The concluding volume of this six part biography focuses on Jefferson's accomplishments after his retirement from the presidency

This is the third volume in Dumas Malone's monumental multi-volume biography of Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson and His Time.

Excerpt from Jefferson and His Time, Vol. 3: Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty In many respects the issue between Jefferson and Adams was unreal, but between Jefferson and the High Federalists it was sharp, and in the end they defeated themselves by their own excesses. The most important thing that he did was to define this struggle as something more than one between parties, to emphasize the fact that human free dom itself was at stake. This he did in private, not public, and political considerations were mingled with philosophical in his own mind; but by encouraging his own followers to battle in the name of freedom he served both his party and his country well. The times called for the faith and patience with which he was so abundantly supplied. He remained a fitting symbol of republicanism, national independence, and individual liberties, for he embodied the spirit of 1776 as well as any civilian could. Indeed, it may be contended that his importance as a party leader in these bitter years, as in those immediately preceding them, lay less in what he did than in what he was. It should be noted, however, that the image of him which the Federalists sought to impress on the public mind was far from a good likeness of the man himself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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. 1903 edition. Excerpt: ...in the matter of the navy, he advised the building of a sufficient number of vessels to protect our commerce in the Mediterranean. On account of suggestions like those he made in Paris and during his secretaryship, John Adams called Jefferson the father of the American navy. CHAPTER XXVII HIS SERVICES ABROAD What did Mr. Jefferson do for his country while minister to France? To answer fully would certainly be tedious and would probably be useless. Whale-oil, salted fish, tobacco, rice, and salted pork are important items in commerce, having much to do with the balance of trade and the prosperity of individuals and of nations; but when the reader is assured that Mr. Jefferson struggled long, hard, and with partial success to prevail upon France to be lenient with us upon those subjects, he has perhaps learned as much as he cares to know. The grip of the protectionist, the monopolist, was almost irresistible on the France of that day, as it is on America now, and Mr. Jefferson's task was well-nigh hopeless. Yet, by great perseverance and the bringing to bear of the pressure of Lafayette and other personal friends, he did manage to loosen the iron bands a little. Whale-oil and salt fish from New England began to have better treatment, so did rice from the South. For tobacco he was not able to do so much, that article of commerce being in the control of the Farmers-General, a corporation which held France by the throat. The sum and substance of it all was that Mr. Jefferson succeeded in getting the United States treated as the most-favored nation. France not only yielded to him better trade relations than she had ever conceded to Dr. Franklin, but she agreed to put her consular arrangements with us on a far more satisfactory basis than Dr....