Thomas Jefferson: Author of America

Thomas Jefferson: Author of America
	Cover of the first edition
Author	Christopher Hitchens
Language	English
Subject	Thomas Jefferson
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	2005
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	188
ISBN	0-06-059896-4
OCLC	60525341
Dewey Decimal	973.4/6092 B 22
LC Class	E332 .H66 2005b

AuthorChristopher Hitchens

LanguageEnglish

SubjectThomas Jefferson

PublisherHarperCollins

Thomas Jefferson: Author of America is a short 2005 biography of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (1801–1809) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), by author, journalist and literary critic Christopher Hitchens.

It was released as a part of HarperCollins' Eminent Lives series of "brief biographies by distinguished authors on canonical figures."^[1]^[2]

The book is dedicated to founder and retired CEO of C-SPAN, Brian Lamb: "For Brian Lamb, a great Virginian and a great American, a fine democrat as well as a good republican, who has striven for an educated electorate"^[3]

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[2]

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v t e Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) 2nd Vice President of the United States (1797–1801) 1st United States Secretary of State (1790–1793) U.S. Minister to France (1785–1789) Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation (1783–1784) 2nd Governor of Virginia (1779–1781) Delegate to the Second Continental Congress (1775–1776) Delegate, Fifth Virginia Convention (1776)
Founding documents of the United States	A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774) Olive Branch Petition (1775) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775) Declaration of Independence (1776) Committee of Five physical history "All men are created equal" "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" "Consent of the governed" Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786) Land Ordinance of 1784 Land Ordinance of 1785
French Revolution	Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
Presidency	Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Corps of Discovery Lewis and Clark Expedition Empire of Liberty Dunbar and Hunter Expedition Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake–Leopard affair Non-Intercourse Act First Barbary War Native American policy Burr conspiracy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses 1801 1802 1805 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments
Other noted accomplishments	Early life and career Franco-American alliance Founder, University of Virginia history Ratification Day Anti-Administration party Democratic-Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy Coinage, Weights, and Measures report (1790) State Department Library Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1801) Jefferson disk Swivel chair Megalonyx
Jeffersonian architecture	Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Jefferson Hall Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades
Other writings	The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Notes on the State of Virginia (1785) Pyratical states of Barbary proposals (1786) European journey memorandums (1787) Indian removal letters The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (c. 1819) Jefferson manuscript collection Founders Online
Related	American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society Founding Fathers of the United States Historical reputation Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Relationship with Alexander Hamilton Sally Hemings Jefferson–Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Shadwell plantation Tuckahoe plantation Tufton Farm Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia) Virginia dynasty Ward republic
Elections	Presidential elections 1796 1800 1804
Legacy and memorials	Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Jefferson River Jefferson Territory Fort Jefferson Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Square Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Statues Karl Bitter Louisville University of Virginia David d'Angers Jefferson Literary and Debating Society Thomas Jefferson Foundation Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Peaks and mountains Jefferson Rock Other placenames Jefferson–Jackson Day Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two-dollar bill Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar 250th Anniversary silver dollar Semiquincentennial coinage U.S. postage stamps
Cultural depictions	Alexander Hamilton (1931 film) Declaration of Independence (1938 film) The Patriots (1946 play) 1776 1969 musical 1972 film Jefferson in Paris (1995 film) Thomas Jefferson (1997 film) The Revolution (2006 miniseries) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Jefferson's Garden (2015 play) Hamilton (2015 musical) Thomas Jefferson (2025 miniseries) The American Revolution (2025 miniseries) Wine bottles controversy Cultural depictions of Sally Hemings
Family	Martha Jefferson (wife) Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter) Mary Jefferson Eppes (daughter) Beverley Hemings (son) Harriet Hemings (daughter) Madison Hemings (son) Eston Hemings (son) Thomas J. Randolph (grandson) George W. Randolph (grandson) Ellen Randolph Coolidge (granddaughter) Cornelia Jefferson Randolph (granddaughter) Francis Eppes (grandson) John Wayles Jefferson (grandson) Sarah N. Randolph (great-granddaughter) T. Jefferson Coolidge (great-grandson) Frederick Madison Roberts (great-grandson) Peter Jefferson (father) Jane Randolph Jefferson (mother) Lucy Jefferson Lewis (sister) Randolph Jefferson (brother) Peter Carr (nephew) Samuel Carr (nephew) Dabney Carr (nephew) Dabney S. Carr (grand-nephew) Isham Randolph (grandfather) William Randolph (great-grandfather) Henry Soane (2nd great-grandfather)
← John Adams James Madison → ← John Adams Aaron Burr → Category

v t e Christopher Hitchens
Bibliography Political views
Works written	Imperial Spoils Blood, Class, and Nostalgia The Missionary Position Prepared for the Worst No One Left to Lie To Unacknowledged Legislation Letters to a Young Contrarian The Trial of Henry Kissinger Why Orwell Matters A Long Short War Love, Poverty, and War Thomas Jefferson: Author of America Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man": A Biography God Is Not Great Hitch-22 Arguably Mortality
Works edited	Blaming the Victims The Portable Atheist
Other	57901 Hitchens Hell's Angel The Trials of Henry Kissinger Peter Hitchens Hitchens's razor

Thomas Jefferson: Author of America

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