Think. I do not know what i expected or what i wanted, but i began to study at and i thought, i think the designer may have done me a favor in that yes, jefferson is there. I think you can make out the profile. But its not the first thing you look at. He is not coming at us full faced, straight on in living, visit color. The saturated color you see is in the clothing. I thought, you know, that does encapsulate what i am trying to do. Yes, this is about jefferson. But its not the usual biography. You know, we begin with the birth. We hit all the high points and end with his death. When i am looking at really is more about the person and i do use the clothing a lot in this study. I thought, ok, this is leading into it very well. So i thought this does work. This is what i need here. The book, then, is about the jefferson image and how he went about putting this particular image together. And as Research Often does, it began with questions. As a way of explaining, why was i then looking at his clothing . This is actually, this being an early american historian, this is my second career. I began in theater art as a costume designer. And of course through that i did a lot of study of art history, the history of clothing. I even taught the history of dress in Different University settings. This is what is the background for this interest in this approach of looking at this jefferson image. When i joined monticello, i began to look at reproductions of the extant jefferson portraits. I start looking, what is he wearing in this one . Why is it different in this one . How is his grooming different . What is going on in the portraits . Why do i see that image shifting and changing . You need to put it in the context. What was happening with jefferson . I began to look at it within the political context. What is this going to tell us . What i come up with and how did he fashioned himself for the political stage . That is how i began to look at jefferson. A little bit about my approach and what, then, this book is about. Today, what might we call this if we are looking at how someone presents himself, we might put the term onto it branding. Jefferson did not use that term, nor did any other 18thcentury gentleman. But i did find they were all extremely aware of their personal self presentation. This could tell you a lot. This could tell you about a persons status, whether it was economic, whether it was the status within society. It could tell you about their reputation. They even interpreted a lot of character through how it gentleman was presenting himself in public. What were the tools they were working with . Therefore, what was jefferson working with . I saw fashion through clothing, grooming. That would perhaps be the most obvious. Going past that, what was the gentleman adept at witty conversation . To display his intellect or his wits. What about etiquette . Could he conduct himself well in different situations . Did he know the proper way to behave for different situations you might find himself in . In line with this, how did the gentleman preside at the dinner table . This was one place jefferson got very good marks. He was very fond of fine food, fine wine. I will touch on that a bit more. Even if he was a friend or a foe, someone that liked him or did not, they did not enjoy attending his dinner parties. So this was another thing, how could you preside at table . This was another part of the self image and self fashioning. Besides that, what was the setting . Was it a very elegant residence . As you may know, jefferson, very strongly interested in architecture. His own home, monticello, and his retreat home in southern virginia, he designed both of those and played with that design a lot. Following him from paris and new york to philadelphia to washington, wherever he was living, he was always engaging somewhat in the architecture, tweaking and adjusting it to his needs, his aesthetic needs as well. The setting played a part in this presentation of self. These are some of the things you might look for when you are thinking about this gentlemanly display. In jeffersons world, these were indications of status. Of character. Of rank, and they were a vocabulary onto themselves and they could be read, whether it is european or american. They could read these visual signs. These are the tools he is working with. And as lord chesterfield wrote, maybe you are familiar with the letters of lord chesterfield, but he wrote to his son and the quote i chose, do you dress well and not too well . Do you consider your air and manner of presenting yourself enough, and not too much . Neither negligence nor stiff. All these things deserve a degree of care. A second rate attention. They give an additional luster and merit. The merit, the character. That is what was important. Nothing wrong with a little extra luster. Jefferson, he did have lord chesterfield in his library. He had the 1774 edition. I would say even before he is reading this, he came up through the virginia gentry. He would have been attuned to this from a young age. He knew these rules of presentation. The question becomes, as we follow him through the his political career, is he going to adhere to the rules or not . And how is he going to present himself . Moving then get this to work here moving on from the book jacket going into the book itself, this is the first portrait i want to discuss. This, of course, is held by the smithsonian. It is in our National Portrait gallery. It is also the earliest extant portrait we have of Thomas Jefferson. This was by a Young American artist named mather brown. Jefferson was 41. He was serving at this time as our minister potentiary to the court of france. However, the portrait was made on a trip to london. This is where brown was working, in london. Jefferson was there to confer with john adams. He was our minister at the court of st. James, and jefferson and commissioned this portrait of himself. He also commissioned a portrait of john adams. Then adams in turn said oh yes, i want copies of both. It turned into a nice dual commission for this Young American artist. So this painting, this portrait was taken in the spring of 1786. Actually not completed until 1788. But it is our earliest extant portrait of jefferson. I would argue that we see him here looking very european, actually very french. I will explain as i go along. So how was jefferson settling into france . What was he picking up . What was he experiencing . I do call this the first part of the book, the European Experience. I think jefferson enjoyed france very much. But all the americans that came there when he first came, he had joined Benjamin Franklin, who had been there in 1776. Adams was already there. So the gentlemen overlapped for three not quite a year before franklin was allowed to return to the United States. Jefferson is put in his place as the head minister at the court of versailles. John adams is our first emissary to the court of st. James in london. A little nervous about it, but i think it worked out well. Before these americans step into france, into this scene of the french court, they were certainly answering the world entering a world they had not experienced in north america. Because was an environment that placed an extraordinary amount of emphasis on your personal appearance, decorum, even gesture. Movements. This is kind of a world they entered. At the very, very beginning. How did jefferson adapt . There is a letter he wrote, and thats what im going to cite. He wrote to a friend after his first year in france. He even listed in his record as my view of the europe. Through this, he gives his impressions he is writing it to charles bellini, who lived in williamsburg. He opens the letter by saying, behold me at length on the vaulted scene of europe. Then he goes on to say, you are perhaps curious as to how this scene has struck a savage of the mountains of america. Well, a little hyperbole on jeffersons part. He