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George Washington

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{{Officeholder
|name=George Washington
|image=Gilbert-Stuart 1795 Washington-portrait.jpg
|party=None
|spouse=[[Martha Dandridge Custis Washington]]
|religion=[[Anglican]]/[[Episcopalian]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=1st
|terms=April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
|vp=[[John Adams]]
|preceded=None
|former=y
|succeeded=[[John Adams]]
}}

|military=y
|allegiance=[[Great Britain]], [[The United States]]
|branch=Continental Army United States Army
|serviceyears=Continental Army: 1775–1783 U. S. Army: 1798–1799
|rank= Lieutenant General; General of the Armies of the United States
|commands=Continental Army United States Army
|battles=[[French and Indian War]] [[American Revolutionary War]]
|awards=Congressional Gold Medal, Thanks of Congress
}}
'''George Washington''' (1732-1799) was the first [[President of the United States]] (1789-1797) and commander in chief of the [[Continental Army]]. He was the dominant military and political leader of the new [[United States of America]] from 1775-1797, leading the American victory over [[Britain]] in the [[American Revolution]] and was the unanimous choice to serve as president. Along with [[Abraham Lincoln]], he has become the foremost icon of American nationalism and a model of the ideal [[Republicanism|republican]] union of political and military leadership.
{{cquote|'''The Constitution is the guide, which I never will abandon. — George Washington'''}}
Washington endeared himself to Americans by his efforts to destroy monarchy and aristocracy. The archetype of Washington as the republican champion has become part of America's collective idealization of faith-based citizenship, and is immortalized in New York City's [[Washington Square Arch]], which depicts Washington the soldier on the left, and Washington the statesman on the right.<ref>For photographic images, see http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV046WashingtonSquareArch.htm</ref>

==Early Life==
Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732, at Wakefield, [[Virginia]] to Augustine Washington, a wealthy planter, and his second wife, Mary Ball. He was home schooled by his father and older half-brother Lawrence, and in later life read widely. His interests were in land, in surveying, and in farming. His father died in 1743, and George lived with Lawrence. Lawrence died in 1752. Washington leased the estate from Lawrence's widow until her death in 1761, when he inherited the plantation and joined the local upper class.

===Military experience===
In 1748 he joined an expedition sent out by the sixth Lord Fairfax to survey his lands in the Shenandoah Valley. Washington was eager for a military career. The first step came in October 1753 when the lieutenant governor Robert Dinwiddie sent him to warn the French at Presque Isle (now Erie, PA.) and Fort Le Boeuf (now Waterford, PA) against making further encroachments on British-claimed territory in the Ohio Valley. The 11-week journey, some 500 miles (800 km) round-trip, was dangerous, as Washington evaded hostile [[Native American|Indians]] (allied to the French). He reported back that a frontier conflict was imminent with [[France]].
[[Image:GW1755.jpg|thumb|220px|Colonel George Washington of the Virginia militia]]
====French and Indian War====
In April 1754 Washington returned to the Ohio country as lieutenant colonel in command of a volunteer force with the mission of checking the French and protecting an expedition sent out by the Ohio Company of Virginia to build a fort on the Ohio River, at what is now [[Pittsburgh]]. Washington discovered the French had reached the site first. They called it Fort Duquesne. In May he fired on a party of French soldiers, killing ten, including their leader, Jumonville. The French now could cite the attack on Jumonville as a cause of war. This was Washington's first battle and the first engagement of the [[French and Indian War]], which became a major war in Europe.

On July 3 at Fort Necessity he was attacked by superior French forces led by Jumonville's brother and was compelled to surrender. The terms offered were generous and Washington returned to Virginia. Washington was criticized for his imprudence, and relations cooled between him and Dinwiddie.

To meet the French threat the British sent Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock and two under-strength regiments of British regulars to Virginia. Washington served as aide-de-camp to Braddock on his expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. Braddock was ambushed and killed by the French and Indians in July; Washington displayed courage and initiative in halting the rout that followed.

In August 1755 he was promoted to colonel and made commander in chief of all Virginia forces, responsible for the defense of a 350-mile (560-km) frontier against French and Indian attack. It was a difficult challenge militarily, but Washington met it and learned the administrative needs of commanding a major force. He was on the defensive throughout 1756 and 1757, but in 1758 he accompanied Brig. Gen. John Forbes and a large force to attack Fort Duquesne. They discovered the French had left and there was no combat. Washington returned to Virginia and resigned his commission at the end of 1758. For him, as for Virginia, the French and Indian War was over. He had been bloodied in combat, was an acknowledged leader of Virginia soldiers, knew the frontier better than anyone, and had a sterling reputation. On the other hand he had demonstrated no remarkable strategic or tactical skills, and had displayed rashness in action against Jumonville. Washington, a very tall strong man, demonstrated great physical courage and endurance, qualities much admired in a military leader.

Ellis (2004) concludes Washington was influenced by the East, where he picked up the deferential world of British patronage and hierarchy and curried favor from the well-connected Fairfax family, but failed to get a permanent commission in the British army. From the West came experiences on the Ohio frontier, where Washington carried out surveying expeditions and military campaigns against the French and Indians. Going to war instead of to college, Ellis concludes, scarred and immunized Washington against idealism.

===Planter and family life===
On Jan. 6, 1759, Washington married [[Martha Washington|Martha Dandridge Custis]], a very wealthy widow with two young children. Washington had no children of his own, but he later adopted two of his wife's grandchildren: George Washington Parke Custis and Eleanor Custis, who married Washington's nephew Lawrence. The marriage was a comfortably happy one. It made him rich, for the Custis plantation covered some 17,000 acres and included 300 slaves and a town house in [[Williamsburg]]. Washington proved himself an able and active manager, with a keen interest in scientific agriculture and land speculation. He bought up unoccupied western lands shrewdly, even in advance of permission from London. Unlike most planters, he foresaw the risks involved in a concentration on [[tobacco]] and diversified his crops. He grew wheat as well as tobacco on his Potomac farms, and by 1772 he was exporting both fish and flour to the West Indies. By 1774 he was one of the wealthiest of landowners at a time when ownership of land involved the administration of managers, overseers, tenants, and slaves; the keeping of accounts with the tobacco factors in Britain; and the ordering from England of most tools, furniture and clothing.

The local gentry controlled local government. Washington became a vestryman (in charge of the local [[Anglican]] church) and a justice of the peace. From 1758 to 1765 he was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for Frederick County, and from 1765 for Fairfax, although he took little part in affairs in Williamsburg. He was not a debater, speaker or pamphleteer, but nevertheless struck a conspicuous figure as a man of sound military, political and economic judgment. He had shown particular concern over bounty land due to the veterans of the French and Indian War, and he knew the Virginia frontier at first hand. Washington was America's first great entrepreneur, who saw the future of a diversified economy even in the South and achieved it for himself at least; who saw the future of the West and invested in it; and who directed all his activities with a careful and rather cold efficiency.

==American Revolution==
Washington's path to revolution reflected the American ideology of [[Republicanism, U.S.|republicanism]]; indeed, it provides "an almost textbook example of the Radical Whig ideology that historians have made the central feature of scholarship on the American Revolution for the past forty years."<ref>Ellis (2004) p. 62</ref> Personal experiences on multiple levels convinced Washington there was indeed a a British conspiracy to enslave the colonies, as he saw imperial policies constantly limiting and restricting his prized autonomy. In his quests for a commission in the redcoat army, for western land, and for economic independence from British consignment merchants, Washington found himself losing out, becoming a helpless dependent.

Washington and the Continental Army triumphed by driving the 10,000 British out of [[Boston]] in March 1776. The tide turned; Washington barely survived humiliating defeats the defense of New York City that fall. He revived the nation's fortunes by crossing the Delaware River and defeating British forces in stunning victories at Trenton and Princeton over the winter of 1776-77.
[[Image:washington-deleware.jpg|320px|right|thumb|''Washington Crossing the Delaware'', by Emmanuel Leutze, 1850]]

As Ellis (2004) argues, the June 1775-March 1776 siege of Boston was the formative event in Washington's development as a military and political leader, for it was there that he first responded to the logistical problems inherent to the American cause in the Revolutionary War with his trademark determination, leadership ability, and sound decision making. He also, however, exhibited a stubborn, aloof, severe personality that "virtually precluded intimacy." Washington, dubbed "His Excellency" by the adoring American public, also became acquainted with many of his future staff members and lieutenants during this period. The British were forced out of Boston and every place in America, which declared its independence and became "the United States of America" on July 4, 1776.

[[King George III]] personally demanded the rebellion be suppressed. He sent two-thirds of his army, and half of the Royal Navy in "the largest projection of seaborne power ever attempted by a European power."<ref>Fischer (2004) p. 33</ref> The British sent 23,000 regular troops under experienced officers and sergeants, and another 10,000 trained Hessians (hired Germans) supported by 70 warships. The ocean off the entire [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast came under British control, shutting down the large American merchant marine. In the face of this, Washington's forces melted away. He had more than 28,000 men under his command at the end of August when the British landed. After losing badly in New York City, at the beginning of December he had a mere 6,800. But he used them in an audacious Christmas-day attack that destroyed the Hessian garrison at Trenton, New Jersey <ref>Hessians lost 896 captured, 22 killed and 83 seriously wounded. Washington lost two men killed in battle, two more frozen to death, and eight wounded. Fischer (2004) pp. 254-5. </ref> and defeated the British outpost at Princeton, New Jersey. Threatened by Washington and harassed by patriotic farmer-marksmen, the British withdrew from the state of [[New Jersey]].

[[Image:Am-Rev.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Advantages (top) and disadvantages (bottom) General Washington had to cope with during the Revolution]]
In 1777 he tricked the British into dividing their forces so that one British army under General Howe confronted (and defeated) Washington in unimportant battles near [[Philadelphia]], while the main British army under general Cornwallis was forced to surrender at Saratoga, in upstate New York. This great American victory at Saratoga enabling the French to enter the war officially and make it an even contest militarily.

When the British moved in fall 1777 to capture the national capital at Philadelphia, Washington moved south to stop them, but was defeated by Howe at Brandywine (Sept 11) and Germantown (Oct 4). The British wintered in comfort in the city while Washington's army, 11,000 strong at first, had stark quarters at Valley Forge nearby. "The whole of them," said Gen. John Sullivan, were "without watch coats, one half without blankets, and more than one third without shoes . . . many of them without jackets...and not a few without shirts." Rations were scarce, as the local farmers refused to accept Continental money. Exhausted and ill, hundreds deserted to go home to their farms. Washington warned Congress: "unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place... this army must inevitably...starve, dissolve or disperse." Many in Congress grumbled about Washington's leadership and there was talk of promoting his chief critic, General Thomas Conway. However Congress and the army realized Washington was indispensable, and he remained in charge. The bright note was that Washington brought in a highly skilled European officer, General [[Friedrich von Steuben]], who systematically trained the officers and sergeants in the latest drills and maneuvering techniques of the Prussian army.<ref> Quotes from Freeman 4:570, 568.</ref>

===Victory in the South 1780-81===
The British made one last major effort in 1780-81, invading South Carolina (and remote Georgia) in the hopes of rallying enough Loyalists to break off the southern states. Washington kept the main British army bottled up in New York City, as the southern campaigns turned into [[guerrilla warfare]] and assassination squads. The British realized they had failed and moved their army to Yorktown, Virginia, awaiting the Royal Navy to take it to New York. The British fleet did show up but was defeated by a stronger French fleet. Washington meanwhile moved his entire army and the French army to Yorktown, where they forced the British to surrender in October 1781. King George III wanted to fight on even after losing two of his three combat armies but he lost control of [[Parliament]] and the American war was over. When the peace treaty was finalized in 1783, Washington triumphantly marched into New York City. Then to the astonishment of the world, Washington--by now the most famous man in the world -- stopped the [[Newburgh Conspiracy]], resigned his commission, and went home to his plantation, setting a standard of republican belief in civilian supremacy.

==Constitution==
Long before most of his contemporaries, Washington realized that independence could not be guaranteed without a standing army and that a nation strong enough to defend itself and to control the West could not exist without a central taxing power and a competent executive authority. All of those things, he admitted. ran directly counter to anti-tax, anti-centralizing sentiments that animated the Revolution. But they were necessary nonetheless, Washington insisted throughout the 1780s. Ellis (2004) concludes that Washington, succeeded in reconciling those contradictions and playing the difficult role of a semi-monarchical republican leader because he understood so well the proper use of power and could project "onto the national screen ... the same kind of controlling authority he had orchestrated within his own personality."<ref> Ellis 2004 p. 274</ref>

Because of the reputation he gained in the American Revolution, Washington was a logical choice for Virgina to send as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention]]. There, he was quickly chosen to chair the convention. While he barely ever spoke, the delegates have been said to have designed the [[President of the United States|Presidency]] assuming he would be the first President.

==First President==
[[File:Federal Hall Wall Street New York.jpg|thumb|Statue of George Washington, erected on the spot where he took his oath of office in 1789.]]
In [[United States presidential election, 1789|the first Presidential election]], George Washington was enthusiastically and unanimously elected. Reluctantly, he once more assented to the call of duty. This allowed him great freedom in setting up the customs, honors and daily functioning of the new government. Washington surrounded himself with a sophisticated and intelligent group of consultants and supporters and successfully delegated most of the responsibility for the conduct of their offices to those trusted colleagues. He practiced "leading by listening"<ref> Ellis (2004) p. 175</ref>.

One of Washington's greatest achievements was creating the form and style of the new government--a creation that has lasted to this day. The Constitution was vague about administrative details, and under the Confederation the national government was ineffective. Washington created a strong cabinet, with departments of State (foreign affairs), Treasury, War (military and naval affairs), along with an Attorney General. His style was formal but avoided the elaborate ceremonies and costumes of European courts. Washington consulted with his cabinet, but made the decisions himself. He served as his own chief of staff and kept a very small presidential staff in New York City (which was the national capital until it moved to Philadelphia in 1790). He ignored vice president [[John Adams]].

As president Washington employed careful restraint in exercising executive power (to prevent a backlash against centralization), and practiced calculated postponement of potentially lethal issues such as foreign war or ending slavery. His was restrained regarding such issues as the power of the Supreme Court and the abolition of slavery (he quietly favored gradual emancipation), and his absence from early pronouncements in favor of Hamilton's financial plans, allowed him to develop both a nation and an office that appeared above the day-to-day political battles. However, he played a leading role in the struggle to locate the permanent national capital in the District of Columbia and in making military and foreign policy. He believed America's future interests did not depend on Europe but on the people and lands to the nation's west. Washington's vision led to a restrained but effective use of the power of the executive office and the foundations for a strong national government.<ref> Ellis, "Inventing the Presidency." ''American Heritage'' 2004 </ref>

===Hamiltonian policies===
By far the most important innovations came from Treasury Secretary [[Alexander Hamilton]]. Washington gave strong support to Hamilton's successful programs, all approved by Congress, to take over the state debts, to fund the new national debt through a tariff on imports, and to create a national bank, the first Bank of the United States. [[Thomas Jefferson]], the Secretary of State, opposed all these programs but was defeated. Hamilton set up a national network of supporters that became the [[Federalist Party]]. Washington never joined the party, but he supported most of its policies and became its iconic symbol. Jefferson and Madison set up the rival Republican Party (called by historians the [[Democratic-Republican Party]]), and both parties set up newspapers that engaged in nasty invective. By his second term, Washington had become the target of intense attacks from the Jeffersonian Republicans. They first portrayed him as an unwitting tool of Hamilton, but later realized that he actually did support Federalist policies<ref>''America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the Revolutionary Election of 1800''. Bernard A. Weisberger.</ref>.

====Whiskey Rebellion, 1794====
Washington decided on decisive action to suppress the [[Whiskey Rebellion]], in which angry farmers in western Pennsylvania were protesting the new federal tax on whiskey. He called on governors to supply militia units, which they did. Washington rode at the head of a strong army into Pennsylvania and the rebellion collapsed without a confrontation.

===French Revolution===
Washington had not traveled outside the U.S. (apart from a brief visit to Bermuda), and paid little attention to European affairs. When the French Revolution led to war in 1793 between Britain (America's leading trading partner), and France (the old ally, with a treaty still in effect), Washington and his cabinet decided on a policy of neutrality. Washington supported the [[Jay's Treaty]], designed by Hamilton to avoid war with Britain and encourage commerce. The Jeffersonians vehemently opposed the treaty, but Washington's support proved decisive, and the U.S. and Britain were on friendly terms for a decade.

===Farewell Address===
Washington reluctantly served a second term, beginning in 1793, but by 1796 he was exhausted and insisted on not running again. (Since then, no President except [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Franklin Roosevelt]] has ever tried for a third term; the [[Twenty-Second Amendment]] makes this two-term limit into law.) His [[Farewell Address]], partly drafted by Hamilton and Jefferson, remains a classic statement of republicanism, calling on Americans to practice civic virtue and avoid alliances with the warring parties in Europe.

===Retirement and death: 1797-99===
Washington returned to his beloved Mount Vernon, but his health continued to decline. In 1798 he accepted appointment as nominal head of a new national army designed to fight the French in a threatened war. (President [[John Adams]] chose him as the one man who would command respect from all factions.) His role was nominal, as Hamilton was in effective command.

Washington died in 1799 from acute epiglottitis during an influenza epidemic. Attending physicians could not agree whether his condition was cynanche, an inflammation of the throat that was believed to require powerful remedies, or something that would require less radical therapeutic interventions than those his physicians had prescribed.<ref>Ben Cohen, Ben. "The Death of George Washington (1732-99) and the History of Cynanche." ''Journal of Medical Biography'' 2005 13(4): 225-231. Issn: 0967-7720 </ref>

==Family and personality==
[[File:Savage The Washington Family.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Washington Family, 1796 by [[Edward Savage]].]]
Although he had no children, Washington enjoyed a happy family life and especially enjoyed management of his tobacco plantation.

As Henriques (2006) stresses, Washington was driven by a lifelong quest for fame. He zealously guarded his reputation and took great care to ensure that he always acted properly and that he received due acknowledgment for his propriety. Washington prided himself on his honorable actions and was inordinately sensitive to criticism. Ellis (2004) stresses that Washington learned to discipline his emotions as an essential survival skill while facing dangers as a young officer in the Seven Year's War. That capacity for self-control, outwardly manifested in his famous aloofness, served Washington well again during the Revolution, not only by insulating him from criticism, but also by enabling him to curb his ambitions sufficiently to give up power at the end of the war. This earned him the universally honorable reputation that he so ardently desired. Washington was compared, in his willing surrender of power to the Roman leader [[Cincinnatus]], a comparison which drew worldwide attention and acclaim, even in Britain, the nation defeated under his leadership.<ref>For Lord Byron's poem on the subject, hailing Washington as "the first, the last, the best, the Cincinnatus of the West," see http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/2001/byron0101.html.</ref>

===Slavery===
Critics argue that Washington's status as a slaveholder, his treatment of his slaves, and his condoning of the institution of slavery besmirch his reputation as the "father of our country." Washington's stay at the President's House in Philadelphia was similarly colored by slavery - nine slaves resided both in the house and in adjacent slave quarters. As a slaveholder, Washington personally struggled to balance the moral injustice of the institution with harsh realities, such as the fact that his own slaves were intermarried with those of his wife, whom he could not legally free. In his will, Washington emancipated his 123 slaves and provided financial support for the elderly and vocational training for the young. He acted in part to remove the only stain on his carefully cultivated reputation.

==Christianity==
[[Image:W-pray.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This drawing depicts Washington on his knees in prayer at Valley Forge, one of a number of fictitious stories of Washington's extreme piety that circulated after his death. Washington is known from reliable accounts to have prayed standing.]]

Washington was raised in the Anglican Church and took seriously his responsibilities as a vestryman of his Anglican parish. He attended services of several denominations sporadically while at Mount Vernon, and more regularly when living in cities (where churches were more easily accessible) or during times of national crisis. For unknown personal reasons, Washington stood during prayer while the rest of the congregation knelt and rarely or never took Holy Communion.

As an officer prior to the Revolution, Washington read services for his soldiers when no chaplain was available and required officers and men not on duty to attend. He frequently invoked God and commanded that chaplains be included in every regiment:

<blockquote>"The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavor so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier, defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country."<ref>http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-02-22&view=View</ref></blockquote>

Washington declared in his Inaugural Address:

<blockquote>"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency."<ref>''Id.''</ref></blockquote> His preference for impersonal terms for God such as "Almighty Being," "Providence," and "Great Ruler of Events" has led some modern historians to conclude that Washington was more a deist than a Christian.

Washington declared in his Farewell Address: <blockquote>"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." <ref>[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21/pdf/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21.pdf Washington's Farewell Address (PDF)]</ref></blockquote>

Washington's will leaves no money to religious causes and expresses no religious concerns after the formulaic opening phrase, "In the name of God, Amen". However, Washington cherished his Bible so much that he includes the following sentence in his will "To the Reverend, now Bryan, Lord Fairfax, I give a Bible in three large folio volumes, with notes, presented to me by the Right Reverend Thomas Wilson" <ref>[http://www.ashbrook.org/library/18/washington/will.html Last Will and Testament] Ashbrook Center</ref>

==Freemason==
On November 4, 1752, Washington was initiated into Freemasonry at Fredricksburg Lodge, Fredricksburg, Virginia. He was passed and raised at the same lodge, becoming a Master Mason on August 4, 1753. He later served as Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 in Alexandria, Virginia. Upon his death in 1799, he was given a Masonic funeral at his wife's request.<ref>http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/washington_g/washington_g.html</ref>

==Parson Weems And The Cherry Tree Story==
In 1809, Mason Locke Weems (1756-1825), usually referred to as "Parson Weems," published a book entitled ''History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington.'' This book contained many fanciful stories and half-truths, intended to present Washington as a larger-than-life figure. Perhaps the most famous passage in it is Weems' recounting of a story which he attributed to an unnamed "aged lady, who was a distant relative [of Washington], and, when a girl, spent much of her time in the [Washington] family:"

:"When George," said she, "was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, like most little boys, he was immoderately fond, and was constantly going about chopping everything that came in his way. One day, in the garden, where he often amused himself hacking his mother's pea-sticks, he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry-tree, which he barked so terribly, that I don't believe the tree ever got the better of it. The next morning the old gentleman, finding out what had befallen his tree, which, by the by, was a great favorite, came into the house; and with much warmth asked for the mischievous author, declaring at the same time, that he would not have taken five guineas for his tree. Nobody could tell him anything about it. Presently George and his hatchet made their appearance. "George," said his father," do you know who killed that beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden?" This was a tough question; and George staggered under it for a moment; but quickly recovered himself: and looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth brightened with the inexpressible charm of all-conquering truth, he bravely cried out, "I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet."—"Run to my arms, you dearest boy," cried his father in transports, "run to my arms; glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold."<ref>British spellings are as they appear in the original text.</ref><ref>Weems, George Mason (1918), ''History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington.'' [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/gw/chap2.html Chapter 2: Birth and Education], online at University of Virginia]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC22316477&id=6tc56rgYE1YC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=mason+locke+weems&as_brr=1#PPP13,M1 The Life of George Washington] with Curious Anecdotes Equally Honorable to Himself, and Exemplary to his Young Countrymen. 1837, facsimile page images at Google Books</ref>

(Notice that Weems did not represent Washington as calling it "my ''little'' hatchet;" that appears to be a "familiar misquotation.")
==Greatness==
Surveys of scholars always rank Washington as one of the two or three greatest presidents--with [[Abraham Lincoln]] his main competition.

