Decided Republican" -- Chapter 4. The Reign Of The Witches -- Chapter 5. "Chastise Their Insolence" -- Chapter 6. Empire Of Liberty -- Chapter 7. "They Expect The President To Act" -- Conclusion "Ne Plus Ultra" -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

This book, the first in decades to closely examine Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy, offers a compelling reinterpretation of his attitudes and accomplishments as a statesman during America's early nationhood. Beginning with Jefferson's disastrous stint as wartime governor of Virginia during the American Revolution, and proceeding to his later experiences as a diplomat in France, Secretary of State, and U.S. Vice President, historian Francis Cogliano considers how these varied assignments shaped Jefferson's thinking about international relations. The author then addresses Jefferson's two terms as President-his goals, the means he employed to achieve them, and his final record as a statesman. Cogliano documents the evolution of Jefferson's attitudes toward the use of force and the disposition of state power. He argues that Jefferson, although idealistic in the ends he sought to achieve, was



pragmatic in the means he employed. Contrary to received wisdom, Jefferson was comfortable using deadly force when he deemed it necessary and was consistent in his foreign policy ends-prioritizing defense of the American republic above all else. His failures as a statesman were, more often than not, the result of circumstances beyond his control, notably the weakness of the fledgling American republic in a world of warring empires.