Jefferson was an enigma. Many of his actions did not reflect what he was famous for writing about during his lifetime. The most glaring contradiction is his ownership of slaves even though he wrote "All Men Are Created Equal" in the Declaration of Independence. You could excuse it away as "Oh well all wealthy southern planters owned slaves. It was just the way things were" and there might be some validity to that justification.
Another strange contradiction was his hatred of a strong federal government. Remember, he was the leader of the D-R party who were suspicious of too much power in the hands of a few leaders. They favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution to make sure people did not just do whatever was convenient while in power. Trouble is...when he became president he acquired the Louisiana Territory for $15 Million from France even though the Constitution does not mention anything about the president having power to purchase land from a foreign country. He broke his own rule!
Perhaps the most interesting part of his life was his family. His wife died after giving birth and soon after he left for France to be our ambassador. There he had a relationship with a married woman and did not even pick up his daughter when she arrived in France to visit him. Read these letters he wrote to his daughter while he was in France. What is your reaction to his fatherly advice?
I think that it is interesting how Thomas Jefferson was so big on being proper. It was like he wanted to know everything his daughter, Patsy, was doing yet he did it in a dictating way. He even wrote a full schedule for her to follow. Jefferson told her what to wear, what to read, how to write and when, pretty much how to live life. Perhaps because of the loss of his wife, Jefferson wanted his daughter to live up to his expectations. Maybe that's how everyone lived back then (emphasizing manners and etiquette-like George Washington), but I didn't think Jefferson would be that strict. (106)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Jefferson's letters to his daughter, man am i thankful for the era i was born in! My question is why did he care so much about all these rules and expectations this poor girl had to live up to? It's not like he went out of his way to even visit her at all, so why should she go out of her way to impress her father by following every strict rule he gave. I agree she should have been respectful to the woman caring for her, but every detail he put in there for her to follow was outrageous. If Jefferson really wanted her to abide by his rules, he should have set a good example by abiding by the rules of the Constitution. I think Jefferson is all about rules to follow until it comes time for him to follow them.Sounds like a hypocrite to me. (151)
ReplyDeleteMy first immediate reaction to the letters that Thomas Jefferson wrote to his daughter is just wow. I am very thankful that my dad is not so strict and proper like Thomas Jefferson was. I agree with some of the things that he wrote like being respectful and everything, but some of it was just way too detailed about every hour of her life. I mean the schedule that he wrote for her to follow was absolutely crazy. Everything he listed was important, but that girl needed to enjoy her childhood! He might have just been giving fatherly advice, but he wanted everything that she did to be proper and pretty much perfect. Jefferson left his daughter and honestly to me didn't make much effort to visit her anything. If I was his daughter I wouldn't want to follow my dad's strict rules when the only thing he did to show his love to me was write some letters that just ordered me around and told me exactly how to live my life. (173)
ReplyDeleteI thought this was interesting how Thomas Jefferson would write to his daughter in a very commanding way. He even hints that to earn his affection and love she had to follow his rules and do everything properly. His schedule that he wrote out for her was very strict, and it didn't give her any time to do things she wanted to do. He also told her how to dress which I'm pretty sure even back then fathers usually didn't tell their daughters how to dress. There is also the thing where he thought she should act perfect from sunrise to sunset. I don't see any time where she could just relax and take a break. If I was his daughter I would feel overwhelmed and upset, because its not like he actually was apart of her life or knew what was going on.(144)
ReplyDeleteAll I have to say is: Wow. At one point (aka back in 1st grade) I thought that Thomas Jefferson was the greatest man who ever lived! I even did that year's biggest project on him. But now I just see him as the man who just caused all the problems. Jefferson was not only going against EVERYTHING the federalists had to say, he was going against Washington himself. These letters don't change my view at all! If my dad was that strict, I would have ran away from home. The fact that he had his daughter from 10 until bedtime doing stuff in a strict schedule. It actually kind of makes sense, since he has a strict view of the constitution.(122)
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though Thomas Jefferson was trying to be a good father. The letters seem to also imply that he was very lonely. If you were by yourself wouldn't you want to have communication with family? His daughter probably feels the total opposite. She might have thought, "Why does Dad keep on nagging me with his boring schedule and advice that seems pointless? I think I won't write to him anymore." Jefferson was very sad that his own daughter wouldn't write to him. I feel sorry for him. Jefferson might have been a bit nagging, but he just wanted someone to keep him company.(105)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a rich man who wants the best for his child, but doesn't understand that trying to control what she does from a day to day basis is only going to drive her away. But I think we have to remember that this whole culture of teens and below has not been around long,not only that but also that Patty was a girl. This means that she is looked at by men as more of property than a wife. Today we look back and go "Wow, what a jerk Thomas Jefferson was," but what he really was doing was giving dating. If I were to translate from Ye' Ol' times it would look something more like."dear Patty, I love you and want you to know that I put you with who you are now because I thought it would be harder for you to be with me. But I hope you can see that I love you by hiring tutors to teach you. Please be good to the lady that is taking care of you and try to look at her as you would your mother. I have a couple of ideas of what you should do with your time like drawing, writing, and music. If you would mind keeping in touch with me and some of your relatives I'd really appreciate it. Try to be a good writier like your old man. I'monly saying these things because I want the best for you. Love your daddy."