was from the blue ridge mountains, but he was not exactly a savage. But he uses that term quite a bit. Adams sometimes referred to himself or felt he was being viewed as the raw american and felt they were somewhat of a curiosity. That could have been. Here are these americans that have now broken off from britain with a lot of french help. But here they are representing what the sovereign republican nation a little curiosity about them. But back to jeffersons view of europe. In the first part of the letter he was a little critical. He did not, of course, care for monarchicaoogle l system of government at all. That is something you will see through his whole political career. And he did not like this very strict Class Division he saw there. He borrowed from voltaire to say that everyone here is either the hammer or the anvil. Today, i think we might find this statement a little ironic. He seemed to to be overlooking the chattel slavery, something he and his colleagues were never able to resolve. He is critical of these very sharp Class Divisions he is seeing in france. But then his tone changes a bit. Because he has to admit to some awe of this scene. The first thing he mentions, he says that in france, the literati lead america by half a dozen years. He was very intrigued with these intellectual circles in france. I will say this was certainly a goal while he was there, to join and become part of some of the intelligentsia there. And he said in the publication of books they are ahead of us. In fact, 15 crates of books would follow him back to the United States when he returned. And he goes on to say he liked the polite manners. The pleasures of the table. And i have already mentioned he was very fond of fine food, the wine, and he had had a french chef when he was in annapolis before he left for france and then when he did go, he took one of his enslaved men to have him trained in what he said was the art of french cookery. And he concludes by saying, were i to proceed to tell you how much i enjoyed your architecture, sculpture, painting, music, i should want words. So jefferson is having a good time in france. I think it suited him well. He was quite intrigued by what he was finding. So what are some of his goals while he is there . First off, he is there as our lead minister. He had been first assigned, they were really trying to negotiate commercial treaties. Argue,he had to, i will make the correct appearance at court. He had to be aware of his physical selfis fashioning because that was very important. He had to represent the United States well. I will go back and and i and i mentioned it briefly i think there was a personal ambition there also. I think you very, very much wanted to be part of this intellectual circle, these intellectual salons that he knew tsia theretelligen in france. The summer of 1785, franklin has just left and he has just published his first in what would turn out to be his only book, notes on the state of virginia. He has taken over as the chief minister and is now a published author, and i have to wonder if reglan, before leaving, did not help in a if franklin, before leaving, did not help open a few doors, but he gets his first invitation. He writes a letter to Abigail Adams. Jefferson in his career wrote a lot of letters. And he was fantastic with words and expressing ideas and opinions. But one thing that is a little frustrating about researching jefferson, he does not always let his own personal feelings break through. But i do feel in this letter to Abigail Adams we get a feeling of his excitement at being allowed an entree into some of these salons. So let me read to you what he writes to Abigail Adams. He says i took a trip yesterday and commenced an acquaintance with the old countess. I received much pleasure from it and hope it has opened a door of admission to the circle of literati with which she is environed. And indeed it did. He was invited back many times and he did begin to circulate in some of the other intellectual circles and salons. So this was definitely one of the personal goals for jefferson while he was there. So lets get back to the portrait. How i feel his European Experience reflected in what was being captured. Believe me, none of the rest of the portraits of jefferson looked at all like this. We see him here very different then how he will appear later. How he is dressed is very fashionable. The coat he is wearing, i know in this light it is difficult to tell, but it does have a turndown collar, which meant it was a frock coat, which was a daytime coat. This one, he is not standing, but from what i can judge by the collar and the sleeve, it was very fashionable for 1786. The deep, rich color could silkate perhaps it was a velvet. So he is in a very fine daytime coat. Formalere the court where, it would have the high collar embellished with more trim. Maybe some elaborate buttons. But the french frockcoat had been borrowed from the english model, that had made its way from the working classes to the english gentleman, had become very popular, even Abigail Adams noticed oh, the young bucks love to dress in the english style, and they had adopted the french frockcoats. But they tended to be cut the french tended to cut their coats slimmer than the english. There is a wonderful entry in an english gentlemans travel diary saying, how i long for my Little English frockcoat because it is more ample. It has a little more room, but while in paris he was dressing in the french style. So if we can see jefferson, he was a very slender man so it would have suited him well. And i do find it interesting that as soon as he got to london, he set up an account with a london tailor named robert cannon, and one of the first things he made for him was a waistcoat that was gold and white stripes. So is that the one we are seeing here . I dont know for sure, but its a possibility. So cannon, even after he goes back to france, he still is ordering waistcoats and breeches from robert canon. He likes very much the irish linen for shirts and is trying to acquire more of that. Sometimes Abigail Adams helped him out. So those things, he finds he does like the english model, but i do find it interesting that going through his Accounting Records, he always had his coats made in paris by french tailors. So i think that was the signal in the code as to whether you were dressing more in the french or english style. But certainly, the waistcoats, ok, from london. But not apparently the coats. And i thought that was interesting. But when you first glance of the portrait, the thing you may notice first is his hair. The grooming of the hair. It is very carefully styled. And i say his hair because i do not think he is wearing a wig. And again, i go back to those Accounting Records, which he kept very carefully every day. There is no record of him purchasing wigs when he is in paris. But he had a valet on his staff in paris and he would often reimburse him for purchases of the sticky stuff that helped you style the hair. A lot of hair powder. Curling papers, hair ribbon. So those things make me say, ok, he is having the hair dressed, he is not wearing a wig. I think that is what we are seeing here. But let me give you a little quote from Abigail Adams. She is writing to her family in new england, back in massachusetts, and she is saying jefferson has threatened to cut off his hair. Well, he didnt. The first evidence i can find he crop head was not until 1804. Here, he is pretty much in the traditional style. According to Abigail Adams, she said he expects not to live above a dozen years and he shall lose one of those in hairdressing. So apparently he did not like the time, but better, apparently, then wearing a wig. Lets compare it to the adams portrait. Jefferson wanted a portrait of adams as well. Brown does them both. I think comparing the two i feel that you get a hint of that slight difference in the french and english style. And i have worked at