In a October 2000 survey of 132 prominent professors of history, law, and political science, President Washington was grouped in the "Great" group, ranked 1st, with a mean score of 4.92 out of 5.00. <ref>Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (New York, Wall Street Journal Book, 2004)</ref>

[[Image:Trumbull G. Washington.jpg|right|200px|thumb|''George Washington'', by [[John Trumbull]]]]

==Speeches from George Washington==
*[[George Washington's First Inaugural Speech]]
*[[George Washington's First Annual Message to Congress]]
*[[George Washington's Second Inaugural Address]]
*[[George Washington's Farewell Address]]
==Quotes from George Washington==
*"The freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter." (1783)<ref> To THE OFFICERS OF THE ARMY, Head Quarters, Newburgh, March 15, 1783, from ''The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, '' ed. John C. Fitzpatrick, (Washington: U.S. GPO, 1931-1944)26: 224</ref>

*"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." (1796)<ref> ("FAREWELL ADDRESS" in ''Writings,'' 35:229.</ref>

*"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily."<ref> To the Secretary of State, in ''Writings,''34:266. </ref>

*"There is no such thing as coincidence. God wills the world according to his design." (1773)<ref> From The Diaries of George Washington, 1773)</ref>

*"The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained." (1789)<ref> First Inaugural Address</ref>

*"But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed." (1796)<ref>(Farewell Address; September 19, 1796</ref>

*"Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government."<ref> To Henry Lee, Oct. 31, 1786 [http://books.google.com/books?id=5CHqDr6CJLsC&pg=PA204&dq=%22are+unfit+for+their+own+%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA204,M1 online p 202-3[</ref>

*"Government is not [[reason]]; it is not eloquence. It is force. And force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."<ref> [http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/26552 The War on Reason]</ref>

''„Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men & citizens. The mere Politican, equally with the pious man ought to respect & to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private & public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the Oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure--reason & experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. 'Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of Free Government. Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric.“'' [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/farewell/intro.html The Papers of George Washington, Documents, The Farewell Address, page 20]

 
----

== Also See ==

*[[Gallery of American Heroes]]

== External Links ==
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html White House biography]
*[http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/index.html Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia]
*[http://www.livingtrustnetwork.com/content/lwt/wills/washingtonwill.php Last will and testament]
*[http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/gwlife/ Text of the 1807 biography by David Ramsey]
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html White House biography]
*[http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/ PBS biography]
*[http://georgewashington.si.edu/ Smithsonian Institute biography]
*[http://www.mountvernon.org/ George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate]
*[http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/gwashington.html Internet Public Library, list of links]
*[http://gw.ffc.navy.mil/ USS ''George Washington'' CVN-73]
*[http://www.nps.gov/wamo/historyculture/index.htm WASHINGTON MONUMENT] the 125th anniversary of the monument's completion and dedication.

==Bibliography==
===Interpretations===
* Cunliffe, Marcus. ''Washington: Man and Monument'' (1958),
* Ellis, Joseph J. ''His Excellency: George Washington'' (2004), by Pulitzer prize winner
* Ellis, Joseph J. "Inventing the Presidency." ''American Heritage'' 2004 55(5): 42-48, 50, 52-53. Issn: 0002-8738 Fulltext: online at Ebsco.
* Henriques, Peter R. ''Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington.'' (2006).
* Higginbotham, Don. ''George Washington: Uniting a Nation'' (2002)
* Higginbotham, Don, ed. ''George Washington Reconsidered''. (2001). 336 pp.
* Wood, Gordon S. "The Greatness of George Washington." ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' 1992 68(2): 189-207. Issn: 0042-675x Fulltext: in Ebsco

===Biographies===
* Alden, John R. ''George Washington: A Biography'' (1984)
* Ferling, John E. ''The First of Men: A Life of George Washington'' (1988)
* Flexner, James Thomas. ''Washington: The Indispensable Man'' (1974). short version of Flexner, ''George Washington,'' 4 vols. (1965–1972). [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98849444 vol 1 online, 1732-1775]
* Freeman, Douglas Southall, ''George Washington,'' 7 vols. (1948–1957); Pulitzer prize; a one-volume condensed version appeared in 1968 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=62946671 vol 1 online]
===Military===
* Alden, John Richard. ''A History of the American Revolution'' (1969).
* Bodle, Wayne. ''Valley Forge Winter: Civilians and Soldiers in War'' (2002)
* Buchanan, John. ''The Road to Valley Forge: How Washington Built the Army That Won the Revolution'' (2004) 368 pp.. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=106756208 online edition]
* Fischer, David Hackett. ''Washington's Crossing'' (2004), Pulitzer prize winner; study of 1776-77 [http://blog.oup.com/2006/02/washingtons_cro online excerpt]
* Higginbotham, Don. ''George Washington and the American Military Tradition'' (1985);
* Higginbotham, Don. ''The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763–1789'' (1971). an analytical history of the war
* Lengel, Edward G. ''General George Washington: A Military Life.'' (2005). 450 pp
* McCullough, David. ''1776.'' 386 pp.
* Reed, John F. ''Campaign to Valley Forge: July 1, 1777–December 19, 1777'' (1965)
* Royster, Charles. ''A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, 1775–1783'' (1979)
* Taaffe, Stephen R. ''The Philadelphia Campaign, 1777–1778'' (2003).
* Ward, Christopher. ''The War of the Revolution,'' 2 vols., 1952, a good narrative of all the major battles.
* Wrong, George M. ''Washington and His Comrades in Arms: A Chronicle of the War of Independence'' (1921) by a Canadian scholar [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2704 online edition]
* ''West Point Atlas'' [http://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmittedFileView?file=history_americanrevolution_maps.htm online version]; the maps are public domain and not copyrighted

[[Image:Washington1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|print from 1790s]]

===Political===
* Bassett, John Spencer. ''The Federalist System, 1789–1801'' (1906), survey of politics [http://books.google.com/books/pdf/____The_Federalist_System__1789_1801.pdf?vid=OCLC64662233&id=tcQtUqwJCT8C&output=pdf&sig=JEsIhspA7Iw74WFJWe0zHeZU57k online version],
* Chernow, Ron. <cite>Alexander Hamilton</cite>. Penguin Books, (2004) (ISBN 1-59420-009-2). detailed biography
* Cronin, Thomas F., ed. ''Inventing the American Presidency.'' U. Press of Kansas, 1989. 404 pp.
* Deconde, Alexander. ''Entangling Alliance: Politics & Diplomacy under George Washington'' (1958) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14354962 online edition]
* Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick. ''The Age of Federalism.'' (1994) the leading scholarly history of the 1790s. [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-age-of-federalism-by-stanley-elkins-eric-mckitrick.jsp online edition]
* Fishman, Ethan M.; William D. Pederson, Mark J. Rozell, eds. ''George Washington'' (2001) essays by scholars
* Flaumenhaft; Harvey. ''The Effective Republic: Administration and Constitution in the Thought of Alexander Hamilton'' Duke University Press, 1992
* Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. ''George Washington: A Biographical Companion.'' ABC-CLIO, 2002. 436 pp. Comprehensive encyclopedia by leading scholar
* Gregg II, Gary L. and Matthew Spalding, eds. ''George Washington and the American Political Tradition.'' ISI (1999), essays by scholars
* Leibiger, Stuart. "Founding Friendship: George Washington, James Madison, and the Creation of the American Republic." U. Press of Virginia, 1999. 284 pp.
*McDonald, Forrest. ''The Presidency of George Washington''. 1988. Intellectual history showing Washington as exemplar of republicanism.
* Miller, John C. ''The Federalist Era, 1789-1801'' (1960), political survey of 1790s.
*Miller, John C. ''Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox'' (1959), full-length scholarly biography; [http://www.questia.com/library/book/alexander-hamilton-portrait-in-paradox-by-john-c-miller.jsp online edition]
* Morgan, Philip D. "'To Get Quit of Negroes': George Washington and Slavery.'' ''Journal of American Studies'' 2005 39(3): 403-429. Issn: 0021-8758
* Novak, Michael and Novak, Jana. ''Washington's God: Religion, Liberty, and the Father of Our Country.'' 2006. 282 pp. Rejects idea that Washington was a deist; he kept his religion private amd was probably a Christian
* Nordham, George W. ''The Age of Washington: George Washington's Presidency, 1789-1797.'' (1989).
* Pogue, Dennis J. "George Washington: Slave Master." ''American History'' 2004 38(6): 52-61. Issn: 1076-8866 Fulltext: in Ebsco, popular history
* Rozell, Mark J., William D. Pederson, Frank J. Williams. ''George Washington and the Origins of the American Presidency'' 2000 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=26469391 online edition]
* Riccards, Michael P. ''A Republic, If You Can Keep It: The Foundations of the American Presidency, 1700-1800.'' (1987)
* Sharp, James. ''American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis.'' (1995), survey of politics in 1790s
* Smith, Robert W. ''Keeping the Republic: Ideology and Early American Diplomacy.'' (2004)
* Spalding, Matthew. "George Washington's Farewell Address." ''The Wilson Quarterly'' v20#4 (Autumn 1996) pp: 65+.
* White, Leonard D. ''The Federalists: A Study in Administrative History'' (1956), thorough analysis of the mechanics of government in 1790s
* Henry Wiencek. ''An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America,'' 2003. 404 pp.

==Primary sources==
* George Washington. ''Writings'' (1997) (Library of America edition) 440 letters and key documents, 1184pp [http://loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=5&section=toc online table of contents]
===Large editions===
Four major editions of Washington's writings have appeared:<ref> See [http://loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=5&section=notes] for details</ref>
* ''The Writings of George Washington,'' edited by Jared Sparks (12 volumes, 1833-37)
* ''The Writings of George Washington,'' edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (14 volumes, 1889-93) [http://books.google.com/books?q=ford+%22Writings+of+George+Washington%2C%27%27&btnG=Search+Books&as_brr=1 online volumes]
* ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799,'' edited by John C. Fitzpatrick (39 volumes, 1931-44). [http://www.questia.com online at [[Questia]]]
* ''The Papers of George Washington,'' edited by W. W. Abbot, Dorothy Twohig, and others, is ongoing; 48 volumes have been published since 1976, and when complete this edition will be the most comprehensive edition so far. See [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/project/volumes/order.html] for details
** Washington, George. ''The Papers of George Washington Colonial Series'' Volumes 1-10 (complete)
** Washington, George. ''The Papers of George Washington Revolutionary War Series'' Volumes 1-16
** Washington, George. ''The Papers of George Washington Confederation Series'' Volumes 1-6 (complete)
** Washington, George. ''The Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series'' University Press of Virginia. Latest volume is Vol. 12: January-May 1793. ed by Philander D. Chase, 2005. 708 pp.
** Washington, George. ''The Papers of George Washington Retirement Series'' Volumes 1-4 (complete)
* ''Documents of the American Revolution, 1770-1783'' Ed. by K.G. Davies. 21 vols. (Irish Academic University Press, 1972), all the important British documents

== References ==

{{Reflist|2}}

{{USPresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, George}}

[[Category: American Revolutionary War Commanders]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Founding Fathers]]
[[Category:George Washington]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:American Revolution]]
[[Category:Republicanism]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]
[[Category:British Empire]]
[[Category:Virginia]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies

2013-02-25T04:51:16Z

Cengime: Split documentaries into a separate table

'''There have been many superb [[conservative]] films''':