ReplyDeleteThe other would look like:
" Dear Patty, I noticed you aren't writing. I hope your doing a little of what I asked. I also want to help tell you how to wear clothes. You should be fashionable when you are with people or not. And keep them clean and up to date. Guys dig a girl who stays clean and fashionable! Tell Mrs. Hopkinson thanks and be good to here. Remember that daddy loves you."
At least that's what I got out of these letters. I think he gave some good advice but was a little pushy with his representation of what he expected. (354)
( Sorry for the long feedback this week)
Wow, Jefferson was obsessed with his daughter’s life! I believe that she will learn that men won’t want her if she’s messy for herself not having her dad tell her. It also seems like Jefferson was defiantly over protective of his daughter and tried to like live her life. I think that once Patty leaves Jefferson’s house she will probably feel free which will lead here probably to failure, messiness, and laziness. However I think it was wise for Jefferson to try to still be involved while he was not with his daughter because if he wasn’t she would probably get messed up faster and feel like she has no daughter.
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DeleteI am so glad that the expectations back then don’t apply now! Thomas Jefferson wanted his daughter to look all proper-like from the time she woke up until the time she went to bed. I absolutely could not do this. I thought it was pretty strange that Jefferson had a whole schedule laid out for his daughter. Having the same routine every day would get so boring. But I think that Jefferson really did love Patsy. If he didn’t, he would not have bothered to write these letters. Because his wife died, Patsy and his other daughters were all he had and he just wanted to stay in contact with them. Yeah, he did this in a strict manner, but overall I think he was looking out for the well being of Patsy. {133}
ReplyDelete~Hey_its_Mo!:)~
Like others before me have said, I am so very thankful culture has changed throughout the times. While Jefferson may seem strict on his daughter, I think he is just doing this to help her. Since he couldn’t live with her and watch over her, it makes since that he would want to know what she’s doing. Although as an eleven year old I do not think that I would want to have all the responsibility that she had. However, it is very clear that Thomas Jefferson loved his daughter and just did all of this because he cared for her and wanted to protect her.
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History sure doesn’t tell us the whole truth about what happened in the past. If I didn’t have the chance to do this blog, then I wouldn’t have learned all these interesting things that aren’t told in the history books. Thomas Jefferson tried to make his daughter into himself and that isn’t possible. He wanted her to be the bright young lady that she could be, but he was pushing her too far, when he wasn’t even on the same continent as her. He demanded that she write to write to him, send him copies of her pictures, and follow the schedule that he made for her. Although he was strict he wanted her to be properly dressed at all times. He also wanted her to be obedient and respectful to her elders at all times. So over all, even though he was strict I think he knew what her potential was and wanted her to achieve it. (158)
ReplyDeleteI have heard a lot of things about Thomas Jefferson's political life but I never had known he had family problems. I would have never guessed a smart man like him would be as depressed as he was. He sounds like e us trying to be too much of a good father that he is too strict. He obliviously has high standerds that weren't met. He probably would of been mad that he wasn't getting letters from Patsy. If he wanted to be a great father he should be there for her not just write her a letter every month. I would be angry if my dad gave me a schedule and a dress code and all that stuff if he wasn't with me so I would know to trust him. I give Thomas Jefferson credit for trying to be good but it didn't should like he was fair. (149)
ReplyDeleteThomas Jefferson was a very strict father to his daughter Patsy. Patsy had a very controlled life by her father. He wrote to her life instructions. He told her what to do everyday, what to wear, what to read, how much to practice, what instruments to play, and who to write to. He had a list of family members that she had to write to. Also, he made her check how to spell any word she was unsure about. He made her look up every word in the dictionary. That would've been a nightmare for me if I was controlled like that. (112)
ReplyDeleteIt is very odd how the parents treated there daughters. They treated them like a job. The girls had to do all sorts of proper things like dance, draw, write to people, and a lot of other things. The kind of dance they did was not like how we dance today. They did slow dance and was very proper. Thomas Jefferson was very exact on how a schedule worked. If his daughter had to be somewhere at 2 and got there at 2:05 Thomas Jefferson would have gotten so mad. He was just trying to fill in for the mom that died.(102)