that, and no one kind of spells it all out for you. You look at it and look at what different people say. So this is something i am surmising. But i do feel this is what we are seeing here. A very french flair to jefferson. And i have to wonder about that. Here he is in london looking very french. So is this the reason why he was he writes many years later memoirs about how king george iii turned his back on him . I dont know. Maybe hes looking too french. The french style was very much accepted at the english court. It was very fashionable there, but to move ahead, lets look at john adams. I dont know for sure is adams is wearing a wig or his own hair. I have found evidence that he did utilize both, but you can see is not dressed as full as jeffersons, certainly not as heavily powdered. It is just powdered down to a great town. A gray tone. The suit is wearing, very fashionable. It is a frockcoat with the turndown collar. It is a day suit, but that very slim sleeve with a vertical vent to it. This shows he was uptodate as far as the fashion. These large metal buttons were much more popular in england than in france. So he is looking very much in the english style here, whereas i think jefferson, we see him maybe looking a little more like the french. So it took jefferson two years to receive the portraits. And he is getting a little nervous because he knows the adams family are going to be returning to the United States. He is writing back, and says what about the portraits . Mr. Brown, i must have john adams. And this is where this remark is. He says i must have adams for my rait for myort collection of american worthies. There is other evidence and the things we have left that jefferson was putting together a collection of portraits of men that had been very instrumental in the american revolution. He even then expanded it to include the enlightenment thinkers that formed the intellectual base that led to the revolution. Even early explorers who had first come upon the north american continent. And the assumption is then and from some of his references, these things were being, these portraits and some were painted portraits, some more some were bust portraits. These were being displayed in his residence in paris. Because it also served as the american legation. I think when someone came in, perhaps the european comes in to do business here, the importance of this collection, what this collection was saying would not be lost. This is representing this young, new, maybe the raw american republic. And he had to have john adams. What he does not say and what i cannot determine, was his own portrait going to hang there . But what is a little mysterious is we do not quite know what happened to his portrait. Heres he may have been a little disappointed. Here is the correspondence. He is writing over saying, what about the portraits . Adams soninlaw right back, hes busy about the portraits. But then jefferson gets the bad news. He says adams is like. Yours, i do not think so well off. Then shortly after that, he receives a letter from his own secretary, william short, who is in london. Short writes and says, mr. Adams is an excellent likeness. But of mr. Jefferson is supposed by everybody here to be an etude , or in other words, a study. All his colleagues were in agreement this is not a good likeness. Did that influence jeffersons thinking . We dont know for sure. He makes absolutely no comment on the paintings once they are received. But no one seems to know what happened to his portrait. In later years when he is making a catalog of his collection, adams is listed. He has even told us he was displayed in a prominent spot in the monticello parlor. That is where the collection it with back to philadelphia and then on to monticello. And if you are visiting monticello, some of the originals are there or we have replicas of many that we know were there. So we have tried to kind of reassemble that collection. So we know where john adams hung. No mention of another. I have checked through family references for some of their letters. No mention. Visitors who came to monticello so it is kind of a mystery what happened to that portrait. What are you seeing today in the National Portrait gallery . It is an original portrait by brown, but it is the one that came down through the adams family. Adams also said i want copies of these as well. This is what we have. Fortunately, i am very happy we do have it there because it is a very fine portrait. But we are saying its not a good likeness. Move on. To one that was considered an excellent likeness. I dont know if this would look familiar to you. If you could see it in profile, you would they yes, this is familiar. Say yes, this is familiar. This is the best portrait that was done by a very prominent french sculptor. It is the bust portrait of jefferson. But it did become a very definitive likeness of jefferson, even in the early republic. When jefferson was elected president , they are making president ial medals, it was the profile that was used on the medals. On our nickel. So this one was considered a very good likeness. In fact, to give you a little bit from it was exhibited in the paris salon of 1789, not long before jefferson was returning to the United States. But in the review, the salon review, it did say that the sculptor had made an excellent likeness. It said he distinguished himself in the portrait of mr. Jefferson, expressing his lively and witty character. Thats kind of an interesting aside on Thomas Jefferson. I do not know how lively and witty we sometimes think of him, but it was credited as being a very good likeness. We know jefferson brought back at least one, we think more than that, and the one you are seeing here is the one that we do have at monticello today. It is one of the original plaster busts and it was donated to us by a foundation in new york. So we are very pleased to have it. Jefferson, by the time this is being displayed in paris, he is packing to make a quick trip back to virginia. He wants to relocate his daughters. He is going to take care of business. Then he plans with the favorable spring winds, he arrives at the end of november. Favorable spring winds am going to be back in paris. Because exciting things were happening in paris at that time. Jefferson had been attending the estates general. He was observing very closely the shifts that were happening there politically, and of coarse, it already had the of course, it already had the storming of the bastille. We know the outcome. I do not think jefferson had an inkling it was going to be quite the revolt it turned into. The rd into. He was quite excited. He thought there would be shifts and changes for the good, and he was eager to get back to france. Monticello, heh was visiting relatives along the way, when the new president washington under the new constitution. His letter reaches jefferson and informs him that you have been head of our our department of state. You will be the new secretary of state. Jefferson goes no. That is not where i need to be. I would be of much better use in paris. Finished to go back and out his two years left in assignment. Washington writes again. Withrson is corresponding James Madison asking what i will do about this. Little does he know that madison had been colluding with washington, thinking that jefferson is the man for the job. Finally, jefferson says ok. He feels like he can no longer refuse the promptings of washington, but his letter to James Madison says i cannot but foresee the possibility that this may end disagreeably. Whether you saw the musical when it was here, or listen to the andd tapes of hamilton, even if you have not experienced that, it was not long before the secretary of state, jefferson, secretary of the treasury, hamilton, were at odds. They were causing quite a bit of tension and president washingtons cabinet. Their ideas on the way we should go with this. Jefferson was very much opposed to the banking policies. 