== Narrative features ==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''October Baby''
|2012
|PG-13
|A first-rate, compelling film that leaves no doubt about how wrong [[abortion]] is.
|$5,357,328
|-
|''The Seventh Seal''
|1956
|NR
|Swedish film about the strength of religion.
|
|-
|''Won't Back Down''
|2012
|PG-13
|A brilliant movie that criticizes public schools.
|
|-
|''Soul Surfer''
|2011
|PG
|The true story of champion surfer 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton who loses her arm to a shark. Her Christian faith helps her overcome her handicap to surf once again.
|$ 43,853,424
|-
|-
|''Faith of My Fathers''
|2005
|PG-13
|The true story of [[John McCain]] when he served valiantly in the Vietnam War.
|
|-
|''The Mill and the Cross'' (Polish original)
|2011
|UR
|Persecution of Christians in Flanders region of Belgium during the 16th Century
|$ 310,900
|-
|''Of Gods and Men'' (French original)
|2010
|R
|Martyrdom of Trappist monks by Muslim terrorists in an impoverished Algerian community
|$ 3,954,651
|-
|''Witness''
|1985
|R
|Highlights the virtues of strong moral values, with more substance than ''High Noon''.
|$ 65,500,000
|-
|''[[Spider-Man_(film)]]''
|2002
|PG-13
|Praises moral virtue (hard-working teenager, devout aunt and well-meaning uncle) and pokes fun at [[liberals]] (entertainers and journalists). Hero chooses [[abstinence]]. This was one of the most profitable films ever made and had two sequels.
|$ 403,706,375
|-
|''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''
|1956
|UR
|A science fiction condemnation of [[Communism]], produced for only $420,000 and remade successfully in three additional movies.
|$ 2,500,000
|-
|''[[The Exorcist]]''
|1973
|R
|(''not for children'') - A portrayal of pure evil against a positive characterization of [[Christianity]]. It broke the record for movie revenue and had several sequels and imitators, e.g. ''[[The Omen]]'' in 1976.....
|$ 441,071,011
|-
|''[[Dark Matter]]''
|2007
|R
|A candid look at [[professor values]] along with problems associated with lack of assimilation; [[liberal]]s first praised the movie, but after realizing its [[conservative]] message, panned it.
|$ 30,041
|-
|''Honey, I Shrunk The Kids''
|1989
|PG
| Loveable genius inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) accidentally shrinks his children and some of his neighbors's while testing his laser shrinking ray, sending them off on an adventure in their own yard against what would be mundane situations and creatures to normal sized people. Spawned two sequels, the obviously opposite ''Honey, I Blew up The Kid'' (1992) and video-made ''Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves'' (1997)
| $130,724,2000
|-
|''[[Miracle]]''
|2004
|PG
|Movie about the United States hockey team which won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Stresses the important of hard work, resiliency, selflessness and putting your best effort forward to reach an unseen goal.
|$ 64,445,708
|-
|''[[Gone With the Wind]]''
|1939
|UR
|Celebrates a strongly ''feminine'' heroine who is the antithesis of a modern [[feminist]], and held the record for top-grossing movie for decades.
|$ 198,676,459
|-
|''[[Ben-Hur (film, 1959)|Ben-Hur]]''
|1959
|UR
|Celebrates honor and duty to family and country, with a pro-Christian ending, long held the record for the most [[Academy Awards]].
|$ 17,300,000
|-
|''[[Atlas Shrugged, Part 1|Atlas Shrugged - Part 1]]''
|2011
|PG-13
|Big screen adaptation of the classic objectivist text.
|$ 4,563,873
|-
|''[[Fireproof (film)|Fireproof]]''
|2008
|PG
|Highly successful pro-Christian, pro-marriage film created by [[Sherwood Pictures]].
|$ 33,451,479
|-
|''[[Beauty and the Beast]]''
|1991
|G
|A young woman overcomes a materialistic, shallow society and finds true love. A powerful and immensely popular antidote to [[feminism]], far better than the [[liberal]] movies churned out by [[Disney]] since.
|$ 25,487,028
|-
|''[[Titanic]]''
|1997
|PG-13
|Every life had value and the most powerful men gave up their seats on lifeboats to women and children first; the media and a young [[RINO]] are rightly criticized; broke the record in movie revenues.
|$ 600,779,824
|-
|''The Lives of Others''
|2006
|R
|(''Not for children'') - This German-language film is a stinging criticism of [[Communist]] [[East Germany]] from a liberal perspective.
|$ 11,286,112
|-
|''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]''
|1965
|UR
| Title says it all: The story of Jesus (played excellently by Max Von Sydow).
|$8,000,000 (U.S.), $20,000,0000 (worldwide)
|-
|''[[The Sound of Music]]''
|1965
|UR
|Solid family entertainment about Austria's von Trapps before World War II.
|$ 158,671,368
|-
|''[[Chinatown]]''
|1974
|R
|A thriller about the deceit surrounding water rights in southern California and L.A.'s water system, removing most of the water from the central valley. Sequel: "The Two Jakes" (1990)
|$ 30,000,000 (world wide estimate)
|-
|''[[The Fountainhead]]''
|1949
|UR
|Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal starring in Ayn Rand's classic story of the right of the individual to produce on their own terms.
|Unknown
|-
|''Moses''
|1974 Italy-U.K.
|PG
|Italian-British-American production which features [[Burt Lancaster]] playing [[Moses]] the lawgiver. Less flamboyant than Cecil B. Demille's movie The Ten Commandments and focuses more on the Biblical figure of Moses. Originally a 6-part U.S. TV mini-series in 1975, but edited to make it a U.S. movie in 1976.
|unknown money returns
|-
|''[[The Ten Commandments]]''
|1956
|UR
|The definitive film portrayal of [[Exodus]].
|$ 65,500,000
|-
|''[[Mr. Smith Goes To Washington]]''
|1939
|UR
|A tale of a good, simple man rising above the pressures of [[liberals]] to do the right thing. Features perhaps the best defense of the American political system ever committed to film.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Star Wars]]''
|1977-1983 and 1999-2005 serieses
|PG
|Simple truths about the triumph of good over evil.
|$460,998,007
|-
|''The Winning Team''
|1952
|UR
|[[Ronald Reagan]] stars as a baseball pitcher who overcomes his problems to help his team win. This was one of Reagan's own favorites.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[King of Kings]]''
|1961
|PG-13, originally NR
|2 hour, 51 minute widescreen epic by the great director Nicholas Ray about Jesus and his promises of spiritual redemption, as contrasted with the story of the revolutionary leader Barabbas and his promises of worldly redemption.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Iron Eagle]]''
|1986
|PG-13
| A young man's father, an Air Force pilot, is shot down over the Middle East and its up to the young man and an Air Force colonel to save him. Included three sequels in 1988, 1992 and 1995.
|$24,159,872 (U.S.)
|-
|''[[On The Waterfront]]''
|1954
|UR
|[[Marlon Brando]] plays Terry Malloy, who under the inspiration of a Catholic priest (Father Barry, played by [[Karl Malden]]), becomes a Christ-like figure. Betrayed by his brother and almost killed by the gang, he finds the strength to overcome and redeem his people from the slavery to the mobsters who run the waterfront. In stunning contrast to the liberals who kept silent about the Communist subversion in Hollywood, the film portrays the informer as the hero; liberal Hollywood never forgave director [[Elia Kazan]] for his stunning film. In real life, Kazan, Malden and screenwriter Budd Schulberg all testified before Congress, along with [[Ronald Reagan]]. Together they broke the power of the Reds in Hollywood.
|$ 9,600,000
|-
|''The Name of the Rose''
|1986
|R
|A mystery centered around the balance between faith and science, as well as debate over the role of poverty in religion and religious orders.
|$ 5,595,706
|-
|''[[Sergeant York]]''
|1941
|UR
|A young American soldier during WWI overcomes an unfounded religious objection to killing and becomes a war hero.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Knute Rockne: All-American]]''
|1940
|UR
|Stars [[Ronald Reagan]] as corageous football player George Gipp, who dies before an important game.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Ninotchka]]''
|1939
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Forbidden Planet]]''
|1956
|UR
|
|$ 3,000,000
|-
|''[[Rudy]]''
|1993
|PG
|A young man overcomes many obstacles, including dyslexia, to play for the [[Notre Dame]] football team. Shows the value of hard work and never giving up.
|$ 22,750,363
|-
|''Brazil''
|1985
|R
|Much like the conservative text ''1984'' it promotes the idea that big government is wrong for this world.
|
|-
|''[[The Prince of Egypt]]''
|1998
|PG
|An animated telling of the life of [[Moses]].
|$ 101,217,900
|-
|''[[Strategic Air Command (film)|Strategic Air Command]]''
|1955
|UR
|Actor (and Brigadier [[General]]) [[James Stewart]]'s story of the real [[Strategic Air Command]] and its transition from prop planes to jet planes.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[A Gathering of Eagles]]''
|1963
|UR
|Illustrates duty, honor, and the burden of command.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Red Dawn]]''
|1984
|PG-13
|A film by conservative writer and director [[John Milius]] about American high school students resisting a Soviet invasion through guerrilla warfare. Remade in 2012
|$ 35,866,000
|-
|''[[Harry's War]]''
|1981
|PG
|Anti-IRS comedy.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Patriot]]''
|2000
|R
|A patriot fights for American freedom during the [[American Revolution]].
|$ 113,330,342
|-
|''[[Ladder 49]]''
|2004
|PG-13
|Shows the courageousness of firefighters.
|$ 74,541,707
|-
|''[[Rocky]]''
|1976
|PG
|A talented but down-on-his-luck fighter gets a chance to challenge himself to the ends of his ability. This film-and its sequels and remakes- reinforces man's ability to overcome challenges. Included four sequels and one remake.
|$ 117,235,247
|-
|''[[October Sky]]''
|1999
|PG
|Four high school boys from a rural coal mining town, inspired by Sputnik, set out to build their own rockets and become rocket scientists.
|$ 32,481,825
|-
|''[[Amazing Grace (film)|Amazing Grace]]''
|2006
|PG
|Shows the horrors of slave trade.
|$ 21,208,358
|-
|''[[Bruce Almighty]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Shows, in a comedic, accessible way, that no one mortal can successfully do [[God]]'s job.
|$ 242,589,580
|-
|''[[World Trade Center]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Highlights the bravery of NYC's firemen and police in [[9/11]]
|$ 70,236,496
|-
|''[[Flight 93]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Shows the bravery of the passengers on Flight 93, which was hijacked on September 11th, 2001, and crashed into a Pennsylvania field. The passengers fought back against the hijackers.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[A Man For All Seasons]]''
|1966
|UR
|In 16th Century England, statesman and philosopher Thomas More is forced to choose between his Catholic faith and his loyalty to the king. Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design in 1966.
|$ 20,000,000<ref>This figure is a worldwide gross.</ref>
|-
|''[[Chariots of Fire]]''
|1981
|PG
|Stories of devout Scottish Christian [[Eric Liddell]] who wants to run for the glory of God and Jewish [[Harold Abrahams]], struggling to overcome prejudice in 1924 Britain. That year's Olmypics Games was especially spiritual when Liddell refused the Prince of Wales' request that he perform his competition on a Sunday.
|$ 58,972,904
|-
|''[[One Foot In Heaven]]''
|1941
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Quo Vadis]]''
|1951
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Lost Weekend]]''
|1945
|UR
|Illustrates the dangers of alcohol abuse.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Green Berets]]''
|1968
|G
|Vivid defense of our troops' conduct in the Vietnam War.
|$ 11,000,000
|-
|''[[My Son John]]''
|1952
|UR
|A small-town couple's world is turned upside-down by the discovery that their adult son is a Communist.
| amount made unknown
|-
|''[[One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich]]''
|1970 Britain/Norway
|PG
| [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]]'s best selling novel brought to film as Tom Courtneay is the titular prisoner in early 1950s Siberia as punishment for surrendering to the Nazis during World War II and his struggle for small comforts to ease the harsh, injusticies of the Gulag. A smashing indictment of the Soviet system.
|-
|''[[The Hiding Place]]''
|1975
|PG
|Biopic World War II story of Corrie and Betsy (Elizabeth) ten Boom (Jeannette Clift, Julie Harris), who hid Jews in their Haarlem, Netherlands home's secret wall and were betrayed and imprisoned in Ravensbruck Women's concentration camp in Germany, until Betsy's death and Corrie's accidental release through what would later be found to be a clerical mistake, as all the other women in her group were gassed to death in January, 1945. A true lesson of "no pit is so deep that God's love is not deeper still". Produced by Billy Graham Evangelical Association's, World Wide Pictures.
|unknown revenue
|-
|''[[Hitler's Children]]''
|1943
|UR/PG
|Sensational melodrama about the [[Hitler Youth]] of pre-WWII 1930s Nazi Germany, based on Gregor Ziemer's best selling ''Education for Death: The Making of A Nazi".
|$3,355,000
|-
|''[[True Lies]]''
|1994
|R
|Stars the future Republican governor of California, [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. Teaches conservative values like marital loyalty, and political incorrect facts such as the fact that most terrorists are Middle Eastern radicals who don't value human life.
|$ 146,261,000
|-
|''[[The Island]]''
|2005
|PG-13
|Pro-life statement against cloning to harvest organs.
|$ 35,799,026
|-
|''[[Evelyn]]''
|2002
|PG
|True story of Irish father's legal struggle to recover his kids from an orphanage.
|$ 1,483,975
|-
|''[[Shane]]''
|1953
|UR
|Western about defending a homesteading family.
|$ 20,000,000
|-
|''[[Lean on Me]]''
|1989
|PG-13
|A true story about combating drug use, violence, and contempt for authority while exalting positive values like academic achievement and family values. Biodrama about New Jersey's real life [[Joe Clark]]. <ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097722/</ref>
|$ 31,906,454
|-
|''[[Hero]]''
|1992
|PG-13
|Even those with character flaws can do good.
|$ 19,487,173
|-
|''[[Matilda]]''
|1996
|PG
|Film adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel of a bright little girl who uses her magical genius to free herself from the foolish, selfish people in her life-her self-absorbed parents, bratty brother and horrid [[public school]] principal.
|$33,084,249
|-
|''[[The 6th Day]]''
|2000
|PG-13
|Pro-Life, Anti-[[cloning]] movie Featuring Republican Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]
|$ 34,543,701
|-
|''Ghostbusters''
|1984
|PG
|Fitting satire of an unfair (and likely liberal) professor, senseless academic research, paganism, and a villainous EPA regulator. Sample line by one of the stars (Dan Aykroyd) when asked to shift from the public to the [[private sector]]: “I don’t know about that. I’ve worked in the private sector. They expect results!” Followed by a sequel, "Ghostbusters 2" in 1989.
|$ 238,632,124
|-
|[[Facing the Giants]]
|2006
|PG
|Trust in [[God]], let him take over, and good things will happen.
|$ 10,178,331
|-
|''Flash of Genius''
|2008
|PG-13
|The intellectual property of a hard-working, solitary inventor is promoted, and his children stuck by his side through enormous difficulties.
|$ 3,744,790
|-
|''Coma''
|1978
|PG
|Villains are running an anti-life conspiracy at a hospital.
|$
|-
|''Oh, God!''
|1977
|PG
|Acceptance of God's calling is rewarded, the faithful are vindicated, and naysayers are proven wrong. Had two sequels in 1980 and 1984.
|$ 41,687,243
|-
|''[[Courageous]]''
|2011
|PG-13
|[[Sherwood Pictures]] film focusing on the role of fathers.
|$ 34,522,221
|-
|''[[Air Force One (film)|Air Force One]]''
|1997
|R
|Positively portrays a strong U.S. president who takes an uncompromising stance against terrorism. Includes positive material about family, authority, the military and sacrifice.
|$ 172,956,409
|-
|''[[The Fellowship of the Ring (film, 2001)|The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]''
|2001
|PG-13
|Clear distinction between good and evil with positive themes of friendship, bravery, honor, sacrifice and overcoming temptation.
|$ 314,776,114
|-
|''[[The Two Towers (film, 2002)|The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers]]''
|2002
|PG-13
|Strong portrayals of redemption and good over evil.
|$ 340,478,898
|-
|''[[The Return of the King (2003 film)|The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Bravery, heroism, sacrifice and good ultimately triumphing over evil.
|$ 377,027,325
|-
|''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]''
|2002
|PG-13
|Promotes many positive conservative values including faith in God, patriotism, duty, honor, respect for authority, discipline, bravery, sacrifice, and friendship.
|$ 93,926,386
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]''
|2005
|PG
|Based upon the Christian allegory written by C.S. Lewis.
|$ 291,709,845
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]]''
|2008
|PG
|
|$ 141,621,490
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]''
|2010
|PG
|
|$ 104,383,624
|-
|''Coach Carter''
|2005
|PG-13
|Promotes the theme that graduating from high school and having proper moral values are more important than becoming famous athletes.
|$ 67,253,092
|-
|''[[The Seventh Sign]]''
|1988
|R
|Starring Demi Moore, a fictional account of the return of Jesus to usher in the apocalypse and judge mankind. Catholic themed movie has Demi offering her life for the souls of others.
|$ 18,875,011
|-
|''[[Twelve O'Clock High]]''
|1949
|UR
|A thrilling movie about the heroics of fighter pilots during [[World War II]]; used as an educational film for management training seminars.
|$ 3,225,000
|-
|''[[Escape from Hell]]''
|2000
|UR
|Drama about a doctor and near-death experience.
|NA - DVD
|-
|''The Hurt Locker''
|2008
|R
|A look into the life of an American bomb disposal regiment in Iraq risking their lives for their country and for the innocent by confronting evil. Rated R for violence and language.
|$ 12,647,089
|-
|''The Tunnel'' (''Der Tunnel'')
|2001
|
|Based on a true story a group of East Berliners escaping harsh Communist rule and hatch a plan to help others escape that same oppressive regime.
|$ 10,890
|-
|''A Charlie Brown Christmas''
|1965
|G
|The real meaning of Christmas is discussed, as Linus quotes Luke 2:8-14. Decries the materialism that surrounds the Christmas holiday.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Not Without My Daughter]]''
|1991
|PG-13
|Sally Fields is [[Betty Mahmoody]], the U.S. wife who, along with her daughter, was tricked in 1984 by her Iranian husband into traveling with him on what he said would be only two weeks in his homeland to visit his relatives (he lied bigtime about the two weeks).
|$14,789,113 (U.S.)
|-
|''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]''
|1971
|G
|A celebration of tradition, faith, and the importance of family, against a historical background of the persecution of Russian Jews.
|$ 50,000,000
|-
|''The Expendables''
|2010
|R
|Action movie featuring such Conservative Stars as [[Sylvester Stallone]], [[Bruce Willis]], and former California Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]
|$103,068,524
|-
|''The Expendables 2''
|2012
|R
|Sequel to 2010's ''The Expendables'' starring returning Conservative action stars Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger as well as [[Chuck Norris]].
|$11.5
|-
|''[[Gattaca]]''
|1997
|PG-13
|A condemnation of human genetic engineering, and a wonderful triumph of individualism in an extremely totalitarian regime. Unfortunately the movie ends with a materialistic message: "They say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. So, maybe I'm not leaving, maybe I'm going home" (A phrase said when the protagonist finally managed to go to space).
|$ 12,339,633
|-
|''The Lion King''
|1994
|G
|A main message of the movie is honoring thy father, and the power-hungry main antagonist, once he becomes ruler, favors big government, pushes [[liberal values]] and destroys their territory.
|$ 312,825,899
|-
|''Contact''
|1997
|PG
|The overall message is about how science and faith do not have to be in opposition to one another.
|$ 100,853,835
|-
|''The Sandlot''
|1993
|PG
|Honestly depicts 1950s America when boys acted like boys and girls acted like girls, wimps were taught to toughen up, and every boy had a chance to be great. No historical revisionism.
|$ 32,416,586
|-
|''I Confess''
|1953
|UR
|In this classic by Alfred Hitchcock, a clergyman honors his sacred vow of confidentiality with respect to a confession despite intense pressure to disclose it.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Dark Knight]]''
|2008
|PG-13
|Christian allegory with message of not giving in to terrorists.
|$ 533,316,061
|-
|''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]''
|2012
|PG-13
|Movie that depicts [[Occupy Wall Street]] esque protestors as terrorists and has a hero that does the right thing even when it is the harder thing to do.
|$441,053,078
|-
|''Mr. Skeffington''
|1944
|UR
|Bette Davis portrays a socialite whose life is ruined when she turns ugly with age. Anti-Nazi and anti-materialistic.
|Unknown
|-
|''The Forgotten''
|2004
|PG-13
|A mystery film with a great [[Pro-life]] message.<ref>[http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/forgotten.html ''The Forgotten''] at Decent Film Guide</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''The Tree of Life''
|2011
|PG-13
|An adaptation of the Book of Job set in 1950s Texas with a narrative structure based on the nature of human memory which many viewers will find confusing.
|Unknown
|-
|''Cronos''
|1993
|R
|In this Mexican film by Guillermo del Toro (''Pan's Labyrinth'', ''Hellboy''), an elderly antiques dealer has a chance at immortality—but at the cost of being a leech to others. Mostly in Spanish with large parts in English.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[An American Carol]]''
|2008
|PG-13
|[[David Zucker]]'s [[conservative]] comedy starring Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, Trace Adkins and Leslie Nielson.
|$7,013,191
|-
|''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''
|1981
|PG
|
|$242,374,454
|-
|''[[Indiana Jones]] series''
|1981, 1984, 1989, 2008
|PG PG-13
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[1984]]''
|1984
|R
|Big-screen adaptation of the iconic [[conservative]] text from [[George Orwell]].
|$8,430,492
|-
|''[[For Greater Glory]]''
|2012
|R
|The [[Catholic]] Cristeros Army fights back for religious freedom against a suppressive, [[leftist]] government. Based on the Cristeros War of the 1920's.
|$5,608,651
|-
|''[[Liar Liar]]''
|1997
|PG-13
|Surprisingly takes on an anti-feminist theme by depicting the father as the good, righteous side in a courtroom divorce trial.
|$181,410,615
|-
|''[[The Hunger Games]]''
|2012
|PG-13
|Futuristic totalitarians plan titular annual televisied "games" as punishement on the descendants of failed revolutionaries from a past uprising.
|$406,267,858
|-
|''[[Animal Farm]]''
|1999
|Not Rated
|Live-action film adaptation of the [[conservative]] text of the same name from [[George Orwell]] and of the 1945 original.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Captain America: The First Avenger]]''
|2011
|PG-13
|Contains messages of patriotism, perseverance and standing up to evil dictators. The film's protagonist Steve Rogers is also arguably the most conservative superhero of the Avengers universe. Last film produced by Marvel Studios before it's takeover by liberal parent [[Disney]].
|$176,654,505
|-
|''Bella''
|2007
|PG-13
|[[Pro-life]] drama.
|$8,070,537
|-
|''The Nativity Story''
|2006
|PG
|
|$37,629,831
|-
|''Shattered Glass''
|2003
|PG-13
|Based on the true story of Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), a reporter in the late 90's for the liberal magazine The New Republic, lies and distorts news stories to make them entertaining. He begins by submitting an article about the Conservative Political Action Conference, in which he fabricated stories of drinking and sexual mischief. Then, after he writes a colorful but suspicious story on a superstar web hacker, a group from a small online news site begin to question his journalistic integrity.
|$2,220,008
|-
|''Last Ounce of Courage''
|2012
|PG
|
|$1,585,994
|-
|''[[Adam's Rib]]''
|1949
|Not rated
| Spencer Tracy hilariously exposes budding feminist Katharine Hepburn's hypocritical double standards in the legal system.
|
|-
|''Argo''
|2012
|
|A daring rescue of Americans trapped in Iran during the [[Iranian Hostage Crisis]].
|-
|}

== Documentaries ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''[[Expelled | Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed]]''
|2008
|PG
|[[Ben Stein]] exposes [[evolution|evolutionists]]' scientific and education system [[deceit]].
|$ 7,690,545
|-
|''[[Hillary: The Movie]]''
|2008
|UR
|Citizens United film exposing Hillary Clinton. This movie was the impetus of the lawsuit which overturned the McCain-Feingold legislation by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]''.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Indoctrinate U]]''
|2007
|UR
|Exposed political correctness, racial and ethnic politics in the academic setting. <ref>[http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3624795/9994231 Indoctrinate U -Part 1/3, Yahoo]</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Maafa21]]''
|2009
|UR
|This film explores the inception of [[Planned Parenthood]] as an organization created to exterminate African-Americans. It exposes the words of its' racist founder [[Margaret Sanger]] and their impact on black genocide more than a century later. <ref>[http://www.maafa21.com www.maafa21.com]</ref>
|NA - DVD
|-
|''[[Waiting for Superman]]''
|2010
|PG
|Documentary on the U.S.' failed public school system.
|$ 6,410,257
|-
|''[[The Great Global Warming Swindle]]''
|2007
|UR
|Exposing the greatest fraud in the history of science.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Kids Aren't Cars]]''
|2011
|UR
|How the teachers' unions are destroying our public schools. <ref>[http://www.kidsarentcars.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/KACOneSheet.pdf KAC Summary]</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''[[How Should We Then Live]]''
|1976
|UR
|Christian film that traces Western history from Ancient Rome until 1976. A study of philosophic, scientific, and religious movements reflecting changing patterns.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[I Want Your Money]]''
|2010
|PG
|Documentary film which supports the triumph of [[Reagan]]-economics over [[Obamanomics]].
|$433,588
|-
|''[[2016: Obama's America]]''
|2012
|PG
|Documentary by Conservative author [[Dinesh D'Souza]] explores the disturbing origins of [[Barack Hussein Obama]], including his inherited philosophy with his [[Barack Obama Sr.|drunken father]] and his inspiration from [[Communist]]s [[Frank Marshall Davis]] and [[William Ayers|Bill Ayers]].
|$33,349,941
|-
|''Occupy Unmasked''
|2012
|Not rated
|
|-
|}

== Debatable Whether Conservative ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''[[Zulu]]''
|1964
|UR
|Courageous, Duty, Patriotism. A defending of Western Civilization
|-
|''[[The Passion of the Christ]]''
|2004
|R
|Downplays the [[Resurrection]],<ref>The original version of the film had no references at all to the Resurrection.</ref> and strength of Christianity and omits powerful angels; instead exaggerates triumph of evil; film had little lasting effect on public or its producer; portrayed nails as through the hands rather than through the wrists as depicted by the [[Shroud of Turin]] and confirmed by modern science.
|$ 370,782,930
|-
|-
|''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]''
|1946
|UR
|Falsely teaches that humanism is what makes life worthwhile; marginalizes [[faith]] with a cartoonish depiction and demonizes capitalism as sadistic and greedy.
|$ 3,300,000
|-
|''[[High Noon]]''
|1952
|UR
|A favorite of both Presidents [[Dwight Eisenhower]] and [[Bill Clinton]]; [[John Wayne]] said it was "the most un-American thing I've ever seen in my whole life";<ref>http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/47/highnoon.php</ref> though susceptible of various interpretations, most of all it seems to scare people into wanting more government.
|$ 3,750,000
|-
|''[[P.C.U.]]''
|1994
|PG-13
|College students fight back against a campus where the administration promotes official [[diversity]] awareness weekends and radical [[feminism]], [[vegan]]ism, and [[political correctness]] run amok, but a conservative group on campus is also portrayed just as negatively as the P.C. groups.
|$ 4,350,774
|-
|''Pillow Talk''
|1959
|UR
|A classic starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day in which conservative values triumph over liberal ones. There are no distortions by feminist ideology. Indeed, in one scene a leading man slaps the leading lady, but then is beaten up by dimwitted bystanders for it!
|$ 18,750,000
|-
|''[[The Blues Brothers]]''
|1980
|R
|Comedy musical. A story of redemption, "A mission from God", raising money to save a Catholic orphanage. R-rated movie for vulgar language, slap stick comedy. Vatican approved. <ref>[http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/18/vatican-blesses-blues-brothers/ Vatican Calls The Blues Brothers “Catholic”, FOXNews, June 19, 2010]</ref>
|$ 57,229,890
|-
|''[[The Way We Were]]''
|1973
|PG
|Unique in the way that it appears liberal to liberals while unintentionally sending a [[conservative]] message to young women.
|$ 49,919,870
|-
|''[[Grease]]''
|1978
|PG
|Some [[conservative]] messages and no [[feminism]] or other [[political correctness]]; mocks [[public school]] and even [[television]]. Followed in 1982 by a much panned sequel, ''[[Grease 2]]''.
|$ 153,113,000
|-
|''[[Fargo]]''
|1996
|R
|Pregnant sheriff with traditional American family values solves an elaborate criminal embezzlement, kidnapping and murder scheme.
|$ 24,611,975
|-
|''[[Juno (film)|Juno]]''
|2007
|PG-13
|A pregnant teenage woman rejects [[abortion]] and decides for an adoptive birth instead. This movie pushes [[feminism]] and marginalizes the essential role of fatherhood.
|$ 143,492,840
|-
|''Camelot''
|1967
|G
|The famous jousting scene is a powerful display of Christian values and chivalry, but the movie seems lost afterward.
|$ 31,102,578
|-
|''The Iron Lady''
|2011
|PG-13
|The British biopic of [[Conservative Party]] leader and 1979-90 [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], Margaret Thatcher, showing the effects of conservative economic policy on Britain, helping to lift the country out of its recession.
|$ 80,554,188 (international including UK), $27,081,674 (US - domestic)
|-
|''The Simpsons Movie''
|2007
|PG-13
|Portrays the liberal [[Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] as a villainous and devious agency, and portrays the Government in general as intrusive and corrupt.
|$183,135,014
|-
|''Back to the Future''
|1985
|PG
|Contains some conservative messages such as the triumph of chivalry as well as the negative effects of deviancy and drug/alcohol addiction, although the film also promotes negative values including premarital sexual activity and disregard for chasity. Included two sequels in 1989 and 1990.
|$210,609,762
|-
|''Jurassic Park''
|1993
|PG-13
|Criticizes the effects of research into genetic [[cloning]], although the film's source material has been credited to inspiring further research into cloning. Included two sequels in 1997 and 2001 and a planned fouth entry in 2013.
|$357,067,947
|-
|''The Campaign''
|2012
|R
|Political comedy depicts the Democratic candidate (Will Ferrell) as an obnoxious, drunken womanizer and satire of [[John Edwards]], although the Republican candidate (Zach Galifinakis) is portrayed just as negatively as a corrupt capitalist.
|$33,165,738
|-
|''Knocked Up''
|2007
|R
|Unemployed, immature and childish 23-year old Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) has a one night stand with serious career woman Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), with the unintended consequence of pregnancy. Alison's mother (Joanna Kerns) says she should get the pregnancy "taken care of", while Ben's best friend Jonah (Jonah Hill) suggests that "I won't say the A-word, but it rhymes with abortion." Alison decides to keep the child, while Ben decides to find a real job, grow up, and become a father.
|$148,768,917
|-
|}

== Debatable Whether Great ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''The Room''
|2003
|R
|A tragedy showing the corrosive effects of [[liberal values]] like [[alcoholism]] and [[adultery]], while reflecting the conservative traits of [[charity]], innovation (in banking) and support for small business.
|Unknown
|-
|''Space Jam'', aka "Bugs Bunny's Space Jam''
|1996
|PG
|Michael Jordan uses the help of beloved children's characters from the 1950s (a simpler time in America's history) to beat back foreign invaders who wish to take away our freedoms.
|$ 90,443,603
|-
|''[[One Good Cop]]''
|1991
|R
|Titular [[New York City]] police detective (Michael Keaton) and his wife (Rene Russo) inherit a family-three small girls-when the detective's partner (Anthony Lapaglia) dies on duty. Has positive portrayals of law enforcers and clergy (one priest turns in money that was stolen from a drug dealer by the cop and left as a donation to his church and the girls talk about "going to Jesus"). Typical violent skirmishes mixed with tender sentimental ones, but also admissions of past adultery by the ill-fated partner, smoking, drinking, much profanity and, of course, illegal drugs.
|$ 11,276,846
|-
|}

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Essays about Conservatism]]
[[Category:Hollywood]]
[[Category: Greatest Conservative Movies]]

Thomas Jefferson

2013-02-25T04:18:42Z

Cengime: I don't see how the VA Statute for Religious Freedom contradicts this in any way.

{{Officeholder
|name=Thomas Jefferson
|image=Thomas-jefferson-1805.jpg
|party=
|spouse=Martha Wayles Skelton
|religion=Christian
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=3rd
|terms=March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809
|vp=[[Aaron Burr]] [[George Clinton]]
|preceded=[[John Adams]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[James Madison]]
}}
{{Officeholder/vice president
|country=the United States
|number=2nd
|terms=March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
|president=[[John Adams]]
|preceded=[[John Adams]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Aaron Burr]]
}}
{{Officeholder/governor
|number=2nd
|state=Virginia
|terms=June 1, 1779 – June 3, 1781
|preceded=[[Patrick Henry]]
|former=y
|succeeded=William Fleming
}}
{{Officeholder/ambassador
|for=United States
|to=France
|president=(none)
|terms=May 17, 1785 – September 26, 1789
|preceded=[[Benjamin Franklin]]
|former=y
|succeeded=[[William Short]]
}}
{{Officeholder/secretary (cabinet)
|of=State
|number=1st
|deputy=n
|president=[[George Washington]]
|terms=March 22, 1790 – December 31, 1793
|preceded=[[John Jay]] (Acting)
|former=y
|succeeded=Edmund Randolph
}}
}}
'''Thomas Jefferson''' (1743-1826), was one of early proponents of a [[Constitutional Republic]] in world history and one of the [[Founding Fathers]] of the [[United States]]. He was the primary author of the [[Declaration of Independence]] (1776), relying heavily on the ideas in the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]]. Jefferson was also the first Secretary of State (1789-1793), and the founder of one of the world's two first political parties, the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Jeffersonian Republican Party]] (1793) in opposition to the [[Federalist Party]] of his arch-rival [[Alexander Hamilton]]. He "distrusted the federal government because he knew it would grow too large, become disconnected from the people, and be heir to the arrogance, insolence and prideful haughtiness that is the lot of the unrestrained ..."<ref> [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/16/pruden-winning-the-war-against-civility/ PRUDEN: Winning the war against ‘civility’] - Editorial in the [[Washington Times[[</ref>

A friend of France and the French Revolution, and a bitter enemy of Britain in the 1790s, Jefferson soured on France after [[Napoleon]] came to power and ended democracy there. As President (1801-1809) Jefferson purchased the vast Louisiana Territory in 1803, but was generally ineffective and made a big mistake in signing the [[Embargo Act of 1807]] into law, which he later extended to prohibit certain trade with Canada. Though the embargo applied to both Britain and France, it heightened tensions with Britain, caused economic problems in the United States, and led to the [[War of 1812]].

Jefferson is best known as political theorist who helped redefine [[republicanism]] and promoted democracy and equal rights, while fighting aristocracy and established religion.

