Jefferson’s Response to the Unfair Attacks on his Religion in the 1800 Election

Jefferson biographer Merrill Peterson comments on how Jefferson took this criticism. Jefferson was “personally hurt by the smear campaign” but thought it was reaction to his position of disestablishment which northerners had yet to embrace as Virginia had done. Note how Jefferson dealt with this unjustified criticism; he trusted that …

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Jefferson and the French Connection

Merrill Peterson notes that Jefferson’s ties to France were a big part of the problem.[1] He writes: “Infidelity, Jacobinism, Disunionism—these were the most dreadful evils the people had to fear from the lean and crafty Virginian.” “The source of Jeffferson’s malignity was French philosophy. He was a visionary theorist, ‘a …

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