10 thatat connell hamilton favored a stronger executive was one thing. 1790s, i find it one that is interesting, because it was very pivotal. A lot of things had to be decided. The constitution was ratified and in place, that there is a lot of things that had to be decided. Who is going down to even the protocol of the president ial office. There were differing opinions. In looking at the picture of early American History, i really do not have doubts that any of these men, whether you are prohamilton or projefferson, i do not think that any of these men were really dedicated to this idea of what many idea what many of them called our great experiment of trying to establish a large republic for the time. And, making it function and happen. There were very differing views. Differing views on what was going to be the best method to on making it happen. You come to a lot of strong feelings. Things became extremely polarized. What you see rising out of this was a conflict between hamilton and jefferson, i am not saying that they initiated the whole thing. It was much wider spread than that. And ee two factions the living beginning to develop. Allowedtitution had not for that, and had not set that up. Hamiltonians, they were the ones who would push through the constitution, they counted washington as their masthead figure. John adams adams kind of went into this. They referred to themselves john adams kind of went into this. They referred to themselves as the federalists and the bedrock of the government. There was this other faction who is viewed as radical and they were looking to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Sometimes they were called the jeffersonians, sometimes the republicans, sometimes they were called democratic. I use the term democraticrepublicans. Alternative faction that was growing up. This is what is beginning to happen in the 1790s. I want to give you a quote that i opened this part two with in my book. Jefferson wrote, men who have willinto meant inimate cross the street to avoid meeting and turn their heads the other way lest they should be obliged to touch their hats. I think this polarization, jefferson felt it keenly, because for one example he had been close with the adams family when they were in europe. He and abigail had a lively repartee , but it was not long after they returned, they are involved in the new government. Suddenly, jefferson and adams are very polar are at very polarized ends at this. There is an estrangement that lasted for many years. I will jump ahead and say it had a happy ending. A mutual friend got them back together. ,hey never saw each other again adams is in massachusetts, and jefferson is at monticello, that they begin to carry on a conversation in their correspondence. One of the early letters he says, we must explain ourselves to one another. That is what they begin to do. It is a beautiful correspondence, and it has been collected in one volume. Old edition, but a compilation of these letters. It is a wonderful correspondence. I think it is called the letters of adams of jefferson and adams. Something like that. Jefferson brought back from france was the image that washington was looking for when he was putting together his new. , ands known that he was circulated in these intellectual circles. As president of the American Philosophical Society in 1797. It is interesting, when he was in paris, i looked at some of the letters he would write back to colleagues. He was very active in the American Philosophical Society before he went over to paris. I look at the letters that he does write back and he does a little name dropping of who he was going to dinner with. It was a worldrenowned natural themtists, but a lot of were in the french intellectual circles. He did do some name dropping. He brings back this reputation as being a part of the intelligencia, and a reputation as a frankophile. Hamilton is an anglophile. To is howt to get this began to play out in the politics of the 1790s. One senator, as soon as jefferson returns to new york, he makes the observation and says that he had been long enough abroad to catch the tone of european folly. And makes a comment, and his too small for him. It makes me think that jefferson is wearing the trim coats. How much of the frenchman did he retain . I thought it interesting that i also found a quote from a visitor from monticello late in jeffersons life, when he was in retirement. This gentleman had come to see the sage, and said that his gestures and body language, he artificial, he shrugs the shoulders when talking, and has very much of the frenchman. There are mannerisms that jefferson incorporated for the rest of his life. People can see that, he was the francophile. How did this play out in the politics of the time and what i is ant to mention, it Broad Spectrum of things, what im going to be touching on are the issues that really bothered jefferson that i think you can see when he begins his self fashioning and how he is presenting himself. One of these is what is the nature of this government . When he is writing his memoirs in 1821, he is looking back and says that he Still Believes strongly that the contests of that day were contests of principle between the advocates of republican and those of kingly government. One of his fears, because this had happened historically in republics, is that they become autocratic. Then, maybe they resort back to some kind of monarchical system. This really concerned him. Before what is his role going to be . Before leaving paris, he wrote to a friend and said my great wishes to go in a strict but silent performance of my duty, to avoid attracting notice and to keep my name out of newspapers. Guess what did not happen . Burgeoningers were in the United States. Strongbecoming a very method of communication. Jeffersons name did not stay out of newspapers, and one of the first to put his name in oner, and one of his in of his editorial pieces was alexander hamilton. Even before he wrote his piece, he said in a private letter, drank deeply of the french philosophy and religion in science, and politics. This was a concern to hamilton. Jeffersons success in colts of it culminating of a philosopher did follow him to the United States, and it became something that, politically, was used as a question mark. Because somewhere questioning, the ones some were questioning if an intellectual can perform as a chief executive. Can they hold the helm steady . Besidess another writer hamilton who became prolific in writing about jefferson. Ton name was william lau smith. He was a very high federalist. There was not as many in the south. The stronghold was in new england. Definitely of the federalist leaning and was not fond of jefferson. He began writing a series on jefferson that he published in a pamphlet questioning jeffersons leadership abilities. What he stated in looking at the traits of the philosopher, he looked at the character as timid. As whimsical, and having a lack of energy in action. Those are his words, questioning and energy in action if an emergency shout showed a rise. , what if something happens in the president ministers go dashing into his study only to find him sitting there and paling butterflies . Impaling butterflies . Jefferson wanted to be recognized as a man of science. He was interested in accumulating knowledge and was looking at plants, animals, the stars. Record. A meteorological he was interested in all of these things. But he did not have a butterfly collection, but im not sure where smith came up with this. It is something very delicate, and it has to be done slowly and carefully. I think that is the scene he is trying to paint. You to have to wonder and question this, because in the last line in his editorial is he said, the Great Washington was, thank god, no philosopher. He is bringing up this question, is this going to be someone that we want leaving the country . These were some of the issues with