==Early Career==
Jefferson was the third child born to a well-connected tobacco planter family of moderate wealth in Goochland County on Virginia's western frontier. His father, Peter Jefferson (1707-57), of Welsh descent, owned slaves and was a county magistrate who was elected to the House of Burgesses (the colonial legislature). His mother, Jane Randolph, belonged to the leading family in the British colony. Peter taught the boy farming; they hunted and fished together. His formal education began under two Anglican ministers. He became proficient in Latin and Greek and had later became proficient in French. He was also tutored in dancing, became polished on the violin, learned chess, avoided cards, and was a fearless and accomplished horseman. His father died in 1757 leaving him some slaves and 2,750 acres of undeveloped farmland.<ref>Merrill D. Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography'' (1975) ch. 1</ref>

Jefferson was well educated at [[William and Mary College]] (class of 1762), and studied law. He was a polymath who read voraciously in history, politics, philosophy, linguistics, architecture and natural science. He studied science with Dr. William Small, who introduce him to Gov. Francis Fauquier and to George Wythe, the leading legal expert of the day in Virginia, who directed Jefferson's reading in law. He was a well-disciplined student who ignored the gambling and horse-racing of his peers to immerse himself in science law and history. He lost his Anglican religion along the way. He mastered the common law treatises of Sir [[Edward Coke]], and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767. He was successful but did not enjoy the tasks and gave up his practice by 1774. However the lawyerly style reappears in his famous state papers where he acts the advocate pleading a cause and buttressing it with precedents. Jefferson was never a good speaker, but he excelled in learning and industry and in precision and clarity of writing. His written arguments are powerful; his "Declaration of Independence" remains the touchstone for powerful argumentation.

==Patriot==
Jefferson had absorbed both the latest ideas of the [[Enlightenment]] and the precepts of [[republicanism]] as taught by the pamphlets of the British "country party", which had long been out of power. Jefferson became committed to the ancient rights of Englishmen possessed by Virginians; he was outraged that parliament would threaten those rights.

As the storms of the 1770s broke young Jefferson had never fully exercised his powerful intellect or fluent pen; he was known as a promising lawyer in a land of great lawyers, a successful planter in a slave society, and a lover of books, science, and music in a land of horse-racing. He was a loyal subject of King [[George III]]. From 1768 to 1775 Jefferson was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for Albemarle.
==Congress==
In 1773, following the lead of Massachusetts, Jefferson helped establish Virginia's Provincial Committee of Correspondence to keep in touch with the other 12 colonies and operate as a shadow government in defiance of the governor. In 1774 he drew up resolutions that were published by the first Virginia convention as "A Summary View of the Rights of British America."<ref> see [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/jeffsumm.htm for text]</ref> This pamphlet, issued in four editions that year, argued that Parliament had no right to legislate for the colonies and that the British Empire was bound together solely by allegiance to the king. It proved one of the most influential statements of the patriot position and was widely read.

In 1775 Jefferson was elected to the Second [[Continental Congress]], meeting in Philadelphia. He drafted the resolution rejecting the conciliatory proposals of the British minister, [[Lord North]]. He was appointed county lieutenant in September and did not return to Congress until May 1776. He drafted a proposed constitution for the state of Virginia which was adopted in part.
===Declaration of Independence===
As a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] he and [[John Adams]] of Massachusetts took the lead in pushing for independence. On June 7, 1776, [[Richard Henry Lee]] of the Virginia delegation proposed independence. Congress appointed a committee of five men to draw up a suitable public declaration. Jefferson was selected to write it because he was a Virginian, a recognized writer, and a zealous committeeman. He incorporated ideas and phrases from many sources to arrive at a consensus statement that all patriots could agree upon. His colleagues [[Benjamin Franklin]] and Adams made small changes in his draft text and Congress made more. The finished document, which both declared independence and proclaimed a philosophy of government, was singly and peculiarly Jefferson's.<ref> See [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html "Declaration of Independence"]</ref>

The opening philosophical section is closely based on [[George Mason]]'s "Declaration of Rights," a notable summary of current revolutionary philosophy.<ref> see [http://gunstonhall.org/documents/vdr.html "The Virginia Declaration of Rights," Final Draft,12 June 1776]</ref>
Mason wrote:
::That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
Jefferson rewrote it:
::We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Jefferson himself did not believe in absolute human equality, and, though he had no fears of revolution, he preferred that the "social compact" be renewed by periodical, peaceful revisions. That government should be based on popular consent and secure the "inalienable" rights of man, among which he included the pursuit of happiness rather than property, that it should be a means to human well-being and not an end in itself, he steadfastly believed. He gave here a matchless expression of his faith.

The charges against King [[George III]], who is singled out because the patriots denied all claims of parliamentary authority, represent an improved version of charges that Jefferson wrote for the preamble of the Virginia constitution of 1776. Relentless in their reiteration, they constitute a statement of the specific grievances of the revolting party, powerfully and persuasively presented at the bar of public opinion.

The Declaration is notable for both its clarity and subtlety of expression, and it abounds in the felicities that are characteristic of Jefferson's best prose.<ref> See Carl Becker, ''The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas'' (1922) ch. 5, [http://books.google.com/books?id=VC5nCgcUmjsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:declaration+intitle:of+intitle:independence&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1 online edition]; Garry Wills, ''Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.'' (1978); Pauline Maier, ''American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence.'' (1997)</ref> More impassioned than any other of his writings, it is eloquent in its sustained elevation of style and remains his noblest literary [[monument]].

The concepts of natural law, of inviolable rights, and of government by consent were drawn from the [[Republicanism|republican tradition]] that stretched back to ancient Rome and was neither new nor distinctively American. However it was unprecedented for a nation to declare that it would be governed by these propositions. It was Jefferson's almost religious commitment to these republican propositions that is the key to his entire life. He was more than the author of this statement of the national purpose: he was a living example of its philosophy, accepting its ideals as the controlling principles of his own life. Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, which became the birthday of the independent nation.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 2</ref>

When the Declaration was signed, all British forces had been driven out of the 13 colonies, which now became the 13 states. However King [[George III]] refused to give up and of "his" possessions, so the war dragged on until the final American victory at Yorktown in 1781 caused Parliament to change the government in London and sue for peace.
====World impact====
The Declaration immediately sparked serious discussion in Europe and Latin America about the legitimacy of empires. By the 21st century, over 100 countries had their own declarations of independence, modeled in part on the very first one by Jefferson in 1776.<ref> Historians discount the influence of previous declarations. David Armitage, ''The Declaration of Independence: A Global History'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Declaration-Independence-Global-History/dp/0674022823/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212623939&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]</ref>

=== Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom ===
: ''Main Article: [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]]''
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written by [[Thomas Jefferson]] in 1777<ref>Atkinson, Kathleen (2007). "[http://www.has.vcu.edu/soc/rdr/Culture.groups/VirginiaReligiousLibertyHistory.pdf Early Virginians and Religious Freedom for Americans]." ''Virginia Commonwealth University''. The World Religions in Richmond Project.</ref>, introduced in the Virginia General Assembly in 1779, and on January 16, 1786 enacted into state law through the assistance of [[James Madison]].<ref>''Virginia Historical Society''. "[http://www.vahistorical.org/onthisday/11686.htm 16 January 1786: Statute for Religious Freedom]." On This Day: Legislative Moments in Virginia History.</ref> The legislation is one of only three accomplishments Jefferson instructed be included in his epitaph.<ref>"[http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/brief-biography-thomas-jefferson Brief Biography of Thomas Jefferson]." The Jefferson Monticello.</ref> The document expresses Jefferson's view that religion is a matter of individual conscience: {{cquote|An Act for establishing religious Freedom. Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free;
That all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and therefore are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being Lord, both of body and mind yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do}} Since Thomas Jefferson called William Penn "the greatest law giver the world has produced"<ref name=phmc>Ries, Linda A. & Stewart, Jane S. "[http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DAM/charter/charter.html This Venerable Document]." Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.</ref> it would seem that whatever his beliefs may have become in later years, he derived his original inspiration from the Christian government of William Penn over a century earlier, the [[Province of Pennsylvania]].
==== Autobiography ====
Jefferson's autobiography provides more insight on the Virginia Statute. Jefferson stated, {{cquote|Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word "Jesus Christ," so that it should read "a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion." The insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it's protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination.<ref>Jefferson, Thomas (1821, January 6). "[http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Jefferson/Autobiography.html Autobiography]."</ref>}} Therefore, it appears that this was actually a more liberal statement by not using the name "Jesus Christ" at the time, much moreso than the clearly Christian origins of William Penn a century earlier. The Virginia legislature wanted to ensure all religions were "within the mantle of it's protection". Nevertheless, while it may have protected the beliefs of atheists or "infidel[s]" as Jefferson stated, the references to a Creator show such a belief was requisite for stating inalienable rights accorded by law.

==Reforming Virginia==
In September 1776 Jefferson left the national capital in Philadelphia and spent the rest of the war in Virginia, where he took control of the legislature and had a significant impact in shaping the laws of the new state.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 3</ref> In the House of Delegates he proposed a series of major reforms--almost unparalleled in scope and unequaled as the work of a single legislator. Of 126 bills he proposed, four-fifths were enacted in some form; and Jefferson drew up almost half the total. In 1779 he proposed "The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom," which was adopted in 1786.<ref> see [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/k12/bor/vsrftext.htm text]</ref> Its goal was complete separation of church and state and declared the opinions of men to be beyond the jurisdiction of the civil magistrate. He asserted that the mind is not subject to coercion, that civil rights have no dependence on religious opinions, and that the opinions of men are not the concern of civil government, became one of the American charters of freedom. This elevated declaration of the freedom of the mind was hailed in Europe as "an example of legislative wisdom and liberality never before known."<ref> See Richard Price to Sylvanus Urban,, July 26, 1786, in [http://books.google.com/books?id=fPQfNx2TQLAC&pg=RA1-PA45&lpg=RA1-PA45&dq=%22an+example+of+legislative+wisdom+and+liberality+&source=web&ots=Z8wRAaAAty&sig=1ytdIIZ6IjyzlbESYVtGAPWy40E&hl=en Richard Price, ''The correspondence of Richard Price,'' (1991) vol. 2, p. 45 online]</ref>

Jefferson put forth numerous proposals to reform public education, but they failed at this time. He did manage to abolish the professorships of Hebrew, theology, and ancient languages at the College of William and Mary, and instead set up professorships of anatomy and medicine, law, and modern languages, the two latter being the first of their kind in America. His proposals to gradually end slavery were not reported out of committee.

His laws on inheritance ended the practice of primogeniture, whereby the eldest son inherited the entire estate, so as to spread out wealth more evenly and open up opportunities for more young men.

In 1779 he was elected to succeed [[Patrick Henry]] as governor of Virginia for a one year term. Everything went wrong. British invasions by land and sea, Indian raids in the west, fiscal shortfalls, militia problems, profiteering, personal rivalries, and the shift of the main theater of war to Virginia created more challenges than he could solve. Re-elected in 1780, he saw the main British army under Cornwallis enter from the South in 1781; the Continental Army commander, General Von Steuben, was outmaneuvered. Jefferson quit office before his successor was named and the legislature had fled; he was almost captured when the British raided Monticello looking for him. Fortunately Washington arrived with the American and French armies and trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown, where the entire British army surrendered. Later the legislature investigated his administration and vindicated him, but Jefferson was embarrassed. Jefferson was an efficient, systematic, indefatigable administrator with a knack for getting men to work together smoothly, but his militia could not match the British army. He coped with these problems with a degree of success or failure that remains controversial among scholars. <ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 4</ref>

He suffered an irreparable loss when his beloved wife Martha died in 1782 and he gave up all idea of ever marrying again; they had three surviving daughters—Martha (1772–1836), Mary (1778–1804), and Lucy (1782–1784).
===''Notes on the State of Virginia''===
In 1780-83, Jefferson wrote his only book, ''Notes on the State of Virginia.''<ref> See [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JEFFERSON/toc.html for complete text of ''Notes on the State of Virginia'']</ref> It was written in the form of answers to questions about the geography, natural resources, Indians, government and economy of Virginia, based on his own research. The book was first published in French in Paris in 1785 (and in English in 1787), and immediately Jefferson's scientific reputation in Europe, while debunking some outlandish theories, especially those of the eminent naturalist the [[Comte de Buffon]], to the effect that animals regressed to smaller size in the new world. Jefferson's coup came with the mammoth, the giant extinct animal, five times bigger than an elephant, whose tusks, grinders, and bones had been recently dug up in the western part of the state.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) pp 242-52; Thomas O. Jewett, [http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2000_fall/jefferson_paleon.html "Thomas Jefferson Paleontologist," ''Early America Review'', Fall 2000 online]</ref>

==Confederation Congress==
In 1783 Jefferson returned to Congress, became its leader, and launched another intensive legislative effort. His major achievement was conceptualizing a solution for territorial government in the land north of the Ohio River. Virginia ceded its land claims to the national government, Jefferson proposed a checkerboard system of land surveys, which avoided the terrible confusion that caused endless lawsuits over land ownership south of the river. One section in every sixteen was set aside to support public schools. Statehood was promised once a territory reached a certain population. Jefferson would not allow slavery in the territories. Many of Jefferson's ideas were passed into law after he left Congress, notably in the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) pp 274-85</ref>

Jefferson's report on coinage established the decimal dollar as the unit of money, though he failed then and later to secure a system of uniform weights and measures based on decimal notation.

==Minister to France==
[[File:Thomas Jefferson.jpg|thumb|An American in Paris.]]
He succeeded [[Benjamin Franklin]] as minister to France (1785-89), and so was not present when the Constitution was written and ratified.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 6</ref>

==1790s==

Jefferson returned from France in 1789 and became the first Secretary of State (1789-1793) in the cabinet of President [[George Washington]]. With his close ally [[James Madison]] (a member of the House) Jefferson opposed the Hamiltonian programs for national finance, especially assumption of state wartime debts and the [[First National Bank]]. Jefferson and Madison and created a new party the Republicans, (called the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] by historians) to oppose Hamilton's [[Federalist party]]. These were the first two modern political parties in the world (that is the first to reach out to the voters for support). Jefferson and his Republicans supported the French Revolution (from 1793 to 1800), while the Federalists favored Britain. President Washington managed to maintain neutrality in the war between Britain and France. Hamilton had more influence than Jefferson, even in foreign policy, as shown by Hamilton's success in securing the [[Jay Treaty]] of 1795 that opened ten years of friendly trade with Britain.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 7</ref>

Jefferson was defeated for president in the election of 1796 by [[John Adams]], but became Vice President. When the [[Quasi War]] (that is undeclared war) with France broke out in 1798 and Federalists passed the [[Alien and Sedition laws]], Jefferson and Madison protested by secretly writing the [[Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions]] of 1798. They argued the right of state governments to nullify federal laws considered unconstitutional; this was the start of the [[States Rights]] theory that played a role in the coming of the [[American Civil War]] in 1861 and still plays a role in Constitutional debates.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 8</ref>

==President: Successful first term, 1801-1805==
Jefferson defeated Adams and was elected President in 1800, in what his supporters called the [[Revolution of 1800]]. In his first term Jefferson negotiated the [[Louisiana Purchase]] with France. then sent [[Lewis and Clark]] to explore the vast new lands. He set up a territorial system for the Louisiana purchase. He promoted reservations for Indians to settle them on fixed parcels of land and teach them farming (instead of hunting and raiding).<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 9</ref>

Jefferson removed many Federalist office holders in order to balance the civil service between parties. Bitterly opposed to strong judges, he had Congress abolish the lower courts the Federalists had created, and tried to impeach and remove two Federalist judges. He succeeded in removing one [[John Pickering|incompetent figure]] but was defeated when he tried to remove Supreme Court Justice [[Samuel Chase]]. Jefferson never dared attack Chief Justice [[John Marshall]], a Federalist who made the Supreme Court a bastion of nationalism, much to Jefferson's disgust.
==President: Troubled second term, 1805-1809==
Jefferson's second term was marked by escalating tensions with both Britain and France (which were at war with each other). Jefferson's use of economic warfare, especially the [[Embargo of 1807]], failed, as he tried to crack down on New England merchants who defied laws that restricted their trade. Jefferson opposed building up the army or navy, insisting that the militia would suffice, aided by small gunboats.

Most historians judge his military policies a major disaster, for they failed badly when the [[War of 1812]] with Britain came three years after he left office.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 10</ref>

Jefferson left the White House under a cloud and never ran for office again.

==Retirement==
In political retirement Jefferson helped create and design the [[University of Virginia]], which he considered a major accomplishment. He believed that republican government depends on an informed citizenry; that education is a duty of the state; and that, while all should be given learning sufficient to enable them to understand their rights and duties as citizens, the "natural aristocracy" of virtue and talent should be drawn forth from the general mass and given every opportunity of public education. He continued through life to advocate this philosophy of education.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 11</ref>

Jefferson died on July 4th, [[Independence Day]], in 1826. It was the same day as the death of [[John Adams]]. They had been close friends until the political wars of the 1790s drove them apart, then resumed their friendship with a brilliant correspondence.

==Image and memory==
The modern [[Democratic Party]] claims direct descent from Jefferson -- a minor exaggeration because the Jeffersonian party died in the mid-1820s and the modern party was formed in the 1830s. Jefferson has been commemorated in the names of many counties and schools. Conservative commentator [[George Will]] has called Jefferson the "Man of the Millennium" -- that is the most influential person in world history over the last 1000 years. His musical passion became a source of inspiration for contemporary american rock band Jefferson Airplane.

==Jefferson's views==
===Slavery===
In ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1785) Jefferson deplored the despotic, lawless treatment of slaves, suggesting that the only remedy was to emancipate and remove Virginia's slaves and then declare them a free and independent people. Colonization to an unspecified destination was necessary because racial co-existence was impossible; emancipation otherwise would produce "convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of one or the other race." Differences between the two races were "fixed in nature", he said:
:"Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me, that in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior...and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous."<ref> Jefferson, [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/JEFFERSON/ch14.html ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' ch 14]</ref>

Jefferson believed that, eventually, all Americans had to be free. His goals for unlimited national improvement were incompatible with slaves in America. Both slavery and the slave trade would have to be ended in favor of free commerce and free labor. The key word for Jefferson was "amelioration," and it included several stages of national and moral development. First, Americans would abolish the slave trade. "Citizens," President Jefferson declared in 1806, should "withdraw . . . from all further participation in those violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending inhabitants of Africa" to promote "the morality, the reputation, and the best interests of our country."<ref> "Sixth Annual Message," December 2, 1806</ref> Second, the owners should raise up the moral and intellectual levels of their slaves. As masters established ties of reciprocal obligation and sympathy with their slaves, they would prepare themselves—and their slaves for the emancipation and repatriation of all Africans back to Africa. He in fact did secure the abolition by Congress of the international slave trade in 1808. He owned slaves--some 200 at one time or another--but despite his theoretical opposition to slavery he was always so much in debt he could never free them.<ref> Christa Dierksheide, "'The great improvement and civilization of that race': Jefferson and the 'Amelioration' of Slavery, ca. 1770–1826," ''Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal'' 6#1 Spring 2008, pp. 165-197. </ref>

Helo and Onuf (2003) have explored the logic of Jefferson's philosophical position against slavery in light of his ownership of slaves and his belief that the wholesale and immediate emancipation of slaves would threaten the new Republic. Heavily influenced by the writings of political philosophers Charles de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and especially Lord Kames, Jefferson grounded his position regarding slavery on the Kamesian principle that man was capable of moral development and, consequently, moral codes varied among different nations and progressed (or retrograded) over time in each nation. Kames posited that moral progress in a society, however, required a government. These concepts and others helped Jefferson shape his arguments in the Declaration of Independence, as rationale for the American Revolution. Moreover, they were the basis for his belief that slaves should be freed only when they could be assured of having their own government and a means, thereby, of self-determination as well as practical and moral education. Jefferson was convinced that emancipation on a large scale, before Virginia slaveholders and American society as a whole advanced morally, would precipitate racial violence and put the American experiment at risk.<ref>Ari Helo and Peter Onuf, "Jefferson, Morality, and the Problem of Slavery." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 2003 60(3): 583-614. Issn: 0043-5597 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]] </ref>

===Religion===
Jefferson was keenly interested in religion. He was raised in the [[Church of England]] at a time when it was the established church in Virginia and never formally left the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]], and attended church regularly near the end of his life. It is often claimed that Jefferson was not Christian but a [[Deist]] and that his use of the term "Nature's God" in the Declaration of Independence was to a vague concept of a designer or even nature itself.<ref>Voelker, David J. (1993). "[http://history.hanover.edu/hhr/hhr93_1.html Who is Nature's God?]" ''Hanover Historical Review 1''.</ref><ref>Isaacson, Walter (2004, July 5). "[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994571,00.html Thomas Jefferson: God of our Fathers]." ''Time Magazine''.</ref><ref>David L. Holmes, ''The Faiths of the Founding Fathers''.</ref> Conservative scholars such as [[David Barton]] point out how Jefferson was a pious orthodox Christian.<ref>Barton, David. ''The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson'' (2012, Thomas Nelson)</ref> Liberal publishing houses, such as Oxford University Press, University of Virginia Press, and Yale University Press, typically deny or downplay Jefferson's Christian beliefs.

Jefferson did not believe the words of Jesus or any other part of the Bible to be divinely inspired,<ref>[http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl261.htm Letter to William Short, August 4, 1820]</ref> but he considered Jesus a great moral teacher who created "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."<ref>http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/jefferson_m_03.html</ref> Believing that the doctrines of the historical Jesus had been greatly corrupted by ignorant and superstitious "pseudo-followers," Jefferson used a razor and a paste to assemble passages from the Synoptic Gospels into a new book commonly called the ''[[Jefferson Bible]]'', omitting references to divinity and miracles. However, he did not necessarily agree with everything that remained, writing, "I read [Jesus's doctrines] as I do those of other antient and modern moralists, with a mixture of approbation and dissent."<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(ws03101)) Letter to William Short, April 13, 1820]</ref>

In an 1803 letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Jefferson declared that "I am a Christian," though his view of Christianity was different from most:
<blockquote>I then promised you that one day or other I would give you my views of [the Christian religion]. They are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others, ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other.<ref>Jefferson, Thomas, April 21, 1803: Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush[http://www.angelfire.com/co/JeffersonBible/jeffbsyl.html]</ref></blockquote>

He worked tirelessly to create a "wall of separation" between church and state, fearing that unifying the two would create tyranny over the free minds of people. He had a very negative view of the Roman Catholic Church, and succeeded in disestablishing the Anglican [[Church of England]] in Virginia during the Revolution.

Jefferson often made references to God and providence. In one of his writings now inscribed on the [[Jefferson Memorial]] in Washington, D.C., Jefferson said:

<blockquote>God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.</blockquote>

Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address implied that he believed in divine intervention:<blockquote>"I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old."</blockquote>

Jefferson was also greatly interested in Eastern religions and Islam. In fact, in 2007, Representative Keith Ellison (the first Muslim elected to Congress) was sworn in on Jefferson's copy of the Koran.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010301179.html</ref>

===The Right to Bear Arms===
"In a nation governed by the people themselves, the possession of arms to defend their nation against usurpers within and without was deemed absolutely necessary. This right is protected by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. A gun was an everyday implement in early American society, and Jefferson recommended its use." <ref>[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1500.htm#Arms Jefferson on Politics & Government: Civil Rights]</ref>

<blockquote>A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun, therefore, be the constant companion of your walks. --Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1785. ME 5:85, Papers 8:407</blockquote>

<blockquote>The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:45</blockquote>

<blockquote>One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. --Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1796. ME 9:341</blockquote>

=== Architecture ===
[[Image:University of Virginia.jpg|thumb|The Rotunda of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson.]]