ReplyDeleteMy honest reaction was to feel sorry for this poor girl who has to earn her father's affection. If my dad put me under those rules, I wouldn't have been loved by my father. I think that he was very strict but i also have to remind myself that this was a different century, where everyone was thought to be 'proper'. If I was put under a schedule, like Patsy I would rebel 100% because that is just too many strict rules for me. I would have tried for my father but wouldn't have succeded. I think that Thomas does love her, but is just a rule follower. There is another problem with this, God loves us unconditionally even if we mess up, we don't have to be perfect for him to love us. (133)
ReplyDeletei just love you profile pic :)
DeleteThomas Jefferson seems to really care about all the things that his oldest daughter does. He had her booked for the entire day with activities to do. Also I noticed that he was very sad that he did not receive letters from his daughter even though he specifically asked her to.51 He spent a lot of time telling her that he wanted her to spell every word she wrote to him perfectly. 72. Thomas Jefferson probally wanted his daughter to be the best she could at every thing she did. I bet he looked every week to see if she had sent him a letter, and it is sad to think none ever came.(114)
ReplyDeleteWell, for some reason I have already read some of the letters before so I kinda already knew about how Jefferson felt about modesty. If you look at these letters from my perspective, 200 year after they were written, I think you have got to be kidding me. I would never even take into consideration wearing the whole 1800s look(unless of course that look came back into style then I would totally try it out!), but if you put yourself in his daughter’s shoes I would probably see it as my father still trying to be an actual father while he away for the time being. What I am wondering is if Thomas Jefferson was this much of a control freak when he wasn’t away at France. What was he like when he was actually at home? Did he like stalk his daughter? I’m curious. He seems like he has to know and oversee everything that is happening so him being away in France probably didn’t help his situation. (169)
ReplyDeleteWell after reading this, I am glad he was not my dad and born in that time period. I thought it was interesting how Thomas Jefferson had all these big expectations for his daughter, Patsy. It was like he needed to everything she was doing. She even had to follow a schedule that he had set out for her. Thomas Jefferson was so proper and wanted his daughter to follow in his footsteps. I do agree about what he said about being respectful and the other good stuff, but some stuff was just ridiculous. The schedule had no purpose. I do not think she followed every last thing he had on there. I also thought he was very strict when she did not write back and all the other stuff she was supposed to do. And I found it quite strange that he was telling his daughter what to dress. If I was his daughter, I probably would not follow his rules. I do not think he should rule my life. (172)
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the comments before mine, I realized that many people are taking his “rules” for his daughter a bit harshly. They say that he’s trying to “rule her life” or whatever. But honestly, you have to take into consideration what time period these letters were composed in. Most parents now-a-days are pretty strict about certain things. Just like he told her ‘write letters on these days’ and ‘practice music at this time’, it’s basically the same thing as ‘do your homework before 9’ or ‘no sleepovers on school nights.’ I don’t think he was trying to “control” her. But, do you think if your dad was the PRESIDENT, you would have a few rules and regulations too? Just as Michelle Obama is plastered all over Disney Channel trying to inspire kids to recycle and such, the presidential family is an example that everyone in the country looks to. If you were president, you wouldn’t want your whole political career to be ruined by something your child did. To me, this was just typical 1700s behavior, and nothing to be crazed about. (185)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading the letters, the first one he wrote to his first daughter was the worst. The second letter was even harsh. The first letter was restricting her from doing anything. The second was saying that I expect you to do these things because you haven’t been doing anything I have told you. I know that he was going under depression but this is just too harsh. I feel like the schedule that he sent was to make sure that his first born would become the perfect child and that the others would just follow his footsteps. Overall the letters make Jefferson look bad. (106)
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