the president ial election, when they find that washington will step down. And that election, jefferson loses to john adams. There is another election coming up in the 1800s. I want to hit some of the issues , with thiso say how image that jefferson brings back from france, how it works for him both pro and con. Smith is still continuing to write, and one thing he begins to do is prowl through notes on the state of virginia and looking for things that jefferson has written their. Written there. He wants to demonstrate jeffersons. In order to do that, he brings up jefferson as a slaveholder. I took a lot of this, and i gleaned from this database of historic newspapers. Wasg some surveys, i looking for these issues and wondering which ones were catching notice, and what would they think of. I was curious about the issue of slavery. Smith does bring it up. I felt it interesting because he does not bring it up and quote from jeffersons racist remarks that are in notes from the state of virginia. He does quote some of those, but he does not spend a lot of time on them. When he brings up the issue of slavery, it is not a moral issue, but he wants to demonstrate jeffersons hyp ocracy as a slaveholder advocating emancipation. What he says is i want to warn you, my fellow southern federalists, you better read what this man is saying. He is promoting that you need to gradually need to emancipate your slaves, and think what this will do to us economically, and then what kind of political anarchy is it going to bring. This is the way he approached that issue, and he brought up haiti. Who do you think caused that . He says you can trace it right back to those french philosophers. And he was their friend . Jefferson. Better lookg you very closely at what this man is trying to do as far as the issue of slavery. The thing i found appearing in these newspaper editorials more than the slave issue, which would be our currents earn concern today, but what i found appearing more and more was yes, jefferson is a slave owner, but is he an atheist . That seemed to trouble people more. His name is associated with the theute for the virginia virginia statute for religious freedom. Some felt that he was setting out to obliterate the christian religion in the United States. Bibles,oing to burn the and those were some of the rumors. The did not understand that statute for religious freedom was to guarantee the strict separation of church and state. So, that religious practice could be open to any thatination and sect, and is what made its way into one of our bill of rights. There was a lot of misunderstanding on that. This is what i find coming up a lot. Smith does bring that up as well. These are some of the other issues. These are the issues coming up, but something next is another getting back to some visuals, this is a political caricature. We do not know the artist and the exact date, but probably 1798 or 1799. I think it may have been build up to that very heated election of 1800. What i find interesting, and i wanted to show you this. This one, i think it encapsulates all of these things i have been talking about that were appearing in newspapers. What is happening here . You have a figure, and i think you can tell, think of that portrait. I have to wonder, did the artist , had he seen Thomas Jefferson . I have tried to figure out how available this bust was to the public. I do not know how many might have been out there. I think, looking at the profile, you can tell that it is not exaggerated, it looks like jefferson. What this figure is doing is about to burn the constitution n this alter of gallic despotism, as it is being saved by the American Eagle and overlooked by the eye of providence. Even if you did not recognize the face, when you see the letter, you would have to know that this was Thomas Jefferson, because there was a scandal around this letter. He had written to his friend, who had been in the in been in the colonies during the revolution and been a supporter and gone back to italy. Jefferson is writing him a letter, in which he makes the mistake of saying, because the friend shows it to others, but he says he would not believe the direction is going. Jefferson is going. He says men who were the solomons and the council have thetheir heads shorn by harlot, england. And everyone knew he was referring to washington. And you do not attack the father of the country. Fun, but hething even his writing James Madison and james monro in saying, we need to talk about how we will handle this, because it caused a scandal. In 1797, it was back in the papers in the United States. Jefferson said they did not quote me up right, but if i mention it it will bring up all kinds of things, so he decides to be silent on the topic. It was something that followed him throughout the rest of his political career. Noputting this in, there is doubt this figure is supposed to be. As i say, here he is, kneeling in front of this alter of gallic despotism. It is almostlames, like the artist had look into jeffersons personal library. He did have some of the works listed there. ,e had some by William Godwin he even had that radical tom paine. These men were worked were looked at as radicals and having atheistic leanings. That is what is fueling the flames. You see the serpent twining his way around. It is a skull and cross bones across the bottom and the devil lurking in the background. Getting back to the figure and what it is telling us, he is and this is noe, longer a fashion item. Wouldshionable gentleman be wearing an overcoat or topcoat. Cates had been reserved for funerals, because everyone could fling on a black cape. Had been established as the color of mourning. Visual hint that jefferson this is the funeral of the constitution that what we are seeing, or what he is trying to do. Slender, i talked about the french cut. He is still very it is still very fashionable. Here is what we need to come down to. The shoes. Little ankle length. He calls them outi booties. Such ald shoes be notable item, but they were. These little ankle length booties were associated with some of the radicals in paris, and let me see if i can find it. The 7092 the in 1792 had appeared in france with his hair cut short and on powdered, and wearing shoes tied with strings. Strings, really of course you can see how the shoe had evolved. Why was it being picked up by the radicals, and young reformers in england. To us it would be like, why was this an issue . It was a signal of the working class, and the style had come up through that. A link withdered the more radical thinking. Revolutionary thinking. This was something that began to be associated with jefferson. However, i think he actually wore them. In his Accounting Records he was ordering booties. These were not his regular boots. A projefferson newspaper, a reference to jefferson appearing in the jefferson shoes and the jefferson hat. This was in support of a merrick and manufacture. If we elect them to of american manufacturer. If we elect him to the presidency, he will bring manufacturing to the american sure. The hat, i think it was the Common Ground hat round hat, kind of a wide, flat brim. It did begin to make its way into fashion. And,s a leveling of whether you were radical or not. It is interesting to see that trajectory. This is how he is being depicted. You see providential the text and. The constitution providential detection. The constitution will be saved. He does come into the present he the presidency in 1800. Cutler, a congressman from massachusetts, he says that the rumors are abounding, and he says what is to be the new order of things. First end of jeffersons year of office, king, a high federalist is writing about some of the changes. It appears that he is making himself familiar with the sovereign people. He has done away with the formal receptions that had been instituted by washington, and adams had followed in the pattern. An openferson, it is door policy. That