Jefferson was the founder of the University of Virginia and designer of ''his "academical village"''; he made the drawings for ''The Rotunda'' in 1819. Self-taught in architecture, read widely and studied the great structures of Europe firsthand. He , assisted [[Pierre L'Enfant]] in the design and layout of the new Federal City (Washington, D.C.) and designed the state capitol building in Richmond. Jefferson believed that "from architecture would flow education in taste, values, and ideals," and therefore constructed buildings that became ideas for America. '' <ref>[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/jeff/jeffarch.html Jefferson and the Politics of Architecture]</ref>

<blockquote>
Jefferson believed that architecture was the heart of the American cause. In his mind, a building was not merely a walled structure, but a metaphor for American ideology, and the process of construction was equal to the task of building a nation. The architecture of any American building should express the American desire to break cultural--as well as political--ties to Europe. American architecture, Jefferson believed, would embody the fulfillment of the civic life of Americans, and he sought to establish the standards of a national architecture, both aesthetically and politically.
</blockquote>

Jefferson was an admirer of [[Andrea Palladio]]; the Palladian influece may be seen at Thomas Jefferson's estate Monticello (1768 - 1809).<ref> [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles10/famous-buildings-51.shtml Famous Buildings In America]</ref>

<blockquote>
[[Thomas Jefferson]] was among the many people who submitted a plan for the White House. His design, however, was not chosen. Instead, James Hoban, an Irish immigrant architect living in Charleston, [[South Carolina]], won the competition and a $500 prize, with a design modeled after Leister House in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]]. <ref>[http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/nation/whitehse_2 The White House.]</ref>
</blockquote>
{{cquote|
''"Whenever it is proposed to prepare plans for the Capitol, I should prefer the adoption of some one of the models of antiquity which have had the approbation of thousands of years; and for the President's house I should prefer the celebrated fronts of modern buildings which have already received the approbation of all good judges. Such are the Galerie du Louvre, the Garde Meubles; and two fronts of the Hotel de Salm."'' T. Jefferson. <ref> Thomas Jefferson to L'Enfant, April 10, 1791, in Saul K. Padover, ed., Thomas Jefferson and the National Capital (Washington, D. C.: US Government Printing Office, 1946), 59. </ref>
}}

==Quotes==
*"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."
*Speaking of great calamities, "There is yet one greater, submission to a government of unlimited powers." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=InAsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA351&dq=submission+to+a+government+of+unlimited+powers.+Jefferson&ei=8CQrSqarK6CIzQTnpfyyBw The Writings of Thomas Jefferson : 1816-1826.‎ - Page 351] by Thomas Jefferson, Paul Leicester Ford</ref>
*"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." <ref name="Thomas">[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgM4tztnJFcC&pg=PA240&dq=government+big+enough+to+give+you+everything&ei=hhc5SoekCKeQyASNj4iLAw Civiliazation's quotes P.240] by Richard Alan Krieger </ref>
*"Government big enough to give you everything you need is government big enough to take away everything you have."<ref name="Thomas">[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgM4tztnJFcC&pg=PA240&dq=government+big+enough+to+give+you+everything&ei=hhc5SoekCKeQyASNj4iLAw Civiliazation's quotes P.240] by Richard Alan Krieger]</ref>
*In a letter to Philips Mazzei, "Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=W5MfcSfA_eUC&pg=PA147&dq=Timid+men+prefer+the+calm+of+despotism+to+the+tempestuous+sea+of+liberty.&ei=2x1ESu6iAZSuzQTJ5NDUDw Jefferson's second revolution P.147] By Susan Dunn</ref>
*"Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils of misgovernment." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=Ak6TAAAAIAAJ&q=Let+our+countrymen+know+that+the+people+alone+can+protect+us+against+these+evils+of+misgovernment.&dq=Let+our+countrymen+know+that+the+people+alone+can+protect+us+against+these+evils+of+misgovernment.&ei=5OlOSqq4LoT0yAS8i8DeAg Thomas Jefferson, world citizen- Page 71] by Elbert Duncan Thomas</ref>

<blockquote>
Let me describe to you a man, not yet forty, tall, and with a mild and pleasing countenance. An American, who without ever having quitted his own country, is at once a musician, skilled in drawing, a geometrician, an astronomer, a natural philosopher, legislator, and statesman…. Sometimes natural philosophy, at others politics or the arts, were the topics of our conversation, for no object had escaped Mr. Jefferson; and it seemed as if from his youth he had placed his mind, as he has done his house, on an elevated situation, from which he might contemplate the universe.
</blockquote>
::::::: Description of a visit to Thomas Jefferson at Monticello in 1782, from Travels in North-America, in the Years 1780-81-82 by the Marquis de Chastellux. <ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr13.html]</ref>

*"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear." <ref>Boyd, Julian P., Charles T. Cullen, John Catanzariti, Barbara B. Oberg, et al, eds. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950-. 33 vols.</ref> Though this quotation promotes the challenging of God, it is not necessarily an argument for atheism; Jefferson believed in a non-Christian God.<ref>"Jefferson believed in the existence of a Supreme Being who was the creator and sustainer of the universe and the ultimate ground of being, but this was not the triune deity of orthodox Christianity." [http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/jeffersons-religious-beliefs Monticello.org on Jefferson's religious beliefs.]</ref>

==Fake quotes==
Dozens of false quotations have been attributed to Jefferson.<ref> See the 28 fakes listed at [http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Spurious_Quotations Spurious Quotations]</ref>
* Jefferson did NOT say, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine”. On the contrary, he was the foremost promoter of democracy in world history.
* In the 1960s leftwing activists invented another false quote: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism".
* Jefferson did not like banks. He did NOT say, "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered."
**Jefferson did say in 1816: "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
*Jefferson did NOT say, "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." He rarely used the word "democracy".<ref> See[http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Spurious_Quotations Spurious Quotations]</ref>
* A common misquote incorrectly attributed to Jefferson is, "Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty." This was actually first said by John Basil Barnhill.<ref>[http://debs.indstate.edu/b262b3_1914.pdf Debate on Socialism], Page 34.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Embargo of 1807]], his failed foreign policy
* [[Democratic-Republican party]], the party he led
* [[First Party System]], how politics worked
* [[Albert Gallatin]]. his Treasury Secretary
* [[Jeffersonian Democracy]], his political coalition
* [[James Madison]], his Secretary of State

==Further reading==
* Banning, Lance. ''The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology'' (1978) [http://www.amazon.com/Jeffersonian-Persuasion-Evolution-Party-Ideology/dp/0801492009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195466092&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Bernstein, Richard B. ''Thomas Jefferson'' (2005) short biography [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-R-B-Bernstein/dp/0195181301/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201550604&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Channing, Edward. ''The Jeffersonian System, 1801-1811'' (1906) [http://books.google.com/books?id=BQcOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Jeffersonian+intitle:System+intitle:1801-1811&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0 full text online]* Cunningham, Noble E. Jr . ''In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1988, short biography) [http://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Reason-Life-Thomas-Jefferson/dp/0345353803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807419&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Ellis, Joseph J. ''American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' (1998), interpretive essays [http://www.amazon.com/American-Sphinx-Character-Thomas-Jefferson/dp/0679444904/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197165858&sr=3 excerpt and text search]
* Ferling, John. ''Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800'' Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108219147 online edition]
* Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on TJ [http://www.historyebook.org/ online at ACLS e-books]
* Koch, Adrienne. ''Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson.'' (1943) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=90632012 online edition]
* Onuf, Peter S. ''The Mind of Thomas Jefferson.'' (2007). 281 pp.
* Onuf, P. S. "Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' (2004; online edn, May 2008; Onuf is a leading American scholar
* Peterson, Merrill D. ''The Jefferson Image in the American Mind'' (1960) [http://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Image-American-Mind/dp/0813918510/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-10 excerpt and text search]
* Peterson, Merrill D. ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography'' (1986), long, detailed biography by leading scholar; [http://www.questia.com/library/book/thomas-jefferson-and-the-new-nation-a-biography-by-merrill-d-peterson.jsp online edition]; also [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-New-Nation-Biography/dp/0195019091/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Peterson, Merrill D. ed. ''Thomas Jefferson: A Reference Biography.'' (1986), very good, encyclopedic essays
* Smelser, Marshall. ''The Democratic Republic: 1801-1815'' (1968) good one-volume history of TJ's presidency and Madison's;
===Primary sources===
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Writings'' (1984, Library of America); includes Autobiography, ''Notes on the State of Virginia,'' Public and Private Papers, Addresses and Letters. 1600pp [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Writings-Autobiography-Addresses/dp/094045016X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Political Writings,'' edited by Joyce Appleby and Terence Ball; Cambridge University Press, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107255488 online edition]
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Jeffersonian Cyclopedia'' 9000 quotes, well arranged [http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/foley/ online]

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Thomas}}
[[Category: Founding Fathers]]
[[Category:American Revolution]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Republicanism]]
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]
[[Category:Virginia Governors]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Political Theory]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]
[[Category:Fiscal Conservatives]]
[[Category:Virginia]]
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]
[[Category:United States Secretaries of State]]

Thomas Jefferson

2012-04-25T23:09:15Z

Cengime: /* Religion */ It is misleading to suggest that this is just the opinion of Holmes

{{Officeholder
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'''Thomas Jefferson''' (1743-1826), was one of early proponents of a [[Constitutional Republic]] in world history and one of the [[Founding Fathers]] of the [[United States]]. He was the primary author of the [[Declaration of Independence]] (1776), relying heavily on the ideas in the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]]. Jefferson was also the first Secretary of State (1789-1793), and the founder of one of the world's two first political parties, the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Jeffersonian Republican Party]] (1793) in opposition to the [[Federalist Party]] of his arch-rival [[Alexander Hamilton]]. He "distrusted the federal government because he knew it would grow too large, become disconnected from the people, and be heir to the arrogance, insolence and prideful haughtiness that is the lot of the unrestrained ..."<ref> [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/16/pruden-winning-the-war-against-civility/ PRUDEN: Winning the war against ‘civility’] - Editorial in the [[Washington Times[[</ref>

A friend of France and the French Revolution, and a bitter enemy of Britain in the 1790s, Jefferson soured on France after [[Napoleon]] came to power and ended democracy there. As President (1801-1809) Jefferson purchased the vast Louisiana Territory in 1803, but was generally ineffective and made a big mistake in signing the [[Embargo Act of 1807]] into law, which he later extended to prohibit certain trade with Canada. Though the embargo applied to both Britain and France, it heightened tensions with Britain, caused economic problems in the United States, and led to the [[War of 1812]].

Jefferson is best known as political theorist who helped redefine [[republicanism]] and promoted democracy and equal rights, while fighting aristocracy and established religion.

==Early Career==
Jefferson was the third child born to a well-connected tobacco planter family of moderate wealth in Goochland County on Virginia's western frontier. His father, Peter Jefferson (1707-57), of Welsh descent, owned slaves and was a county magistrate who was elected to the House of Burgesses (the colonial legislature). His mother, Jane Randolph, belonged to the leading family in the British colony. Peter taught the boy farming; they hunted and fished together. His formal education began under two Anglican ministers. He became proficient in Latin and Greek and had later became proficient in French. He was also tutored in dancing, became polished on the violin, learned chess, avoided cards, and was a fearless and accomplished horseman. His father died in 1757 leaving him some slaves and 2,750 acres of undeveloped farmland.<ref>Merrill D. Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography'' (1975) ch. 1</ref>

Jefferson was well educated at [[William and Mary College]] (class of 1762), and studied law. He was a polymath who read voraciously in history, politics, philosophy, linguistics, architecture and natural science. He studied science with Dr. William Small, who introduce him to Gov. Francis Fauquier and to George Wythe, the leading legal expert of the day in Virginia, who directed Jefferson's reading in law. He was a well-disciplined student who ignored the gambling and horse-racing of his peers to immerse himself in science law and history. He lost his Anglican religion along the way. He mastered the common law treatises of Sir [[Edward Coke]], and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767. He was successful but did not enjoy the tasks and gave up his practice by 1774. However the lawyerly style reappears in his famous state papers where he acts the advocate pleading a cause and buttressing it with precedents. Jefferson was never a good speaker, but he excelled in learning and industry and in precision and clarity of writing. His written arguments are powerful; his "Declaration of Independence" remains the touchstone for powerful argumentation.

==Patriot==
Jefferson had absorbed both the latest ideas of the [[Enlightenment]] and the precepts of [[republicanism]] as taught by the pamphlets of the British "country party", which had long been out of power. Jefferson became committed to the ancient rights of Englishmen possessed by Virginians; he was outraged that parliament would threaten those rights.

As the storms of the 1770s broke young Jefferson had never fully exercised his powerful intellect or fluent pen; he was known as a promising lawyer in a land of great lawyers, a successful planter in a slave society, and a lover of books, science, and music in a land of horse-racing. He was a loyal subject of King [[George III]]. From 1768 to 1775 Jefferson was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for Albemarle.
==Congress==
In 1773, following the lead of Massachusetts, Jefferson helped establish Virginia's Provincial Committee of Correspondence to keep in touch with the other 12 colonies and operate as a shadow government in defiance of the governor. In 1774 he drew up resolutions that were published by the first Virginia convention as "A Summary View of the Rights of British America."<ref> see [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/jeffsumm.htm for text]</ref> This pamphlet, issued in four editions that year, argued that Parliament had no right to legislate for the colonies and that the British Empire was bound together solely by allegiance to the king. It proved one of the most influential statements of the patriot position and was widely read.

In 1775 Jefferson was elected to the Second [[Continental Congress]], meeting in Philadelphia. He drafted the resolution rejecting the conciliatory proposals of the British minister, [[Lord North]]. He was appointed county lieutenant in September and did not return to Congress until May 1776. He drafted a proposed constitution for the state of Virginia which was adopted in part.
===Declaration of Independence===
As a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] he and [[John Adams]] of Massachusetts took the lead in pushing for independence. On June 7, 1776, [[Richard Henry Lee]] of the Virginia delegation proposed independence. Congress appointed a committee of five men to draw up a suitable public declaration. Jefferson was selected to write it because he was a Virginian, a recognized writer, and a zealous committeeman. He incorporated ideas and phrases from many sources to arrive at a consensus statement that all patriots could agree upon. His colleagues [[Benjamin Franklin]] and Adams made small changes in his draft text and Congress made more. The finished document, which both declared independence and proclaimed a philosophy of government, was singly and peculiarly Jefferson's.<ref> See [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html "Declaration of Independence"]</ref>

The opening philosophical section is closely based on [[George Mason]]'s "Declaration of Rights," a notable summary of current revolutionary philosophy.<ref> see [http://gunstonhall.org/documents/vdr.html "The Virginia Declaration of Rights," Final Draft,12 June 1776]</ref>
Mason wrote:
::That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
Jefferson rewrote it:
::We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Jefferson himself did not believe in absolute human equality, and, though he had no fears of revolution, he preferred that the "social compact" be renewed by periodical, peaceful revisions. That government should be based on popular consent and secure the "inalienable" rights of man, among which he included the pursuit of happiness rather than property, that it should be a means to human well-being and not an end in itself, he steadfastly believed. He gave here a matchless expression of his faith.

The charges against King [[George III]], who is singled out because the patriots denied all claims of parliamentary authority, represent an improved version of charges that Jefferson wrote for the preamble of the Virginia constitution of 1776. Relentless in their reiteration, they constitute a statement of the specific grievances of the revolting party, powerfully and persuasively presented at the bar of public opinion.

The Declaration is notable for both its clarity and subtlety of expression, and it abounds in the felicities that are characteristic of Jefferson's best prose.<ref> See Carl Becker, ''The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas'' (1922) ch. 5, [http://books.google.com/books?id=VC5nCgcUmjsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:declaration+intitle:of+intitle:independence&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1 online edition]; Garry Wills, ''Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.'' (1978); Pauline Maier, ''American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence.'' (1997)</ref> More impassioned than any other of his writings, it is eloquent in its sustained elevation of style and remains his noblest literary [[monument]].

The concepts of natural law, of inviolable rights, and of government by consent were drawn from the [[Republicanism|republican tradition]] that stretched back to ancient Rome and was neither new nor distinctively American. However it was unprecedented for a nation to declare that it would be governed by these propositions. It was Jefferson's almost religious commitment to these republican propositions that is the key to his entire life. He was more than the author of this statement of the national purpose: he was a living example of its philosophy, accepting its ideals as the controlling principles of his own life. Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, which became the birthday of the independent nation.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 2</ref>

When the Declaration was signed, all British forces had been driven out of the 13 colonies, which now became the 13 states. However King [[George III]] refused to give up and of "his" possessions, so the war dragged on until the final American victory at Yorktown in 1781 caused Parliament to change the government in London and sue for peace.
====World impact====
The Declaration immediately sparked serious discussion in Europe and Latin America about the legitimacy of empires. By the 21st century, over 100 countries had their own declarations of independence, modeled in part on the very first one by Jefferson in 1776.<ref> Historians discount the influence of previous declarations. David Armitage, ''The Declaration of Independence: A Global History'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Declaration-Independence-Global-History/dp/0674022823/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212623939&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]</ref>

==Reforming Virginia==
In September 1776 Jefferson left the national capital in Philadelphia and spent the rest of the war in Virginia, where he took control of the legislature and had a significant impact in shaping the laws of the new state.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 3</ref> In the House of Delegates he proposed a series of major reforms--almost unparalleled in scope and unequaled as the work of a single legislator. Of 126 bills he proposed, four-fifths were enacted in some form; and Jefferson drew up almost half the total. In 1779 he proposed "The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom," which was adopted in 1786.<ref> see [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/k12/bor/vsrftext.htm text]</ref> Its goal was complete separation of church and state and declared the opinions of men to be beyond the jurisdiction of the civil magistrate. He asserted that the mind is not subject to coercion, that civil rights have no dependence on religious opinions, and that the opinions of men are not the concern of civil government, became one of the American charters of freedom. This elevated declaration of the freedom of the mind was hailed in Europe as "an example of legislative wisdom and liberality never before known."<ref> See Richard Price to Sylvanus Urban,, July 26, 1786, in [http://books.google.com/books?id=fPQfNx2TQLAC&pg=RA1-PA45&lpg=RA1-PA45&dq=%22an+example+of+legislative+wisdom+and+liberality+&source=web&ots=Z8wRAaAAty&sig=1ytdIIZ6IjyzlbESYVtGAPWy40E&hl=en Richard Price, ''The correspondence of Richard Price,'' (1991) vol. 2, p. 45 online]</ref>

Jefferson put forth numerous proposals to reform public education, but they failed at this time. He did manage to abolish the professorships of Hebrew, theology, and ancient languages at the College of William and Mary, and instead set up professorships of anatomy and medicine, law, and modern languages, the two latter being the first of their kind in America. His proposals to gradually end slavery were not reported out of committee.

His laws on inheritance ended the practice of primogeniture, whereby the eldest son inherited the entire estate, so as to spread out wealth more evenly and open up opportunities for more young men.

In 1779 he was elected to succeed [[Patrick Henry]] as governor of Virginia for a one year term. Everything went wrong. British invasions by land and sea, Indian raids in the west, fiscal shortfalls, militia problems, profiteering, personal rivalries, and the shift of the main theater of war to Virginia created more challenges than he could solve. Re-elected in 1780, he saw the main British army under Cornwallis enter from the South in 1781; the Continental Army commander, General Von Steuben, was outmaneuvered. Jefferson quit office before his successor was named and the legislature had fled; he was almost captured when the British raided Monticello looking for him. Fortunately Washington arrived with the American and French armies and trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown, where the entire British army surrendered. Later the legislature investigated his administration and vindicated him, but Jefferson was embarrassed. Jefferson was an efficient, systematic, indefatigable administrator with a knack for getting men to work together smoothly, but his militia could not match the British army. He coped with these problems with a degree of success or failure that remains controversial among scholars. <ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 4</ref>

He suffered an irreparable loss when his beloved wife Martha died in 1782 and he gave up all idea of ever marrying again; they had three surviving daughters—Martha (1772–1836), Mary (1778–1804), and Lucy (1782–1784).
===''Notes on the State of Virginia''===
In 1780-83, Jefferson wrote his only book, ''Notes on the State of Virginia.''<ref> See [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JEFFERSON/toc.html for complete text of ''Notes on the State of Virginia'']</ref> It was written in the form of answers to questions about the geography, natural resources, Indians, government and economy of Virginia, based on his own research. The book was first published in French in Paris in 1785 (and in English in 1787), and immediately Jefferson's scientific reputation in Europe, while debunking some outlandish theories, especially those of the eminent naturalist the [[Comte de Buffon]], to the effect that animals regressed to smaller size in the new world. Jefferson's coup came with the mammoth, the giant extinct animal, five times bigger than an elephant, whose tusks, grinders, and bones had been recently dug up in the western part of the state.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) pp 242-52; Thomas O. Jewett, [http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2000_fall/jefferson_paleon.html "Thomas Jefferson Paleontologist," ''Early America Review'', Fall 2000 online]</ref>

==Confederation Congress==
In 1783 Jefferson returned to Congress, became its leader, and launched another intensive legislative effort. His major achievement was conceptualizing a solution for territorial government in the land north of the Ohio River. Virginia ceded its land claims to the national government, Jefferson proposed a checkerboard system of land surveys, which avoided the terrible confusion that caused endless lawsuits over land ownership south of the river. One section in every sixteen was set aside to support public schools. Statehood was promised once a territory reached a certain population. Jefferson would not allow slavery in the territories. Many of Jefferson's ideas were passed into law after he left Congress, notably in the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) pp 274-85</ref>

Jefferson's report on coinage established the decimal dollar as the unit of money, though he failed then and later to secure a system of uniform weights and measures based on decimal notation.

