Thomas Jefferson and John Adams Died on July 4th 1826 Fact
Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4th 1826 within five hours of each other. Their deaths in many ways marked the end of an era in American history.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was a U.S. President and founding father of America, he wrote the Declaration of Independence and was generally one of the most influential men in western history in regards to liberalism, among other things.
Although Jefferson is often celebrated as a liberal (and was probably the most far-left radical liberal of all the founders), he was also by many measures the father of the modern Republican party and ideology. His Anti-Federalists represented the farmer, small government, and southern interests in America’s early days. For a while his group was called Jefferson’s Republicans in the press, but he and Madison ultimately ran and served as Democratic-Republicans. Later that group became the Democrats, then between Civil War in the 1860’s and Civil Rights in the 1960’s the South switches parties and issues of Religion, race, and immigration began to divide the country and complicate things. Regardless, we can see the small-government, pro-south, anti-big-bank faction of modern Republicans as Jeffersonian.
Factoids tagged with "Thomas Jefferson"
Madison Drafted the Constitution and Bill of Rights Fact
Madison drafted both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but he wasn’t the sole author of either, both were debated and approved by committees.
America Gained Independence on July 4th, 1776 Myth
The Declaration of Independence was voted on July 2nd, 1776 and signed July 4th, 1776, but independence wasn’t officially gained until the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783.
Alexander Hamilton Founded the Federalist Party Fact
Alexander Hamilton founded the Federalist Party, the world’s first voter-based political party, which helped shape America’s economic policy and power structure.
Thomas Jefferson Called for Rebellion and Revolution Myth
Thomas Jefferson never said, “every generation needs a new revolution”, but he did say, “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”
James Madison is the Father of the Constitution Fact
James Madison can be considered the father of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Madison drafted the Constitution, drafted and sponsored the Bill of Rights, and co-wrote the Federalist Papers.
Your Vote Doesn’t Count Myth
It is a myth that your vote doesn’t count. Despite the electoral college electing the President directly, every vote counts. It just counts in complex ways that differ by election, state, and region.
Democrats and Republicans Switched Platforms Fact
The US political parties, now called Democrats and Republicans, switched platform planks, ideologies, and members many times in American history.
State Universities Began Charging Tuition in the 60’s Fact
A series of social and legislative changes in the 60’s ended an era of tuition-free state universities in the US and started the current student loan crisis.
U.S. Universities Have Always Charged Tuition Myth
US public state universities used to be tuition-free from the early 1800’s to the late 1960’s, although they still charged fees, but college has never been free in the US.
Blog Posts tagged with "Thomas Jefferson"
Equal Rights for All, Special Privileges for None
Thomas Jefferson is credited with having said, “equal rights for all, special privileges for none,” a slogan that other progressive Democrats like Williams Jennings Bryan embraced.
What is Reason?
Reason is the application of “pure logic”, empirical evidence, experiment, and skepticism to find truths, facts, and theories (AKA “critical thinking”).
Conservatives, Moderates, Liberals, and Progressives
We explain the political terms conservative, moderate, liberal, progressive, and radical and how they are used in different contexts.
Federalists and Anti-Federalists Explained
The Federalists and Anti-Federalists were the first political factions of the U.S.. They arose out of a debate over the ratification of the 1787 Constitution and went on to form the basis of our current two-party system.
The Origin of the Political Terms Left and Right
The modern usage of the political terms left and right comes from the French Revolution of 1789 when supporters of the king stood to the president’s right, and supporters of the revolution to his left.
The Age of Enlightenment and the Birth of Liberalism
Classical liberalism arose in opposition to state-imposed religion and aristocracy in the 1600 – 1700’s during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and America.
The Basic Types of Political Parties
On this page, we look at political parties from a historical perspective to better understand the underlying left-right politics all political parties are based on.
Why Did the Founding Fathers Choose a Republic?
America’s founding fathers intended the U.S. to be a Republic (elected officials vote on laws), rather than a Direct Democracy (everyone votes on laws).