change was taking place. Here is the other thing that is interesting. Is he often does appear in company in undress, sometimes with his slippers on. We get these rumblings about jefferson is dressing down. , theiggest of people came biggest incident, and the one you may have come across or seen it written about, it happened in the fall of 1804, the new british minister arrives and his name was anthony mary. What you are seeing anthony merry. What you are seeing is a glass negative in the library of congress and it is the original of the original of the portrait that was done in 1805 stewart was in washington. We do not know what happened to the original painting. We can get an example of the of how merry presented himself. Indignant. E he said that he went to prevent himself and his papers to the president , and he said that he i went in full official this is a report he is making to the foreign office. He said, i appeared in full official costume as the etiquette of my place required of such a formal introduction of a minister of Great Britain in Great Britain to the president of the United States. He was shocked by the president not nearly in undress, but standing in slippers, and wearing clothing of utterly slovenliness and indifference to appearance, and a state of negligence actually studied. Ie goes on to conclude that cannot doubt that the whole insult,s intended as an not to me personally, but the sovereign i recommend meant it i represented. As a diplomat, he is there to represent his sovereign. Merry was outraged. It caused some scrambling between secretary the secretary of state and james monroe. You getut the fires if a sense that anything is going on. Fortunately, britain was far more concerned with the potential of a napoleonic invasion than they were about what was happening to minister merry in washington among the americans. Nothing came of this except that merry refused to go to jeffersons dinner parties. Jefferson had to know. He had been a diplomat. He had to know that he was breaking protocol. The letters i have seen writing to mantra, he mightve realized nroe he two mo mightve realized that he pushed it too far. Newnew senator from hampshire said that when he was first introduced to the president he said that he soil wall anduch hope much soiled woolen hose. He was in mismatched clothes. I can certainly dress as well as the first officer of the land. He reported seeing him in the state of undress as well. How should a president look . There was no doubt in anybodys mind how the president should look. This is how the american president is supposed to look. Another fantastic portrait to send to our portrait gallery, this is the lansdowne version, fulllength of george washington, commissioned by william bingham, to be presented to lord lansdowne because he had been sympathetic to the american cause during the revolution. This became the image of washington. He did many copies of it, some altered a bit. There were a lot out there that the American Public could see and here we have washington in his black suit, probably silk velvet. He is still using a little bit of lace at the throat and a little bit at the wrist. That was mandatory in the french court and that was one of the first things that jefferson dashed out to buy. He is carrying the gentlemans dress sword. Black stockings. Appeared to be soak stockings. Silk stockings. He has buckles on issues. So appropriately dressed and powdered. So, a very formal it seemed to be accepted as a very appropriate look for the leader of the country. And the black or dark suit was certainly gaining in popularity at this time, as well. Washington didnt originate it, none of these men did. It was coming out of europe, but it was gaining in popularity. What the American People may have seen more of may have been this print by james heath. It was he was an english engraver. He took it from the portrait and it was printed in 1799 to commemorate washingtons death. But i have found so many references to it that i tend to feel that it apparently hung in a lot of american homes. I know some praise were being ts were when some prin being made of jefferson, one of them is advertised as it was going to be the same size as the portrait of washington though that you could hang the two together. Many things ive seen led me to be leave this was a very popular portrait of washington, something that the American Public would have known and been familiar with. Jefferson could wear the black suit because william plummer, who talked about when he first met him and was wearing these old, shabby clothes. Two years later in 1804, he received a dinner invitation to the president s house and wrote in his journal he was surprised. A new suit of black. Hose, shoes i dont know if they were the booties are not. And his hair highly powdered. So jefferson could dress up when he needed. Its interested and i dont have a pat answer for it. Why does sometimes he appear in this slovenly, unkempt look . Sometimes did he really appear almost as we could have seen the Great Washington. Apparently he could makes it in mix it in whichever way he needed to go for the time, whatever the occasion might be. Let me show you the last painted portrait of jefferson. Im skipping over quite a bit here, but this is the last painted portrait of jefferson by an artist named thomas sully. It was commissioned by the United States military academy at west point. Jefferson is well into retirement. Its in january of 1821 when he receives a letter from jerry mansfield. He was a professor of mathematics at the military academy. And hes writing to say, asking if jefferson would sit, well sit, they wanted a fulllength stunning portrait. Standing portrait. When he posed for the portrait, he said we wanted an appropriate memorial for your person that would ascend to prosperity and even went on to tell him its going to hang on the Academic Library alongside our portrait of the Great Washington. So jefferson had to know this had a chance and they already checked out this young thomas sully and knew he was an accomplished portrait artist out of philadelphia. This could be something that could be a good mark of his legacy. And he and adams were definitely thinking about legacy at this point in their life. He seemed confident. He says, we have rad engaged thomas we have already when kennymas sully, come . When can he come. As a result, why would they want jeffersons portrait . Mansfield goes on to say, because we look at washington, the founder of our country, he was also looking at the founder of the republic. It was because of his presidency, march of 1802, 16 march of 1802, that jefferson as president had signed a congressional order which established the military academy at west point. So, this is the reason they want the portrait. Somebody arrives in march of sully arrives in march of 1821. He takes some studies. And smallerait studies. He goes back to philadelphia and that is where he paints the portrait. But i think it interesting, and i know its hard to see in the slide, i was very fortunate when i was doing my research in that im still sober and have so much gratitude to david real, who is the director of the west point museum. And when i went up to do my initial research, he was very generous in letting me study this portrait very closely. And it was a great help because its a magnificent, i think, portrait, this fulllength. That now hangs in the Academic Library again at west point. But what hes wearing here is the black suit. Sully very skillfully makes it look as if its velvet. I dont know if you can see that. But what i would want to point out is that the color of the coat, the slope of the cut of the coat, the white v, the fact that its not pantaloons. This would tell me that sully is depicting him as what would have been fashionable and stylish in 1802, one west point was when west point was commissioned. And of course this would have been the fashion then late 18th