==Minister to France==
[[File:Thomas Jefferson.jpg|thumb|An American in Paris.]]
He succeeded [[Benjamin Franklin]] as minister to France (1785-89), and so was not present when the Constitution was written and ratified.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 6</ref>

==1790s==

Jefferson returned from France in 1789 and became the first Secretary of State (1789-1793) in the cabinet of President [[George Washington]]. With his close ally [[James Madison]] (a member of the House) Jefferson opposed the Hamiltonian programs for national finance, especially assumption of state wartime debts and the [[First National Bank]]. Jefferson and Madison and created a new party the Republicans, (called the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] by historians) to oppose Hamilton's [[Federalist party]]. These were the first two modern political parties in the world (that is the first to reach out to the voters for support). Jefferson and his Republicans supported the French Revolution (from 1793 to 1800), while the Federalists favored Britain. President Washington managed to maintain neutrality in the war between Britain and France. Hamilton had more influence than Jefferson, even in foreign policy, as shown by Hamilton's success in securing the [[Jay Treaty]] of 1795 that opened ten years of friendly trade with Britain.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 7</ref>

Jefferson was defeated for president in the election of 1796 by [[John Adams]], but became Vice President. When the [[Quasi War]] (that is undeclared war) with France broke out in 1798 and Federalists passed the [[Alien and Sedition laws]], Jefferson and Madison protested by secretly writing the [[Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions]] of 1798. They argued the right of state governments to nullify federal laws considered unconstitutional; this was the start of the [[States Rights]] theory that played a role in the coming of the [[American Civil War]] in 1861 and still plays a role in Constitutional debates.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 8</ref>

==President: Successful first term, 1801-1805==
Jefferson defeated Adams and was elected President in 1800, in what his supporters called the [[Revolution of 1800]]. In his first term Jefferson negotiated the [[Louisiana Purchase]] with France. then sent [[Lewis and Clark]] to explore the vast new lands. He set up a territorial system for the Louisiana purchase. He promoted reservations for Indians to settle them on fixed parcels of land and teach them farming (instead of hunting and raiding).<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 9</ref>

Jefferson removed many Federalist office holders in order to balance the civil service between parties. Bitterly opposed to strong judges, he had Congress abolish the lower courts the Federalists had created, and tried to impeach and remove two Federalist judges. He succeeded in removing one [[John Pickering|incompetent figure]] but was defeated when he tried to remove Supreme Court Justice [[Samuel Chase]]. Jefferson never dared attack Chief Justice [[John Marshall]], a Federalist who made the Supreme Court a bastion of nationalism, much to Jefferson's disgust.
==President: Troubled second term, 1805-1809==
Jefferson's second term was marked by escalating tensions with both Britain and France (which were at war with each other). Jefferson's use of economic warfare, especially the [[Embargo of 1807]], failed, as he tried to crack down on New England merchants who defied laws that restricted their trade. Jefferson opposed building up the army or navy, insisting that the militia would suffice, aided by small gunboats.

Most historians judge his military policies a major disaster, for they failed badly when the [[War of 1812]] with Britain came three years after he left office.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 10</ref>

Jefferson left the White House under a cloud and never ran for office again.

==Retirement==
In political retirement Jefferson helped create and design the [[University of Virginia]], which he considered a major accomplishment. He believed that republican government depends on an informed citizenry; that education is a duty of the state; and that, while all should be given learning sufficient to enable them to understand their rights and duties as citizens, the "natural aristocracy" of virtue and talent should be drawn forth from the general mass and given every opportunity of public education. He continued through life to advocate this philosophy of education.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 11</ref>

Jefferson died on July 4th, [[Independence Day]], in 1826. It was the same day as the death of [[John Adams]]. They had been close friends until the political wars of the 1790s drove them apart, then resumed their friendship with a brilliant correspondence.

==Image and memory==
The modern [[Democratic Party]] claims direct descent from Jefferson -- a minor exaggeration because the Jeffersonian party died in the mid-1820s and the modern party was formed in the 1830s. Jefferson has been commemorated in the names of many counties and schools. Conservative commentator [[George Will]] has called Jefferson the "Man of the Millennium" -- that is the most influential person in world history over the last 1000 years. His musical passion became a source of inspiration for contemporary american rock band Jefferson Airplane.

==Jefferson's views==
===Slavery===
In ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1785) Jefferson deplored the despotic, lawless treatment of slaves, suggesting that the only remedy was to emancipate and remove Virginia's slaves and then declare them a free and independent people. Colonization to an unspecified destination was necessary because racial co-existence was impossible; emancipation otherwise would produce "convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of one or the other race." Differences between the two races were "fixed in nature", he said:
:"Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me, that in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior...and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous."<ref> Jefferson, [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/JEFFERSON/ch14.html ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' ch 14]</ref>

Jefferson believed that, eventually, all Americans had to be free. His goals for unlimited national improvement were incompatible with slaves in America. Both slavery and the slave trade would have to be ended in favor of free commerce and free labor. The key word for Jefferson was "amelioration," and it included several stages of national and moral development. First, Americans would abolish the slave trade. "Citizens," President Jefferson declared in 1806, should "withdraw . . . from all further participation in those violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending inhabitants of Africa" to promote "the morality, the reputation, and the best interests of our country."<ref> "Sixth Annual Message," December 2, 1806</ref> Second, the owners should raise up the moral and intellectual levels of their slaves. As masters established ties of reciprocal obligation and sympathy with their slaves, they would prepare themselves—and their slaves for the emancipation and repatriation of all Africans back to Africa. He in fact did secure the abolition by Congress of the international slave trade in 1808. He owned slaves--some 200 at one time or another--but despite his theoretical opposition to slavery he was always so much in debt he could never free them.<ref> Christa Dierksheide, "'The great improvement and civilization of that race': Jefferson and the 'Amelioration' of Slavery, ca. 1770–1826," ''Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal'' 6#1 Spring 2008, pp. 165-197. </ref>

Helo and Onuf (2003) have explored the logic of Jefferson's philosophical position against slavery in light of his ownership of slaves and his belief that the wholesale and immediate emancipation of slaves would threaten the new Republic. Heavily influenced by the writings of political philosophers Charles de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and especially Lord Kames, Jefferson grounded his position regarding slavery on the Kamesian principle that man was capable of moral development and, consequently, moral codes varied among different nations and progressed (or retrograded) over time in each nation. Kames posited that moral progress in a society, however, required a government. These concepts and others helped Jefferson shape his arguments in the Declaration of Independence, as rationale for the American Revolution. Moreover, they were the basis for his belief that slaves should be freed only when they could be assured of having their own government and a means, thereby, of self-determination as well as practical and moral education. Jefferson was convinced that emancipation on a large scale, before Virginia slaveholders and American society as a whole advanced morally, would precipitate racial violence and put the American experiment at risk.<ref>Ari Helo and Peter Onuf, "Jefferson, Morality, and the Problem of Slavery." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 2003 60(3): 583-614. Issn: 0043-5597 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]] </ref>

===Religion===
Jefferson was keenly interested in religion. He was raised in the [[Church of England]] at a time when it was the established church in Virginia and never formally left the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]], and attended church regularly near the end of his life. Despite that, biographers, historians, and theologians who have described Jefferson as a [[deism|deist]] include Richard B. Bernstein,<ref>Bernstein, R. B. ''Thomas Jefferson'' (2005, Oxford University Press)</ref> Joseph J. Ellis,<ref>Ellis, Joseph J. ''American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' (1998, Vintage)</ref> Willard Sterne Randall,<ref>Randall, Willard Sterne. ''Thomas Jefferson: A Life'' (1994, Harper Perennial)</ref> Noble E. Cunningham, Jr.,<ref>Cunningham, Noble E. ''In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1988, Ballantine Books)</ref> Fawn M. Brodie,<ref>Brodie, Fawn M. ''Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History'' (1974, W. W. Norton & Company)</ref> Edwin S. Gaustad,<ref>Gaustad, Edwin S. ''Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson'' (1996, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)</ref> Sidney E. Ahlstrom,<ref>Ahlstrom, Sidney E. ''A Religious History of the American People'' (1972, Yale University Press)</ref> David L. Holmes<ref>Holmes, David L. ''The Faiths of the Founding Fathers'' (2006, Oxford University Press)</ref> (who also believes that [[Barack Obama]] is a Christian<ref>[http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2012/mar/25/book-festival-wraps-session-presidents-faith-ar-1793519/]</ref>), Charles B. Sanford,<ref>Sanford, Charles B. ''The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1984, University of Virginia Press)</ref>, and Stephen H. Webb.<ref>Webb, Stephen H. ''American Providence: A Nation with a Mission'' (2006, Continuum)</ref> However, conservative writers such as [[David Barton]] have defended the view that Jefferson was a pious orthodox Christian.<ref>Barton, David. ''The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson'' (2012, Thomas Nelson)</ref>

Jefferson did not believe the words of Jesus or any other part of the Bible to be divinely inspired,<ref>[http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl261.htm Letter to William Short, August 4, 1820]</ref> but he considered Jesus a great moral teacher who created "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."<ref>http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/jefferson_m_03.html</ref> Believing that the doctrines of the historical Jesus had been greatly corrupted by ignorant and superstitious "pseudo-followers," Jefferson used a razor and a paste to assemble passages from the Synoptic Gospels into a new book commonly called the ''[[Jefferson Bible]]'', omitting references to divinity and miracles. However, he did not necessarily agree with everything that remained, writing, "I read [Jesus's doctrines] as I do those of other antient and modern moralists, with a mixture of approbation and dissent."<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(ws03101)) Letter to William Short, April 13, 1820]</ref>

In an 1803 letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Jefferson declared that "I am a Christian," though his view of Christianity was different from most:
<blockquote>I then promised you that one day or other I would give you my views of [the Christian religion]. They are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others, ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other.<ref>Jefferson, Thomas, April 21, 1803: Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush[http://www.angelfire.com/co/JeffersonBible/jeffbsyl.html]</ref></blockquote>

He worked tirelessly to create a "wall of separation" between church and state, fearing that unifying the two would create tyranny over the free minds of people. He had a very negative view of the Roman Catholic Church, and succeeded in disestablishing the Anglican [[Church of England]] in Virginia during the Revolution.

Jefferson often made references to God and providence. In one of his writings now inscribed on the [[Jefferson Memorial]] in Washington, D.C., Jefferson said:

<blockquote>God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.</blockquote>

Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address implied that he believed in divine intervention:<blockquote>"I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old."</blockquote>

Jefferson was also greatly interested in Eastern religions and Islam. In fact, in 2007, Representative Keith Ellison (the first Muslim elected to Congress) was sworn in on Jefferson's copy of the Koran.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010301179.html</ref>

===The Right to Bear Arms===
"In a nation governed by the people themselves, the possession of arms to defend their nation against usurpers within and without was deemed absolutely necessary. This right is protected by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. A gun was an everyday implement in early American society, and Jefferson recommended its use." <ref>[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1500.htm#Arms Jefferson on Politics & Government: Civil Rights]</ref>

<blockquote>A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun, therefore, be the constant companion of your walks. --Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1785. ME 5:85, Papers 8:407</blockquote>

<blockquote>The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:45</blockquote>

<blockquote>One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. --Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1796. ME 9:341</blockquote>

=== Architecture ===
[[Image:University of Virginia.jpg|thumb|The Rotunda of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson.]]

Jefferson was the founder of the University of Virginia and designer of ''his "academical village"''; he made the drawings for ''The Rotunda'' in 1819. Self-taught in architecture, read widely and studied the great structures of Europe firsthand. He , assisted [[Pierre L'Enfant]] in the design and layout of the new Federal City (Washington, D.C.) and designed the state capitol building in Richmond. Jefferson believed that "from architecture would flow education in taste, values, and ideals," and therefore constructed buildings that became ideas for America. '' <ref>[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/jeff/jeffarch.html Jefferson and the Politics of Architecture]</ref>

<blockquote>
Jefferson believed that architecture was the heart of the American cause. In his mind, a building was not merely a walled structure, but a metaphor for American ideology, and the process of construction was equal to the task of building a nation. The architecture of any American building should express the American desire to break cultural--as well as political--ties to Europe. American architecture, Jefferson believed, would embody the fulfillment of the civic life of Americans, and he sought to establish the standards of a national architecture, both aesthetically and politically.
</blockquote>

Jefferson was an admirer of [[Andrea Palladio]]; the Palladian influece may be seen at Thomas Jefferson's estate Monticello (1768 - 1809).<ref> [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles10/famous-buildings-51.shtml Famous Buildings In America]</ref>

<blockquote>
[[Thomas Jefferson]] was among the many people who submitted a plan for the White House. His design, however, was not chosen. Instead, James Hoban, an Irish immigrant architect living in Charleston, [[South Carolina]], won the competition and a $500 prize, with a design modeled after Leister House in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]]. <ref>[http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/nation/whitehse_2 The White House.]</ref>
</blockquote>
{{cquote|
''"Whenever it is proposed to prepare plans for the Capitol, I should prefer the adoption of some one of the models of antiquity which have had the approbation of thousands of years; and for the President's house I should prefer the celebrated fronts of modern buildings which have already received the approbation of all good judges. Such are the Galerie du Louvre, the Garde Meubles; and two fronts of the Hotel de Salm."'' T. Jefferson. <ref> Thomas Jefferson to L'Enfant, April 10, 1791, in Saul K. Padover, ed., Thomas Jefferson and the National Capital (Washington, D. C.: US Government Printing Office, 1946), 59. </ref>
}}

==Quotes==
*"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."
*Speaking of great calamities, "There is yet one greater, submission to a government of unlimited powers." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=InAsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA351&dq=submission+to+a+government+of+unlimited+powers.+Jefferson&ei=8CQrSqarK6CIzQTnpfyyBw The Writings of Thomas Jefferson : 1816-1826.‎ - Page 351] by Thomas Jefferson, Paul Leicester Ford</ref>
*"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." <ref name="Thomas">[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgM4tztnJFcC&pg=PA240&dq=government+big+enough+to+give+you+everything&ei=hhc5SoekCKeQyASNj4iLAw Civiliazation's quotes P.240] by Richard Alan Krieger </ref>
*"Government big enough to give you everything you need is government big enough to take away everything you have."<ref name="Thomas">[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgM4tztnJFcC&pg=PA240&dq=government+big+enough+to+give+you+everything&ei=hhc5SoekCKeQyASNj4iLAw Civiliazation's quotes P.240] by Richard Alan Krieger]</ref>
*In a letter to Philips Mazzei, "Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=W5MfcSfA_eUC&pg=PA147&dq=Timid+men+prefer+the+calm+of+despotism+to+the+tempestuous+sea+of+liberty.&ei=2x1ESu6iAZSuzQTJ5NDUDw Jefferson's second revolution P.147] By Susan Dunn</ref>
*"Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils of misgovernment." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=Ak6TAAAAIAAJ&q=Let+our+countrymen+know+that+the+people+alone+can+protect+us+against+these+evils+of+misgovernment.&dq=Let+our+countrymen+know+that+the+people+alone+can+protect+us+against+these+evils+of+misgovernment.&ei=5OlOSqq4LoT0yAS8i8DeAg Thomas Jefferson, world citizen- Page 71] by Elbert Duncan Thomas</ref>

<blockquote>
Let me describe to you a man, not yet forty, tall, and with a mild and pleasing countenance. An American, who without ever having quitted his own country, is at once a musician, skilled in drawing, a geometrician, an astronomer, a natural philosopher, legislator, and statesman…. Sometimes natural philosophy, at others politics or the arts, were the topics of our conversation, for no object had escaped Mr. Jefferson; and it seemed as if from his youth he had placed his mind, as he has done his house, on an elevated situation, from which he might contemplate the universe.
</blockquote>
::::::: Description of a visit to Thomas Jefferson at Monticello in 1782, from Travels in North-America, in the Years 1780-81-82 by the Marquis de Chastellux. <ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr13.html]</ref>

*"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear." <ref>Boyd, Julian P., Charles T. Cullen, John Catanzariti, Barbara B. Oberg, et al, eds. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950-. 33 vols.</ref> Though this quotation promotes the challenging of God, it is not necessarily an argument for atheism; Jefferson believed in a non-Christian God.<ref>"Jefferson believed in the existence of a Supreme Being who was the creator and sustainer of the universe and the ultimate ground of being, but this was not the triune deity of orthodox Christianity." [http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/jeffersons-religious-beliefs Monticello.org on Jefferson's religious beliefs.]</ref>

==Fake quotes==
Dozens of false quotations have been attributed to Jefferson.<ref> See the 28 fakes listed at [http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Spurious_Quotations Spurious Quotations]</ref>
* Jefferson did NOT say, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine”. On the contrary, he was the foremost promoter of democracy in world history.
* In the 1960s leftwing activists invented another false quote: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism".
* Jefferson did not like banks. He did NOT say, "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered."
**Jefferson did say in 1816: "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
*Jefferson did NOT say, "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." He rarely used the word "democracy".<ref> See[http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Spurious_Quotations Spurious Quotations]</ref>
* A common misquote incorrectly attributed to Jefferson is, "Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty." This was actually first said by John Basil Barnhill.<ref>[http://debs.indstate.edu/b262b3_1914.pdf Debate on Socialism], Page 34.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Embargo of 1807]], his failed foreign policy
* [[Democratic-Republican party]], the party he led
* [[First Party System]], how politics worked
* [[Albert Gallatin]]. his Treasury Secretary
* [[Jeffersonian Democracy]], his political coalition
* [[James Madison]], his Secretary of State

==Further reading==
* Banning, Lance. ''The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology'' (1978) [http://www.amazon.com/Jeffersonian-Persuasion-Evolution-Party-Ideology/dp/0801492009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195466092&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Bernstein, Richard B. ''Thomas Jefferson'' (2005) short biography [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-R-B-Bernstein/dp/0195181301/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201550604&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Channing, Edward. ''The Jeffersonian System, 1801-1811'' (1906) [http://books.google.com/books?id=BQcOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Jeffersonian+intitle:System+intitle:1801-1811&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0 full text online]* Cunningham, Noble E. Jr . ''In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1988, short biography) [http://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Reason-Life-Thomas-Jefferson/dp/0345353803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807419&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Ellis, Joseph J. ''American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' (1998), interpretive essays [http://www.amazon.com/American-Sphinx-Character-Thomas-Jefferson/dp/0679444904/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197165858&sr=3 excerpt and text search]
* Ferling, John. ''Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800'' Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108219147 online edition]
* Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on TJ [http://www.historyebook.org/ online at ACLS e-books]
* Koch, Adrienne. ''Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson.'' (1943) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=90632012 online edition]
* Onuf, Peter S. ''The Mind of Thomas Jefferson.'' (2007). 281 pp.
* Onuf, P. S. "Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' (2004; online edn, May 2008; Onuf is a leading American scholar
* Peterson, Merrill D. ''The Jefferson Image in the American Mind'' (1960) [http://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Image-American-Mind/dp/0813918510/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-10 excerpt and text search]
* Peterson, Merrill D. ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography'' (1986), long, detailed biography by leading scholar; [http://www.questia.com/library/book/thomas-jefferson-and-the-new-nation-a-biography-by-merrill-d-peterson.jsp online edition]; also [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-New-Nation-Biography/dp/0195019091/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Peterson, Merrill D. ed. ''Thomas Jefferson: A Reference Biography.'' (1986), very good, encyclopedic essays
* Smelser, Marshall. ''The Democratic Republic: 1801-1815'' (1968) good one-volume history of TJ's presidency and Madison's;
===Primary sources===
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Writings'' (1984, Library of America); includes Autobiography, ''Notes on the State of Virginia,'' Public and Private Papers, Addresses and Letters. 1600pp [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Writings-Autobiography-Addresses/dp/094045016X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Political Writings,'' edited by Joyce Appleby and Terence Ball; Cambridge University Press, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107255488 online edition]
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Jeffersonian Cyclopedia'' 9000 quotes, well arranged [http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/foley/ online]

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Thomas}}
[[Category: Founding Fathers]]
[[Category:American Revolution]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Republicanism]]
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]
[[Category:Virginia Governors]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Political Theory]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]
[[Category:Fiscal Conservatives]]
[[Category:Virginia]]
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]
[[Category:United States Secretaries of State]]

Thomas Jefferson

2012-04-24T04:25:19Z

Cengime: Undo revision 977564 by Aschlafly (talk) - The article already said Jefferson is thought a deist, so that's no reason to prefer that version

{{Officeholder
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'''Thomas Jefferson''' (1743-1826), was one of early proponents of a [[Constitutional Republic]] in world history and one of the [[Founding Fathers]] of the [[United States]]. He was the primary author of the [[Declaration of Independence]] (1776), the first Secretary of State (1789-1793), the founder of one of the world's two first political parties, the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Jeffersonian Republican Party]] (1793) in opposition to the [[Federalist Party]] of his arch-rival [[Alexander Hamilton]]. He "distrusted the federal government because he knew it would grow too large, become disconnected from the people, and be heir to the arrogance, insolence and prideful haughtiness that is the lot of the unrestrained ..."<ref> [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/16/pruden-winning-the-war-against-civility/ PRUDEN: Winning the war against ‘civility’] - Editorial in the [[Washington Times[[</ref>

A friend of France and the French Revolution, and a bitter enemy of Britain in the 1790s, Jefferson soured on France after [[Napoleon]] came to power and ended democracy there. As President (1801-1809) Jefferson purchased Louisiana in 1803, but relations with Britain soured after 1805, leading to the [[War of 1812]]. Jefferson is best known as political theorist who helped redefine [[republicanism]] and promoted democracy and equal rights, while fighting aristocracy and established religion.

==Early Career==
Jefferson was the third child born to a well-connected tobacco planter family of moderate wealth in Goochland County on Virginia's western frontier. His father, Peter Jefferson (1707-57), of Welsh descent, owned slaves and was a county magistrate who was elected to the House of Burgesses (the colonial legislature). His mother, Jane Randolph, belonged to the leading family in the British colony. Peter taught the boy farming; they hunted and fished together. His formal education began under two Anglican ministers. He became proficient in Latin and Greek and had later became proficient in French. He was also tutored in dancing, became polished on the violin, learned chess, avoided cards, and was a fearless and accomplished horseman. His father died in 1757 leaving him some slaves and 2,750 acres of undeveloped farmland.<ref>Merrill D. Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography'' (1975) ch. 1</ref>

Jefferson was well educated at [[William and Mary College]] (class of 1762), and studied law. He was a polymath who read voraciously in history, politics, philosophy, linguistics, architecture and natural science. He studied science with Dr. William Small, who introduce him to Gov. Francis Fauquier and to George Wythe, the leading legal expert of the day in Virginia, who directed Jefferson's reading in law. He was a well-disciplined student who ignored the gambling and horse-racing of his peers to immerse himself in science law and history. He lost his Anglican religion along the way. He mastered the common law treatises of Sir [[Edward Coke]], and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767. He was successful but did not enjoy the tasks and gave up his practice by 1774. However the lawyerly style reappears in his famous state papers where he acts the advocate pleading a cause and buttressing it with precedents. Jefferson was never a good speaker, but he excelled in learning and industry and in precision and clarity of writing. His written arguments are powerful; his "Declaration of Independence" remains the touchstone for powerful argumentation.

==Patriot==
Jefferson had absorbed both the latest ideas of the [[Enlightenment]] and the precepts of [[republicanism]] as taught by the pamphlets of the British "country party", which had long been out of power. Jefferson became committed to the ancient rights of Englishmen possessed by Virginians; he was outraged that parliament would threaten those rights.

As the storms of the 1770s broke young Jefferson had never fully exercised his powerful intellect or fluent pen; he was known as a promising lawyer in a land of great lawyers, a successful planter in a slave society, and a lover of books, science, and music in a land of horse-racing. He was a loyal subject of King [[George III]]. From 1768 to 1775 Jefferson was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for Albemarle.
==Congress==
In 1773, following the lead of Massachusetts, Jefferson helped establish Virginia's Provincial Committee of Correspondence to keep in touch with the other 12 colonies and operate as a shadow government in defiance of the governor. In 1774 he drew up resolutions that were published by the first Virginia convention as "A Summary View of the Rights of British America."<ref> see [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/jeffsumm.htm for text]</ref> This pamphlet, issued in four editions that year, argued that Parliament had no right to legislate for the colonies and that the British Empire was bound together solely by allegiance to the king. It proved one of the most influential statements of the patriot position and was widely read.

