Although Jefferson feared the potential power of a standing army, the contributors point out he also contended that "whatever enables us to go to war, secures our peace." They take a broad view of Jeffersonian security policy, exploring the ways in which West Point bolstered America's defenses against foreign aggression and domestic threats to the ideals of the American Revolution." "Thomas Jefferson's Military Academy should appeal to scholars and general readers interested in military history and the founding generation."--BOOK JACKET.

Although Thomas Jefferson's status as a champion of education is widely known, the essays in Light and Liberty make clear that his efforts to enlighten fellow citizens reflected not only a love of learning but also a love of freedom. Using as a starting point Jefferson's conviction that knowledge is the basis of republican self-government, the contributors examine his educational projects not as disparate attempts to advance knowledge for its own sake but instead as a result of his unyielding, almost obsessive desire to bolster Americans' republican virtues and values. Whether by establishing schools or through broader, extra-institutional efforts to disseminate knowledge, Jefferson's endeavors embraced his vision for a dynamic and meritocratic America. He aimed not only to provide Americans with the ability to govern themselves and participate in the government of others but also to influence Americans to remake their society in accordance with his own principles. Written in clear and accessible prose, Light and Liberty reveals the startling diversity of Jefferson's attempts to rid citizens of the ignorance and vice that, in the view of Jefferson and many contemporaries, had corroded and corrupted once-great civilizations. Never wavering from his faith that "knowledge is power," Jefferson embraced an expansive understanding of education as the foundation for a republic of free and responsible individuals who understood their rights and stood ready to defend them.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1888 edition. Excerpt: ... College, District of Columbia, and Hasseleff in Europe. Since the sketch was written we have considerably increased our endowment. It is about as follows: Grounds, buildings, apparatus, etc $350,000 In-treated foods 260,000 Valued below market rates 600,000 "The increase of invested funds within the past twelve months has been $85,000." CHAPTER XXI. VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE.1 The Virginia Military Institute was established and is supported by the State of Virginia. It was organized in 1839 as a State military and scientific school, upon the basis of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and has been in successful operation for fortyseven years. The cadets admitted consist of two classes, State and pay cadets. The Institute Supplies to the State cadet his board and tuition; and, in consideration thereof, he is required to teach two years after graduation. The pay cadet is at his own expense, which averages $360 per academic year, for every charge, including clothing. The State cadets are selected from those who are unable to pay their own expenses. The State makes an annual appropriation for the support of the Virginia Military Institute of $30,000. This sum supplies tuition aud board to the State cadets without charge, and supports--by the aid of the 1 Reprinted from "The South" June, 1887. A brief but excellent sketch of the Virginia Military Institute may be found in the report of the superintendent of public instruction (Dr. W. H. Euffner) of Virginia for 1872. A good, sketch may also be found in the official register of the institute for 1886-87. The revised regulations for the Virginia Military Institute describe in minute detail its martial discipline and interior administration. The introductory...

History of West Point, the United States Military Academy, and Thomas Jefferson's role in its creation and founding.

In The Mind of Thomas Jefferson, one of the foremost historians of Jefferson and his time, Peter S. Onuf, offers a collection of essays that seeks to historicize one of our nation’s founding fathers. Challenging current attempts to appropriate Jefferson to serve all manner of contemporary political agendas, Onuf argues that historians must look at Jefferson’s language and life within the context of his own place and time. In this effort to restore Jefferson to his own world, Onuf reconnects that world to ours, providing a fresh look at the distinction between private and public aspects of his character that Jefferson himself took such pains to cultivate. Breaking through Jefferson’s alleged opacity as a person by collapsing the contemporary interpretive frameworks often used to diagnose his psychological and moral states, Onuf raises new questions about what was on Jefferson’s mind as he looked toward an uncertain future. Particularly striking is his argument that Jefferson’s character as a moralist is nowhere more evident, ironically, than in his engagement with the institution of slavery. At once reinvigorating the tension between past and present and offering a new way to view our connection to one of our nation’s founders, The Mind of Thomas Jefferson helps redefine both Jefferson and his time and American nationhood.