century, spilling into the early part of the 19th when jefferson was president. What suits did jefferson still was this a suit that jefferson still have in his closet . I dont know that for sure, for certainly sully has painted him in what would have been appropriate for that time period. And if you look on down, however, he is wearing lace up booties. That has certainly stuck with him even as Daniel Webster , visited monticello in 1824, he said yes, he was wearing those shoes that bear his name. I dont think jefferson ever give them up. They were probably pretty comfortable. This is what he is seeing here. I do not have time to go into this magnificent coat. Looking through, it is an unpublished records of family letters. Coat i will be on a left tofersons jefferson. He was a polish patriot that would help very much during the revolution he was a military engineer. Vocation hef did get a certification and there is a statue of him on the grounds. A he had this, it could be obvious thing to be on the portrait. It is a magnificent piece. One thing that i want to point out, the setting that he gave this figure and that he, what is sorry, i think i hit the wrong button. Hello, lewis. If we could get this back. What i do want to point out is the column that he is standing beside. When sully was doing some of his studies. Jefferson was out in front of a crowd scene. In the final portrait that you are seeing. Ismoves him inside, and it an important location. It is just jefferson standing alone. Oh, whoops. Well we did know that jefferson is standing alone. Jefferson will be standing by this column. Information does he does make it sure does make sure it is marble. Around the bottom, you have the water leaf pattern that was around these columns, because these were the columns put in the new hall of representatives when it was rebuilt after the war of 1812. 1857, been burned after and today we call it natural statuary hall. Production ofl this painting, sully decides to put him in the house of representatives, the house of the people. , and let me telling conclude here in saying that, what was jefferson trying to do with this going back and forth in his clothing, and in 1804 he did crop his hair, and we are seeing his hair cropped and lightly powdered. What was he trying to do, it was this borderline radical wererance and booties that questionable, and yet he could appear elegant. Thatsay, the issue concerned him was going to be the direction of the republic, and it was going to stay a republic and not flip back into an autocratic regime. He started early on. He said, i have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that this is a good one. No fear that the result of our experiment, this new republic, will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master. I think that was one motives in his dress. And in what he was trying to do. How was this portrait received . We have one critique of it, and made by a high federalist who is a writer. This was James Fenimore cooper. In the summer of 1823, he is making a cruise of the hudson, and he is told that a must see is a portrait of jefferson. He is convinced that he must see it. A he makes interesting remarks when he is standing there in front of it, a cousin he said, as i stood there in front of because he said, as they stood there in front of sullys portrait, i no longer sawthe radical jefferson, i a gentleman Standing Bear in republicans standing there in republican civility. That is the lasting impression. I talked about this correspondence late in life with adams and jefferson. In one of the letters that jefferson is writing, he makes a two men and those are elder statesman and concerned about the direction of the country and how does their legacy support that direction. Jefferson makes a cavalier remark and says, i leave others done andwhat i have give me the place that they think i have occupied. The place jefferson occupied, where are we with that today. I think sometimes we may feel conflicted in issues that swirl around his name, the things he did and said. He was, a very complex man. I do think he was dedicated to seeing this great experiment survive. Let us open this up to some questions. [applause] said, she will have the microphone. There is one over here. Hello. That was a wonderful lecture. About Thomas Jefferson replacing Benjamin Franklin in paris. Wasd read somewhere that he viewed as a country bumpkin by the french after they had spent the nine years with franklin. If you cameing, across anything. Was he accepted by them as a gentleman as much as they . Gaye i tend to think that he was. I mentioned that adams was the one who said, they were viewed as raw americans. Jeffersons french was not perfect. He can set he said that he could read french, but cannot write well in french. He could i understand it. He had to be able to converse on some level in french. That is what they were speaking among the diplomats. I do not have the quotes in front of me, but i did begin to look about what others were saying about him. Lafayette, who he knew somewhat, and they came to know each other better, and he was riding back to washington saying he was doing a great job. ,ome other americans were there and governor morris said that he was very well excepted. Withcame lasting friends so he didee, establish good friendships. He and lafayettes aunt continued to correspond. I dont think he was looked at as a country bumpkin, but maybe he was raw american. , because felt pulled he knew he had to make his mark mark and do his job, but he was concerned. Want them tonot lose sight that i am representing a republican nation. There was that balance. He is following franklin, and franklin was a mentor. Franklin had arrived, and the second time he comes to paris and very gleefully writes about how he wore his hair coming up furut and his for cat cap, and franklin got away with that. Buying, clothes he was he was making a good appearance. He held to dinner parties. And some did come to those. Might be aumpkin little bit far, but he did want to appear as a republican american, so a very good question and observation. Thank you for the talk. Am i right that the first two paintings of jefferson sidebyside with adams were contemporaneous . Gaye they were. They were painted at approximately the same time. Jefferson sat in 1786 and they were completed in 1788. When adams sat for brown, i do not know. He received the portraits together. I was thinking about how it was perceived that jeffersons portrait had certain character and qualities of a study. It seems obvious that that is the case, that the facial features sidebyside are not nearly as modeled in jeffersons face. A resultif it is just of the fact that the artist had more time with adams, who was living in london . Gaye that is a good point. Brown had already done a portrait of adams. What portrait, we do not believe it is existence today. He already painted the entire adams family. Adams was connected to brown and jefferson together. He had already painted him once. So he may have had a little head start on this, where with jefferson, he only had couple of a couple of sittings. You could well be right about that. He was more familiar with adams. You spoke about a different matter member of the hemmings family, then i would have expected you to mention. I would appreciate your comments on how jefferson responded to the rumors that swirled about him, with respect to his illegitimate children. Gaye these rumors went into the newspapers and 1802, and his first term as president. At monticello he had a concubine named sally. I mentioned james hemmings, who was who was his her elder brother. Ly came as a ladies made maid. Maria did not come until later. Sally accompanied her over. She was in paris as well. The scandal was not put into print until 1802. How did jefferson handle that . He said practically nothing and denied it. Said, what you are hearing he is vague about it. He said what you are hearing