In 1775 Jefferson was elected to the Second [[Continental Congress]], meeting in Philadelphia. He drafted the resolution rejecting the conciliatory proposals of the British minister, [[Lord North]]. He was appointed county lieutenant in September and did not return to Congress until May 1776. He drafted a proposed constitution for the state of Virginia which was adopted in part.
===Declaration of Independence===
As a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] he and [[John Adams]] of Massachusetts took the lead in pushing for independence. On June 7, 1776, [[Richard Henry Lee]] of the Virginia delegation proposed independence. Congress appointed a committee of five men to draw up a suitable public declaration. Jefferson was selected to write it because he was a Virginian, a recognized writer, and a zealous committeeman. He incorporated ideas and phrases from many sources to arrive at a consensus statement that all patriots could agree upon. His colleagues [[Benjamin Franklin]] and Adams made small changes in his draft text and Congress made more. The finished document, which both declared independence and proclaimed a philosophy of government, was singly and peculiarly Jefferson's.<ref> See [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html "Declaration of Independence"]</ref>

The opening philosophical section is closely based on [[George Mason]]'s "Declaration of Rights," a notable summary of current revolutionary philosophy.<ref> see [http://gunstonhall.org/documents/vdr.html "The Virginia Declaration of Rights," Final Draft,12 June 1776]</ref>
Mason wrote:
::That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
Jefferson rewrote it:
::We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Jefferson himself did not believe in absolute human equality, and, though he had no fears of revolution, he preferred that the "social compact" be renewed by periodical, peaceful revisions. That government should be based on popular consent and secure the "inalienable" rights of man, among which he included the pursuit of happiness rather than property, that it should be a means to human well-being and not an end in itself, he steadfastly believed. He gave here a matchless expression of his faith.

The charges against King [[George III]], who is singled out because the patriots denied all claims of parliamentary authority, represent an improved version of charges that Jefferson wrote for the preamble of the Virginia constitution of 1776. Relentless in their reiteration, they constitute a statement of the specific grievances of the revolting party, powerfully and persuasively presented at the bar of public opinion.

The Declaration is notable for both its clarity and subtlety of expression, and it abounds in the felicities that are characteristic of Jefferson's best prose.<ref> See Carl Becker, ''The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas'' (1922) ch. 5, [http://books.google.com/books?id=VC5nCgcUmjsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:declaration+intitle:of+intitle:independence&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1 online edition]; Garry Wills, ''Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.'' (1978); Pauline Maier, ''American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence.'' (1997)</ref> More impassioned than any other of his writings, it is eloquent in its sustained elevation of style and remains his noblest literary [[monument]].

The concepts of natural law, of inviolable rights, and of government by consent were drawn from the [[Republicanism|republican tradition]] that stretched back to ancient Rome and was neither new nor distinctively American. However it was unprecedented for a nation to declare that it would be governed by these propositions. It was Jefferson's almost religious commitment to these republican propositions that is the key to his entire life. He was more than the author of this statement of the national purpose: he was a living example of its philosophy, accepting its ideals as the controlling principles of his own life. Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, which became the birthday of the independent nation.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 2</ref>

When the Declaration was signed, all British forces had been driven out of the 13 colonies, which now became the 13 states. However King [[George III]] refused to give up and of "his" possessions, so the war dragged on until the final American victory at Yorktown in 1781 caused Parliament to change the government in London and sue for peace.
====World impact====
The Declaration immediately sparked serious discussion in Europe and Latin America about the legitimacy of empires. By the 21st century, over 100 countries had their own declarations of independence, modeled in part on the very first one by Jefferson in 1776.<ref> Historians discount the influence of previous declarations. David Armitage, ''The Declaration of Independence: A Global History'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Declaration-Independence-Global-History/dp/0674022823/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212623939&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]</ref>

==Reforming Virginia==
In September 1776 Jefferson left the national capital in Philadelphia and spent the rest of the war in Virginia, where he took control of the legislature and had a significant impact in shaping the laws of the new state.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 3</ref> In the House of Delegates he proposed a series of major reforms--almost unparalleled in scope and unequaled as the work of a single legislator. Of 126 bills he proposed, four-fifths were enacted in some form; and Jefferson drew up almost half the total. In 1779 he proposed "The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom," which was adopted in 1786.<ref> see [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/k12/bor/vsrftext.htm text]</ref> Its goal was complete separation of church and state and declared the opinions of men to be beyond the jurisdiction of the civil magistrate. He asserted that the mind is not subject to coercion, that civil rights have no dependence on religious opinions, and that the opinions of men are not the concern of civil government, became one of the American charters of freedom. This elevated declaration of the freedom of the mind was hailed in Europe as "an example of legislative wisdom and liberality never before known."<ref> See Richard Price to Sylvanus Urban,, July 26, 1786, in [http://books.google.com/books?id=fPQfNx2TQLAC&pg=RA1-PA45&lpg=RA1-PA45&dq=%22an+example+of+legislative+wisdom+and+liberality+&source=web&ots=Z8wRAaAAty&sig=1ytdIIZ6IjyzlbESYVtGAPWy40E&hl=en Richard Price, ''The correspondence of Richard Price,'' (1991) vol. 2, p. 45 online]</ref>

Jefferson put forth numerous proposals to reform public education, but they failed at this time. He did manage to abolish the professorships of Hebrew, theology, and ancient languages at the College of William and Mary, and instead set up professorships of anatomy and medicine, law, and modern languages, the two latter being the first of their kind in America. His proposals to gradually end slavery were not reported out of committee.

His laws on inheritance ended the practice of primogeniture, whereby the eldest son inherited the entire estate, so as to spread out wealth more evenly and open up opportunities for more young men.

In 1779 he was elected to succeed [[Patrick Henry]] as governor of Virginia for a one year term. Everything went wrong. British invasions by land and sea, Indian raids in the west, fiscal shortfalls, militia problems, profiteering, personal rivalries, and the shift of the main theater of war to Virginia created more challenges than he could solve. Re-elected in 1780, he saw the main British army under Cornwallis enter from the South in 1781; the Continental Army commander, General Von Steuben, was outmaneuvered. Jefferson quit office before his successor was named and the legislature had fled; he was almost captured when the British raided Monticello looking for him. Fortunately Washington arrived with the American and French armies and trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown, where the entire British army surrendered. Later the legislature investigated his administration and vindicated him, but Jefferson was embarrassed. Jefferson was an efficient, systematic, indefatigable administrator with a knack for getting men to work together smoothly, but his militia could not match the British army. He coped with these problems with a degree of success or failure that remains controversial among scholars. <ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 4</ref>

He suffered an irreparable loss when his beloved wife Martha died in 1782 and he gave up all idea of ever marrying again; they had three surviving daughters—Martha (1772–1836), Mary (1778–1804), and Lucy (1782–1784).
===''Notes on the State of Virginia''===
In 1780-83, Jefferson wrote his only book, ''Notes on the State of Virginia.''<ref> See [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JEFFERSON/toc.html for complete text of ''Notes on the State of Virginia'']</ref> It was written in the form of answers to questions about the geography, natural resources, Indians, government and economy of Virginia, based on his own research. The book was first published in French in Paris in 1785 (and in English in 1787), and immediately Jefferson's scientific reputation in Europe, while debunking some outlandish theories, especially those of the eminent naturalist the [[Comte de Buffon]], to the effect that animals regressed to smaller size in the new world. Jefferson's coup came with the mammoth, the giant extinct animal, five times bigger than an elephant, whose tusks, grinders, and bones had been recently dug up in the western part of the state.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) pp 242-52; Thomas O. Jewett, [http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2000_fall/jefferson_paleon.html "Thomas Jefferson Paleontologist," ''Early America Review'', Fall 2000 online]</ref>

==Confederation Congress==
In 1783 Jefferson returned to Congress, became its leader, and launched another intensive legislative effort. His major achievement was conceptualizing a solution for territorial government in the land north of the Ohio River. Virginia ceded its land claims to the national government, Jefferson proposed a checkerboard system of land surveys, which avoided the terrible confusion that caused endless lawsuits over land ownership south of the river. One section in every sixteen was set aside to support public schools. Statehood was promised once a territory reached a certain population. Jefferson would not allow slavery in the territories. Many of Jefferson's ideas were passed into law after he left Congress, notably in the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) pp 274-85</ref>

Jefferson's report on coinage established the decimal dollar as the unit of money, though he failed then and later to secure a system of uniform weights and measures based on decimal notation.

==Minister to France==
[[File:Thomas Jefferson.jpg|thumb|An American in Paris.]]
He succeeded [[Benjamin Franklin]] as minister to France (1785-89), and so was not present when the Constitution was written and ratified.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 6</ref>

==1790s==

Jefferson returned from France in 1789 and became the first Secretary of State (1789-1793) in the cabinet of President [[George Washington]]. With his close ally [[James Madison]] (a member of the House) Jefferson opposed the Hamiltonian programs for national finance, especially assumption of state wartime debts and the [[First National Bank]]. Jefferson and Madison and created a new party the Republicans, (called the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] by historians) to oppose Hamilton's [[Federalist party]]. These were the first two modern political parties in the world (that is the first to reach out to the voters for support). Jefferson and his Republicans supported the French Revolution (from 1793 to 1800), while the Federalists favored Britain. President Washington managed to maintain neutrality in the war between Britain and France. Hamilton had more influence than Jefferson, even in foreign policy, as shown by Hamilton's success in securing the [[Jay Treaty]] of 1795 that opened ten years of friendly trade with Britain.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 7</ref>

Jefferson was defeated for president in the election of 1796 by [[John Adams]], but became Vice President. When the [[Quasi War]] (that is undeclared war) with France broke out in 1798 and Federalists passed the [[Alien and Sedition laws]], Jefferson and Madison protested by secretly writing the [[Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions]] of 1798. They argued the right of state governments to nullify federal laws considered unconstitutional; this was the start of the [[States Rights]] theory that played a role in the coming of the [[American Civil War]] in 1861 and still plays a role in Constitutional debates.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 8</ref>

==President: Successful first term, 1801-1805==
Jefferson defeated Adams and was elected President in 1800, in what his supporters called the [[Revolution of 1800]]. In his first term Jefferson negotiated the [[Louisiana Purchase]] with France. then sent [[Lewis and Clark]] to explore the vast new lands. He set up a territorial system for the Louisiana purchase. He promoted reservations for Indians to settle them on fixed parcels of land and teach them farming (instead of hunting and raiding).<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 9</ref>

Jefferson removed many Federalist office holders in order to balance the civil service between parties. Bitterly opposed to strong judges, he had Congress abolish the lower courts the Federalists had created, and tried to impeach and remove two Federalist judges. He succeeded in removing one [[John Pickering|incompetent figure]] but was defeated when he tried to remove Supreme Court Justice [[Samuel Chase]]. Jefferson never dared attack Chief Justice [[John Marshall]], a Federalist who made the Supreme Court a bastion of nationalism, much to Jefferson's disgust.
==President: Troubled second term, 1805-1809==
Jefferson's second term was marked by escalating tensions with both Britain and France (which were at war with each other). Jefferson's use of economic warfare, especially the [[Embargo of 1807]], failed, as he tried to crack down on New England merchants who defied laws that restricted their trade. Jefferson opposed building up the army or navy, insisting that the militia would suffice, aided by small gunboats.

Most historians judge his military policies a major disaster, for they failed badly when the [[War of 1812]] with Britain came three years after he left office.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 10</ref>

Jefferson left the White House under a cloud and never ran for office again.

==Retirement==
In political retirement Jefferson helped create and design the [[University of Virginia]], which he considered a major accomplishment. He believed that republican government depends on an informed citizenry; that education is a duty of the state; and that, while all should be given learning sufficient to enable them to understand their rights and duties as citizens, the "natural aristocracy" of virtue and talent should be drawn forth from the general mass and given every opportunity of public education. He continued through life to advocate this philosophy of education.<ref>Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation'' (1975) ch. 11</ref>

Jefferson died on July 4th, [[Independence Day]], in 1826. It was the same day as the death of [[John Adams]]. They had been close friends until the political wars of the 1790s drove them apart, then resumed their friendship with a brilliant correspondence.

==Image and memory==
The modern [[Democratic Party]] claims direct descent from Jefferson -- a minor exaggeration because the Jeffersonian party died in the mid-1820s and the modern party was formed in the 1830s. Jefferson has been commemorated in the names of many counties and schools. Conservative commentator [[George Will]] has called Jefferson the "Man of the Millennium" -- that is the most influential person in world history over the last 1000 years. His musical passion became a source of inspiration for contemporary american rock band Jefferson Airplane.

==Jefferson's views==
===Slavery===
In ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1785) Jefferson deplored the despotic, lawless treatment of slaves, suggesting that the only remedy was to emancipate and remove Virginia's slaves and then declare them a free and independent people. Colonization to an unspecified destination was necessary because racial co-existence was impossible; emancipation otherwise would produce "convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of one or the other race." Differences between the two races were "fixed in nature", he said:
:"Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me, that in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior...and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous."<ref> Jefferson, [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/JEFFERSON/ch14.html ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' ch 14]</ref>

Jefferson believed that, eventually, all Americans had to be free. His goals for unlimited national improvement were incompatible with slaves in America. Both slavery and the slave trade would have to be ended in favor of free commerce and free labor. The key word for Jefferson was "amelioration," and it included several stages of national and moral development. First, Americans would abolish the slave trade. "Citizens," President Jefferson declared in 1806, should "withdraw . . . from all further participation in those violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending inhabitants of Africa" to promote "the morality, the reputation, and the best interests of our country."<ref> "Sixth Annual Message," December 2, 1806</ref> Second, the owners should raise up the moral and intellectual levels of their slaves. As masters established ties of reciprocal obligation and sympathy with their slaves, they would prepare themselves—and their slaves for the emancipation and repatriation of all Africans back to Africa. He in fact did secure the abolition by Congress of the international slave trade in 1808. He owned slaves--some 200 at one time or another--but despite his theoretical opposition to slavery he was always so much in debt he could never free them.<ref> Christa Dierksheide, "'The great improvement and civilization of that race': Jefferson and the 'Amelioration' of Slavery, ca. 1770–1826," ''Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal'' 6#1 Spring 2008, pp. 165-197. </ref>

Helo and Onuf (2003) have explored the logic of Jefferson's philosophical position against slavery in light of his ownership of slaves and his belief that the wholesale and immediate emancipation of slaves would threaten the new Republic. Heavily influenced by the writings of political philosophers Charles de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and especially Lord Kames, Jefferson grounded his position regarding slavery on the Kamesian principle that man was capable of moral development and, consequently, moral codes varied among different nations and progressed (or retrograded) over time in each nation. Kames posited that moral progress in a society, however, required a government. These concepts and others helped Jefferson shape his arguments in the Declaration of Independence, as rationale for the American Revolution. Moreover, they were the basis for his belief that slaves should be freed only when they could be assured of having their own government and a means, thereby, of self-determination as well as practical and moral education. Jefferson was convinced that emancipation on a large scale, before Virginia slaveholders and American society as a whole advanced morally, would precipitate racial violence and put the American experiment at risk.<ref>Ari Helo and Peter Onuf, "Jefferson, Morality, and the Problem of Slavery." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 2003 60(3): 583-614. Issn: 0043-5597 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]] </ref>

===Religion===
Jefferson was keenly interested in religion. Although he was raised in the [[Church of England]] at a time when it was the established church in Virginia and never formally left the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]], he has been described by numerous biographers and historians as a [[deism|deist]].<ref>David L. Holmes, ''The Faiths of the Founding Fathers''</ref> Jefferson did not believe the words of Jesus or any other part of the Bible to be divinely inspired,<ref>[http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl261.htm Letter to William Short, August 4, 1820]</ref> but he considered Jesus a great moral teacher who created "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."<ref>http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/jefferson_m_03.html</ref> Believing that the doctrines of the historical Jesus had been greatly corrupted by ignorant and superstitious "pseudo-followers," Jefferson used a razor and a paste to assemble passages from the Synoptic Gospels into a new book commonly called the ''[[Jefferson Bible]]'', omitting references to divinity and miracles. However, he did not necessarily agree with everything that remained, writing, "I read [Jesus's doctrines] as I do those of other antient and modern moralists, with a mixture of approbation and dissent."<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(ws03101)) Letter to William Short, April 13, 1820]</ref>

In an 1803 letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Jefferson declared that "I am a Christian," though his view of Christianity was different from most:
<blockquote>I then promised you that one day or other I would give you my views of [the Christian religion]. They are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others, ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other.<ref>Jefferson, Thomas, April 21, 1803: Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush[http://www.angelfire.com/co/JeffersonBible/jeffbsyl.html]</ref></blockquote>

He worked tirelessly to create a "wall of separation" between church and state, fearing that unifying the two would create tyranny over the free minds of people. He had a very negative view of the Roman Catholic Church, and succeeded in disestablishing the Anglican [[Church of England]] in Virginia during the Revolution.

Jefferson often made references to God and providence. In one of his writings now inscribed on the [[Jefferson Memorial]] in Washington, D.C., Jefferson said:

<blockquote>God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.</blockquote>

Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address implied that he believed in divine intervention:<blockquote>"I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old."</blockquote>

Jefferson was also greatly interested in Eastern religions and Islam. In fact, in 2007, Representative Keith Ellison (the first Muslim elected to Congress) was sworn in on Jefferson's copy of the Koran.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010301179.html</ref>

===The Right to Bear Arms===
"In a nation governed by the people themselves, the possession of arms to defend their nation against usurpers within and without was deemed absolutely necessary. This right is protected by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. A gun was an everyday implement in early American society, and Jefferson recommended its use." <ref>[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1500.htm#Arms Jefferson on Politics & Government: Civil Rights]</ref>

<blockquote>A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun, therefore, be the constant companion of your walks. --Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1785. ME 5:85, Papers 8:407</blockquote>

<blockquote>The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:45</blockquote>

<blockquote>One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. --Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1796. ME 9:341</blockquote>

=== Architecture ===
[[Image:University of Virginia.jpg|thumb|The Rotunda of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson.]]

Jefferson was the founder of the University of Virginia and designer of ''his "academical village"''; he made the drawings for ''The Rotunda'' in 1819. Self-taught in architecture, read widely and studied the great structures of Europe firsthand. He , assisted [[Pierre L'Enfant]] in the design and layout of the new Federal City (Washington, D.C.) and designed the state capitol building in Richmond. Jefferson believed that "from architecture would flow education in taste, values, and ideals," and therefore constructed buildings that became ideas for America. '' <ref>[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/jeff/jeffarch.html Jefferson and the Politics of Architecture]</ref>

<blockquote>
Jefferson believed that architecture was the heart of the American cause. In his mind, a building was not merely a walled structure, but a metaphor for American ideology, and the process of construction was equal to the task of building a nation. The architecture of any American building should express the American desire to break cultural--as well as political--ties to Europe. American architecture, Jefferson believed, would embody the fulfillment of the civic life of Americans, and he sought to establish the standards of a national architecture, both aesthetically and politically.
</blockquote>

Jefferson was an admirer of [[Andrea Palladio]]; the Palladian influece may be seen at Thomas Jefferson's estate Monticello (1768 - 1809).<ref> [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles10/famous-buildings-51.shtml Famous Buildings In America]</ref>

<blockquote>
[[Thomas Jefferson]] was among the many people who submitted a plan for the White House. His design, however, was not chosen. Instead, James Hoban, an Irish immigrant architect living in Charleston, [[South Carolina]], won the competition and a $500 prize, with a design modeled after Leister House in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]]. <ref>[http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/nation/whitehse_2 The White House.]</ref>
</blockquote>
{{cquote|
''"Whenever it is proposed to prepare plans for the Capitol, I should prefer the adoption of some one of the models of antiquity which have had the approbation of thousands of years; and for the President's house I should prefer the celebrated fronts of modern buildings which have already received the approbation of all good judges. Such are the Galerie du Louvre, the Garde Meubles; and two fronts of the Hotel de Salm."'' T. Jefferson. <ref> Thomas Jefferson to L'Enfant, April 10, 1791, in Saul K. Padover, ed., Thomas Jefferson and the National Capital (Washington, D. C.: US Government Printing Office, 1946), 59. </ref>
}}

==Quotes==
*"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."
*Speaking of great calamities, "There is yet one greater, submission to a government of unlimited powers." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=InAsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA351&dq=submission+to+a+government+of+unlimited+powers.+Jefferson&ei=8CQrSqarK6CIzQTnpfyyBw The Writings of Thomas Jefferson : 1816-1826.‎ - Page 351] by Thomas Jefferson, Paul Leicester Ford</ref>
*"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." <ref name="Thomas">[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgM4tztnJFcC&pg=PA240&dq=government+big+enough+to+give+you+everything&ei=hhc5SoekCKeQyASNj4iLAw Civiliazation's quotes P.240] by Richard Alan Krieger </ref>
*"Government big enough to give you everything you need is government big enough to take away everything you have."<ref name="Thomas">[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgM4tztnJFcC&pg=PA240&dq=government+big+enough+to+give+you+everything&ei=hhc5SoekCKeQyASNj4iLAw Civiliazation's quotes P.240] by Richard Alan Krieger]</ref>
*In a letter to Philips Mazzei, "Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=W5MfcSfA_eUC&pg=PA147&dq=Timid+men+prefer+the+calm+of+despotism+to+the+tempestuous+sea+of+liberty.&ei=2x1ESu6iAZSuzQTJ5NDUDw Jefferson's second revolution P.147] By Susan Dunn</ref>
*"Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils of misgovernment." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=Ak6TAAAAIAAJ&q=Let+our+countrymen+know+that+the+people+alone+can+protect+us+against+these+evils+of+misgovernment.&dq=Let+our+countrymen+know+that+the+people+alone+can+protect+us+against+these+evils+of+misgovernment.&ei=5OlOSqq4LoT0yAS8i8DeAg Thomas Jefferson, world citizen- Page 71] by Elbert Duncan Thomas</ref>

<blockquote>
Let me describe to you a man, not yet forty, tall, and with a mild and pleasing countenance. An American, who without ever having quitted his own country, is at once a musician, skilled in drawing, a geometrician, an astronomer, a natural philosopher, legislator, and statesman…. Sometimes natural philosophy, at others politics or the arts, were the topics of our conversation, for no object had escaped Mr. Jefferson; and it seemed as if from his youth he had placed his mind, as he has done his house, on an elevated situation, from which he might contemplate the universe.
</blockquote>
::::::: Description of a visit to Thomas Jefferson at Monticello in 1782, from Travels in North-America, in the Years 1780-81-82 by the Marquis de Chastellux. <ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr13.html]</ref>

*"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear." <ref>Boyd, Julian P., Charles T. Cullen, John Catanzariti, Barbara B. Oberg, et al, eds. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950-. 33 vols.</ref> Though this quotation promotes the challenging of God, it is not necessarily an argument for atheism; Jefferson believed in a non-Christian God.<ref>"Jefferson believed in the existence of a Supreme Being who was the creator and sustainer of the universe and the ultimate ground of being, but this was not the triune deity of orthodox Christianity." [http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/jeffersons-religious-beliefs Monticello.org on Jefferson's religious beliefs.]</ref>

