The second volume in this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography tells the story of the eventful middle years in the life of Thomas Jefferson: his ministry to France in the years just before the French Revolution and during the early stages of that conflict; his service as secretary of state in President George Washington's first cabinet; the crucial period of his first differences with Alexander Hamilton and the beginnings of his long struggle with the Federalists. .

Dumas Malone's classic six-volume biography Jefferson and His Time was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history and became the standard work on Jefferson's life. Volume 2. Jefferson and the Rights of Man In this second volume, Malone recounts the eventful middle years of Jefferson's life, beginning with the European mission and Jefferson's ministry to France and continuing through his role in the French revolution and his memorable service as secretary of state in the first cabinet of George Washington.