is not true. Thand not comment further that. Of course, the family denied it, so he handled it very much like he did the scandal with the other letter and the scandal with tom paine. I do not sayf anything, it will go away. He did not make much comments at all. He did say in a letter he said, what you are hearing is not true. That was it. That is all we know from him. Question back here. Can you comment on the thements of jefferson appointment of jefferson to the t andh cohort and cour why adams did not get that appointment. I understand adam was adams character. Sive i understand that it is up to adams and not the french. The federalists were more or less in power at that time. Why would they not appoint adams over jefferson . An interesting thought. I think that adams was very pleased. He was honored by his appointments. By his appointment. I do not think it is a step down. He is being made his first emissary to the court of st. James, in london. He was nervous about this. He writes back to his family, he said this could work out quite well if i am excepted. Accepted. Here is he is very nervous. Here is this american who had now he isonial, and here as a diplomatic representative of these rake away colonies. He was nervous up about these breakaway colonies. He was nervous about how he would be received. I think congress realized that this was a critical appointment. How well did they know the personalities . But they made the right choices. In answering this question, i think jefferson did manage and worked well at the french court. Adams worked very well at the english court, and he did pull it off. He did fairly well. I do not know if jefferson would have. Jefferson was the anglophobe. He had some resentment against the british. It really was a good choice, but did congress realize what they were doing . It was an honor for adams to be sent to london. I do not think he looked at it as being passed over. That would be my impression. Thank you very much for your insight, it sounds like there is you have done a lot of research. Im interested in the pictures. Left hand jeffersons on this . It looks like he is holding something, and it looks like his left hand is longer, his arm is longer. Gaye i see what you are talking about. I think it does, and i think what is giving that look is the document that he is holding. I think sully is skilled with his use of light, because the most light is on jeffersons face. But then you can follow the lights down and it touches the edge of that document before it takes you on down the column. He is giving you information there. When i was privileged to study this painting closely at the museum, i did look at it carefully. You cannot make out the writing. We question, it was it the declaration of independence, or the commission from congress that was creating the academy . That can be an interpretation. I think sully is pointing to that document. It is given some importance. Isould say, so maybe it representing the founding of west point. Picture of the dapper jefferson, there is a statue. Gaye thank you for bringing that up. Usually that implies something. Gaye i was into this when i thought, oh my goodness, i did not talk out what about one of the most important things in the brown portrait. Here is jefferson, and i think this is important. Here is jefferson looking european and elegant, but he was adamant about that he was a good republican. O, what is over his shoulder i dont know if i can get back to that or not. I am not very skilled at this. Let me see if i can go backward. Who is standing there over his shoulder . It is the goddess of liberty. This was a very important symbol. It went back to the classical world, and everyone what have recognized her because of her dress and because she is holding the staff with the cat on it. It was very popular in the late 18th century. Doings when winkleman is his excavations. It was known that there was a roman ceremony in which either a captain captive or a slave was going to be given liberty, there was a ceremony in which they would be touched with a cat, and then handed the which said which signified their liberty. Important symbol in the french revolution. Especially that staff and the across itl come occasionally in the iconography from our revolution and following. It is very important. I think it creates a wonderful tension in this portrait. You see jefferson looking so european, that he could operate there, that you do not forget that here is the symbol of liberty, republican liberty over his shoulder. Did jefferson say to mather brown, put the statue in here . Or did brown suggest to add this in. It is critical for this portrait. Thank you for bringing that up, because i had moved on when i realized i did not point that out. That, this was not a good likeness. I feel this is still a beautiful painting. The next time you are in the natural the National Portrait gallery, look at it. It is a beautiful painting and a rich painting. It is important, even if it is not a good likeness. Jeffersons responsibilities, but do not forget he is a republican. Thank you very much. You cracked the window slightly at the beginning of your talk about hamilton and the play. A quick question. Im a history teacher, so you can sometimes get overly invested in these characters. When you think about jefferson, and the way he is portrayed in the play, that is probably the and he isme, portrayed as a really flamboyant person with flamboyant dress. To throw you a softball, what era thoughts on the way he was portrayed in the play with all of your thoughts . I enjoyed it. But i thought, wow. I always thought the first rap star that was playing, that is the one i am familiar with. Ive seen clips of the soundtrack and have had and have had the soundtrack. He was good. Was come on, jefferson never quite edgy and out there. No, i do not know that they really captured jefferson. I thought that he was more of a geek. , that was myrapper impression the first time i saw clips. I still need to see the play. Or the musical on stage. It is a great work and a great piece. The thing about it it does what theater should do. It made us interesting about interested in these things and issues. Even though i do not agree with their interpretation of jefferson, but i think they gave known edge that i do not he ever had. I do not think that he was papers here that is often a prop. And a very fine portrait. You can see this is a statesman. And it is not ledgible. The only thing you can read is his name and the date. And that is it. It does tell thus is what hes doing. Its another prop for Business Information but like i say, its just liberty to see the main pivotal feature there. Okay. Thank you again, very much. Youre watching American History 3. The first of whom is pete stober in minnesotas r8th district, a Police Officer before being elected to the st. Louis county commission. Early in his career he played professional hockey and spoke with us about lessons from that sport. Teamwork. Perseverance, hard work is always the equalizer and for me, you know many people never gave me a chance not only to play divisi division. How long did you play for . I played three years and retired due to an injury to my neck. The other republican is jim hakadorn, succeeds democrat. She worked at st. Judes fed medical and is the miss omar became an american citizen in 2000. And that activity led to her election to the minnesota house of representatives, in 2016. Democrat dean phillips was less than a year old had his father was killed. His mother later married the son of abigail van buren, known for her dear abby advise column. New congress, new leaders. Watch it all on cspan. Next, author of allure battle a history of how wars are won and lost looks at ways historians evaluated war victories and defeats and challenges many conclusions. This onehour talk was part of a conference hosted by the National World war ii museum. Its my pleasure to ask the senior