==Fake quotes==
Dozens of false quotations have been attributed to Jefferson.<ref> See the 28 fakes listed at [http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Spurious_Quotations Spurious Quotations]</ref>
* Jefferson did NOT say, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine”. On the contrary, he was the foremost promoter of democracy in world history.
* In the 1960s leftwing activists invented another false quote: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism".
* Jefferson did not like banks. He did NOT say, "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered."
**Jefferson did say in 1816: "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
*Jefferson did NOT say, "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." He rarely used the word "democracy".<ref> See[http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Category:Spurious_Quotations Spurious Quotations]</ref>
* A common misquote incorrectly attributed to Jefferson is, "Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty." This was actually first said by John Basil Barnhill.<ref>[http://debs.indstate.edu/b262b3_1914.pdf Debate on Socialism], Page 34.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Embargo of 1807]], his failed foreign policy
* [[Democratic-Republican party]], the party he led
* [[First Party System]], how politics worked
* [[Albert Gallatin]]. his Treasury Secretary
* [[Jeffersonian Democracy]], his political coalition
* [[James Madison]], his Secretary of State

==Further reading==
* Banning, Lance. ''The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology'' (1978) [http://www.amazon.com/Jeffersonian-Persuasion-Evolution-Party-Ideology/dp/0801492009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195466092&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Bernstein, Richard B. ''Thomas Jefferson'' (2005) short biography [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-R-B-Bernstein/dp/0195181301/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201550604&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Channing, Edward. ''The Jeffersonian System, 1801-1811'' (1906) [http://books.google.com/books?id=BQcOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Jeffersonian+intitle:System+intitle:1801-1811&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0 full text online]* Cunningham, Noble E. Jr . ''In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1988, short biography) [http://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Reason-Life-Thomas-Jefferson/dp/0345353803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807419&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Ellis, Joseph J. ''American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson'' (1998), interpretive essays [http://www.amazon.com/American-Sphinx-Character-Thomas-Jefferson/dp/0679444904/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197165858&sr=3 excerpt and text search]
* Ferling, John. ''Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800'' Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108219147 online edition]
* Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on TJ [http://www.historyebook.org/ online at ACLS e-books]
* Koch, Adrienne. ''Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson.'' (1943) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=90632012 online edition]
* Onuf, Peter S. ''The Mind of Thomas Jefferson.'' (2007). 281 pp.
* Onuf, P. S. "Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' (2004; online edn, May 2008; Onuf is a leading American scholar
* Peterson, Merrill D. ''The Jefferson Image in the American Mind'' (1960) [http://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Image-American-Mind/dp/0813918510/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-10 excerpt and text search]
* Peterson, Merrill D. ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography'' (1986), long, detailed biography by leading scholar; [http://www.questia.com/library/book/thomas-jefferson-and-the-new-nation-a-biography-by-merrill-d-peterson.jsp online edition]; also [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-New-Nation-Biography/dp/0195019091/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Peterson, Merrill D. ed. ''Thomas Jefferson: A Reference Biography.'' (1986), very good, encyclopedic essays
* Smelser, Marshall. ''The Democratic Republic: 1801-1815'' (1968) good one-volume history of TJ's presidency and Madison's;
===Primary sources===
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Writings'' (1984, Library of America); includes Autobiography, ''Notes on the State of Virginia,'' Public and Private Papers, Addresses and Letters. 1600pp [http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Writings-Autobiography-Addresses/dp/094045016X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203807519&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Political Writings,'' edited by Joyce Appleby and Terence Ball; Cambridge University Press, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107255488 online edition]
* Jefferson, Thomas. ''Jeffersonian Cyclopedia'' 9000 quotes, well arranged [http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/foley/ online]

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Thomas}}
[[Category: Founding Fathers]]
[[Category:American Revolution]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Republicanism]]
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]
[[Category:Virginia Governors]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Political Theory]]
[[Category:Enlightenment]]
[[Category:Fiscal Conservatives]]
[[Category:Virginia]]
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]
[[Category:United States Secretaries of State]]

Thomas Jefferson

2012-04-24T03:45:31Z

Cengime: /* Religion */ Jefferson's views on the divinity of Jesus are not unclear.

Counterexamples to Relativity

2012-01-10T14:53:03Z

Cengime:

The [[theory of relativity]] is a mathematical model for certain observed physical phenomena. It is universally accepted by physicists of all political and religious affiliations as an important part of what we know about the world due to support by a large body of experimental data, but has attracted opposition from certain conservatives who believe there is some connection between relativity and [[moral relativism]]. The following observations have been advanced as evidence that the theory is false or incomplete.

#Despite wasting millions of taxpayer dollars searching for gravity waves predicted by the theory, none has ever been found.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.3781</ref> ''Sound like [[global warming]]?''
#The eccentricity of the [[Moon]]'s orbit is increasing contrary to the theory of relativity.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.0212</ref>
#Subatomic particles have a speed observed to be faster than the speed of light, which contradicts a fundamental assumption of Relativity.<ref>http://www.hindustantimes.com/Roll-over-Einstein-Law-of-physics-challenged/Article1-749189.aspx - note that a similar observation of faster-than-light speeds was also made in 2007 (with a larger margin of error).</ref> The Italian lab that "shocked the scientific world" has announced more precise results, confirming their previous announcement.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/18/us-science-neutrinos-light-idUSTRE7AH0T720111118</ref>
#The [[Pioneer anomaly]].
#Anomalies in the locations of spacecraft that have flown by [[Earth]] ("flybys").<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23410705/</ref>
#Spiral galaxies confound Relativity, and unseen "[[dark matter]]" has been invented to try to retrofit observations to the theory.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1105.1873</ref>
#The acceleration in the expansion of the universe confounds Relativity, and unseen "[[dark energy]]" has been invented to try to retrofit observations to the theory.
#Increasingly precise measurements of the advance of the perihelion of Mercury show a shift greater than predicted by Relativity, well beyond the margin of error.<ref>In a complicated or contrived series of calculations that most physics majors cannot duplicate even after learning them, the theory of general relativity's fundamental formula, <math>G_{\mu\nu} = 8 \pi K T_{\mu\nu}\,</math>, was conformed to match Mercury's then-observed precession of 5600.0 arc-seconds per century. Subsequently, however, more sophisticated technology has measured a different value of this precession (5599.7 arc-seconds per century, with a margin of error of only 0.01), and leading promoters of Relativity (such as Professor Clifford Will) have omitted this in listing tests confirming Relativity.</ref>
#The discontinuity in momentum as velocity approaches "c" for infinitesimal mass, compared to the momentum of light.
#The logical problem of a force which is applied at a right angle to the velocity of a relativistic mass - does this act on the rest mass or the relativistic mass?
#The observed lack of curvature in overall space.<ref>If space were curved, one would never expect the universe as a whole to be almost precisely flat. Yet it is.</ref>
#The universe shortly after its creation, when quantum effects dominated and contradicted Relativity.
#The [[action-at-a-distance]] of [[quantum entanglement]].<ref>Quantum entanglement has not yet communicated information faster than the speed of light, but has already exhibited action faster than the speed of light.</ref>
#The [[action-at-a-distance]] by [[Jesus]], described in [[John 1-7 (Translated)|John 4:46-54]], [[Matthew 10-19 (Translated)|Matthew 15:28]], and [[Matthew 20-28 (Translated)|Matthew 27:51]].
#The failure to discover [[gravitons]], despite wasting hundreds of millions in taxpayer money in searching.
#Newly observed data reveal that the fine-structure constant, α (alpha), actually varies throughout the universe, demonstrating that all inertial frames of reference do '''not''' experience identical laws of physics as claimed by Relativity.<ref>For a report on the data, see a paper submitted in 2010 by John Webb and Julian King of the University of new South Wales, Australia, to the ''Physical Review Letters''.</ref>
#The double star "W13" weighs "40 times as much as the sun—more than enough to form a [[black hole]]. So why is it not a black hole? The only explanation [a leading scientist] can think of ... does not make astrophysical sense."<ref>http://www.economist.com/node/17035953</ref>
#The inability of the theory to lead to other insights, contrary to every verified theory of physics.
#The change in mass over time of standard kilograms preserved under ideal conditions.<ref>[[Mystery:Why Is the Kilogram Losing Weight?]]</ref>
#The uniformity in temperature throughout the universe.<ref>http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6092-speed-of-light-may-have-changed-recently.html ("A varying speed of light contradicts Einstein's theory of relativity, and would undermine much of traditional physics. But some physicists believe it would elegantly explain puzzling cosmological phenomena such as the nearly uniform temperature of the universe.")</ref>
#"According to Einstein’s view on the universe, space-time should be smooth and continuous" but observations instead show "inexplicable static" greater than "all artificial sources of" possible background noise.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/Cool-Astronomy/2010/1025/Is-the-universe-a-big-hologram-This-device-could-find-out. Hunt for gravitational waves discovers unexpected data instead].</ref>
#"The snag is that in quantum mechanics, time retains its Newtonian aloofness, providing the stage against which matter dances but never being affected by its presence. These two [QM and Relativity] conceptions of time don’t gel."<ref>http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=splitting-time-from-space</ref>
#The theory predicts [[wormholes]] just as it predicts [[black holes]], but wormholes violate causality and permit absurd time travel.<ref>http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v61/i13/p1446_1 . The popular science press promotes black holes to a far greater extent than wormholes.</ref>
#The theory predicts natural formation of highly ordered (and thus low entropy) black holes despite the increase in [[entropy]] required by the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]].<ref>Contrived explanations have been suggested for this dilemma, such as Stephen Hawking proposing that the entropy of matter in a black hole is somehow stored in the surface area of its event horizon to be released back into its surroundings as the black hole decays by radiation, known as "Hawking radiation."</ref>
#Data from the [[PSR B1913 16|PSR B1913+16]] increasingly diverge from predictions of the [[General Theory of Relativity]] such that, despite a Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded for early work on this pulsar, no data at all have been released about it for over five years.
#The lack of useful devices developed based on any insights provided by the theory; no lives have been saved or helped, and the theory has not led to other useful theories and may have interfered with scientific progress.<ref>Contrary to the claims of Relativists, the GPS system has never been based on Relativity. The Time Service Department, U.S. Navy, observed that "The Operational Control System (OCS) of the Global Positioning System (GPS) does not include the rigorous transformations between coordinate systems that Einstein’s general theory of relativity would seem to require" in part because "the effects of relativity, where they are different from the effects predicted by classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory, are too small to matter – less than one centimeter, for users on or near the earth.”</ref> This stands in stark contrast with every verified theory of science.
#Relativity requires different values for the inertia of a moving object: in its direction of motion, and perpendicular to that direction. This contradicts the logical principle that the laws of physics are the same in all directions.
#Relativity requires that anything traveling at the speed of light must have mass zero, so it must have momentum zero. But the laws of electrodynamics require that light have nonzero momentum.
#Unlike most well-tested fundamental physical theories, the theory of relativity violates conditions of a conservative field. Path independence, for example, is lacking under the theory of relativity, as in the "twin paradox" whereby the age of each twin under the theory is dependent on the path he traveled.<ref>In defense of the theory, it is noted that it mandates conservation of the matter-stress-energy tensor (the only way to get ''real'' conservation, since matter and energy are interchangeable.) This follows from the "contracted Bianchi identity." [http://www.mth.uct.ac.za/omei/gr/chap6/node14.html] Also, the curl of the "gravitational field vector" is exactly zero in the absence of moving sources, due to symmetries of [[Riemann]]'s tensor. It follows, from [[Stokes' Theorem]], that the gravitational field is conservative and has a potential function. Energy is conserved.</ref>
#The Ehrenfest Paradox: Consider a spinning hoop, where the tangential velocity is near the speed of light. In this case, the circumference (<math>2 \pi R</math>) is length-contracted. However, since <math>R</math> is always perpendicular to the motion, it is not contracted. This leads to an apparent paradox: does the radius of the accelerating hoop equal <math>R</math>, or is it less than <math>R</math>?
#The Twin Paradox: Consider twins who are separated with one traveling at a very high speed such that his "clock" (age) slows down, so that when he returns he has a younger age than the twin; this violates Relativity because ''both'' twins should expect the other to be younger, if motion is relative. Einstein himself admitted that this contradicts Relativity.<ref>Einstein attempted to explain the paradox based on the acceleration that one twin uniquely undergoes, but the length of travel can simply be extended such that any effect from acceleration would be ''de minimis''.</ref>
#Based on Relativity, Einstein predicted in 1905 that clocks at the Earth's equator would be slower than clocks at the North Pole, due to different velocities; in fact, all clocks at sea level measure time at the same rate, and Relativists made new assumptions about the Earth's shape to justify this contradiction of the theory; they also make the implausible claim that relativistic effects from gravitation precisely offset the effects from differences in velocity.<ref>http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v227/n5255/abs/227270a0.html</ref>
#Based on Relativity, Einstein claimed in 1909 that the [[aether (science)|aether]] does not exist, but in order to make subatomic physics work right, theorists had to introduce the aether-like concept of the Higgs field, which fills all of space and breaks symmetries.
#In [[Genesis (ch.1)|Genesis 1:6-8]], we are told that one of God's first creations was a firmament in the heavens. This likely refers to the creation of the luminiferous [[aether]].
#[[Minkowski space]] is predicated on the idea of four-dimensional vectors of which one component is [[time]]. However, one of the properties of a [[vector space]] is that every vector have an inverse. Time cannot be a vector because it has no inverse.
#It is impossible to perform an experiment to determine whether Einstein's theory of relativity is correct, or the older Lorentz aether theory is correct. Believing one over the other is a matter of [[faith]].
#Despite a century of wasting billions of dollars in work on the theory, "No one knows how to solve completely the equations of general relativity that describe gravity; they are simply beyond current understanding."<ref>[http://www.mathunion.org/o/General/Prizes/2006/TaoENG.pdf Statement in awarding the coveted Fields Medal] [Dead link]</ref>
#Experiments in electromagnetic induction contradict Relativity: "Einstein’s Relativity ... can not explain the experiment in graph 2, in which moving magnetic field has not produced electric field."<ref>http://www.wbabin.net/weuro/qingping1.pdf</ref><ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0504223</ref>
#Relativity breaks down if a [[solenoid]] is traveling at or near the speed of light.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

(add to list)

{{Relativity}}

== See also ==
*[[Counterexamples to Evolution]]
*[[Counterexamples to an Old Earth]]
*[[Counterexamples to the Bible]]

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:physics]]

Counterexamples to Relativity

2012-01-10T14:52:26Z

Cengime:

The [[theory of relativity]] is a mathematical model for certain observed physical phenomena. It is universally accepted by physicists of all political and religious affiliations as an important part of what we know about the world due to support by a large body of experimental data, but has attracted opposition from certain conservatives who believe there is some connection between relativity and [[moral relativism]]. The following observations have been advanced as evidence that the theory is false or incomplete.

#Despite wasting millions of taxpayer dollars searching for gravity waves predicted by the theory, none has ever been found.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.3781</ref> ''Sound like [[global warming]]?''
#The eccentricity of the [[Moon]]'s orbit is increasing contrary to the theory of relativity.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.0212</ref>
#Subatomic particles have a speed observed to be faster than the speed of light, which contradicts a fundamental assumption of Relativity.<ref>http://www.hindustantimes.com/Roll-over-Einstein-Law-of-physics-challenged/Article1-749189.aspx - note that a similar observation of faster-than-light speeds was also made in 2007 (with a larger margin of error).</ref> The Italian lab that "shocked the scientific world" has announced more precise results, confirming their previous announcement.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/18/us-science-neutrinos-light-idUSTRE7AH0T720111118</ref>
#The [[Pioneer anomaly]].
#Anomalies in the locations of spacecraft that have flown by [[Earth]] ("flybys").<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23410705/</ref>
#Spiral galaxies confound Relativity, and unseen "[[dark matter]]" has been invented to try to retrofit observations to the theory.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1105.1873</ref>
#The acceleration in the expansion of the universe confounds Relativity, and unseen "[[dark energy]]" has been invented to try to retrofit observations to the theory.
#Increasingly precise measurements of the advance of the perihelion of Mercury show a shift greater than predicted by Relativity, well beyond the margin of error.<ref>In a complicated or contrived series of calculations that most physics majors cannot duplicate even after learning them, the theory of general relativity's fundamental formula, <math>G_{\mu\nu} = 8 \pi K T_{\mu\nu}\,</math>, was conformed to match Mercury's then-observed precession of 5600.0 arc-seconds per century. Subsequently, however, more sophisticated technology has measured a different value of this precession (5599.7 arc-seconds per century, with a margin of error of only 0.01), and leading promoters of Relativity (such as Professor Clifford Will) have omitted this in listing tests confirming Relativity.</ref>
#The discontinuity in momentum as velocity approaches "c" for infinitesimal mass, compared to the momentum of light.
#The logical problem of a force which is applied at a right angle to the velocity of a relativistic mass - does this act on the rest mass or the relativistic mass?
#The observed lack of curvature in overall space.<ref>If space were curved, one would never expect the universe as a whole to be almost precisely flat. Yet it is.</ref>
#The universe shortly after its creation, when quantum effects dominated and contradicted Relativity.
#The [[action-at-a-distance]] of [[quantum entanglement]].<ref>Quantum entanglement has not yet communicated information faster than the speed of light, but has already exhibited action faster than the speed of light.</ref>
#The [[action-at-a-distance]] by [[Jesus]], described in [[John 1-7 (Translated)|John 4:46-54]], [[Matthew 10-19 (Translated)|Matthew 15:28]], and [[Matthew 20-28 (Translated)|Matthew 27:51]].
#The failure to discover [[gravitons]], despite wasting hundreds of millions in taxpayer money in searching.
#Newly observed data reveal that the fine-structure constant, α (alpha), actually varies throughout the universe, demonstrating that all inertial frames of reference do '''not''' experience identical laws of physics as claimed by Relativity.<ref>For a report on the data, see a paper submitted in 2010 by John Webb and Julian King of the University of new South Wales, Australia, to the ''Physical Review Letters''.</ref>
#The double star "W13" weighs "40 times as much as the sun—more than enough to form a [[black hole]]. So why is it not a black hole? The only explanation [a leading scientist] can think of ... does not make astrophysical sense."<ref>http://www.economist.com/node/17035953</ref>
#The inability of the theory to lead to other insights, contrary to every verified theory of physics.
#The change in mass over time of standard kilograms preserved under ideal conditions.<ref>[[Mystery:Why Is the Kilogram Losing Weight?]]</ref>
#The uniformity in temperature throughout the universe.<ref>http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6092-speed-of-light-may-have-changed-recently.html ("A varying speed of light contradicts Einstein's theory of relativity, and would undermine much of traditional physics. But some physicists believe it would elegantly explain puzzling cosmological phenomena such as the nearly uniform temperature of the universe.")</ref>
#"According to Einstein’s view on the universe, space-time should be smooth and continuous" but observations instead show "inexplicable static" greater than "all artificial sources of" possible background noise.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/Cool-Astronomy/2010/1025/Is-the-universe-a-big-hologram-This-device-could-find-out. Hunt for gravitational waves discovers unexpected data instead].</ref>
#"The snag is that in quantum mechanics, time retains its Newtonian aloofness, providing the stage against which matter dances but never being affected by its presence. These two [QM and Relativity] conceptions of time don’t gel."<ref>http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=splitting-time-from-space</ref>
#The theory predicts [[wormholes]] just as it predicts [[black holes]], but wormholes violate causality and permit absurd time travel.<ref>http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v61/i13/p1446_1 . The popular science press promotes black holes to a far greater extent than wormholes.</ref>
#The theory predicts natural formation of highly ordered (and thus low entropy) black holes despite the increase in [[entropy]] required by the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]].<ref>Contrived explanations have been suggested for this dilemma, such as Stephen Hawking proposing that the entropy of matter in a black hole is somehow stored in the surface area of its event horizon to be released back into its surroundings as the black hole decays by radiation, known as "Hawking radiation."</ref>
#Data from the [[PSR B1913 16|PSR B1913+16]] increasingly diverge from predictions of the [[General Theory of Relativity]] such that, despite a Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded for early work on this pulsar, no data at all have been released about it for over five years.
#The lack of useful devices developed based on any insights provided by the theory; no lives have been saved or helped, and the theory has not led to other useful theories and may have interfered with scientific progress.<ref>Contrary to the claims of Relativists, the GPS system has never been based on Relativity. The Time Service Department, U.S. Navy, observed that "The Operational Control System (OCS) of the Global Positioning System (GPS) does not include the rigorous transformations between coordinate systems that Einstein’s general theory of relativity would seem to require" in part because "the effects of relativity, where they are different from the effects predicted by classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory, are too small to matter – less than one centimeter, for users on or near the earth.”</ref> This stands in stark contrast with every verified theory of science.
#Relativity requires different values for the inertia of a moving object: in its direction of motion, and perpendicular to that direction. This contradicts the logical principle that the laws of physics are the same in all directions.
#Relativity requires that anything traveling at the speed of light must have mass zero, so it must have momentum zero. But the laws of electrodynamics require that light have nonzero momentum.
#Unlike most well-tested fundamental physical theories, the theory of relativity violates conditions of a conservative field. Path independence, for example, is lacking under the theory of relativity, as in the "twin paradox" whereby the age of each twin under the theory is dependent on the path he traveled.<ref>In defense of the theory, it is noted that it mandates conservation of the matter-stress-energy tensor (the only way to get ''real'' conservation, since matter and energy are interchangeable.) This follows from the "contracted Bianchi identity." [http://www.mth.uct.ac.za/omei/gr/chap6/node14.html] Also, the curl of the "gravitational field vector" is exactly zero in the absence of moving sources, due to symmetries of [[Riemann]]'s tensor. It follows, from [[Stokes' Theorem]], that the gravitational field is conservative and has a potential function. Energy is conserved.</ref>
#The Ehrenfest Paradox: Consider a spinning hoop, where the tangential velocity is near the speed of light. In this case, the circumference (<math>2 \pi R</math>) is length-contracted. However, since <math>R</math> is always perpendicular to the motion, it is not contracted. This leads to an apparent paradox: does the radius of the accelerating hoop equal <math>R</math>, or is it less than <math>R</math>?
#The Twin Paradox: Consider twins who are separated with one traveling at a very high speed such that his "clock" (age) slows down, so that when he returns he has a younger age than the twin; this violates Relativity because ''both'' twins should expect the other to be younger, if motion is relative. Einstein himself admitted that this contradicts Relativity.<ref>Einstein attempted to explain the paradox based on the acceleration that one twin uniquely undergoes, but the length of travel can simply be extended such that any effect from acceleration would be ''de minimis''.</ref>
#Based on Relativity, Einstein predicted in 1905 that clocks at the Earth's equator would be slower than clocks at the North Pole, due to different velocities; in fact, all clocks at sea level measure time at the same rate, and Relativists made new assumptions about the Earth's shape to justify this contradiction of the theory; they also make the implausible claim that relativistic effects from gravitation precisely offset the effects from differences in velocity.<ref>http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v227/n5255/abs/227270a0.html</ref>
#Based on Relativity, Einstein claimed in 1909 that the [[aether (science)|aether]] does not exist, but in order to make subatomic physics work right, theorists had to introduce the aether-like concept of the Higgs field, which fills all of space and breaks symmetries.
#In [[Genesis (ch.1)|Genesis 1:6-8]], we are told that one of God's first creations was a firmament in the heavens. This likely refers to the creation of the luminiferous [[aether]].
#[[Minkowski space]] is predicated on the idea of four-dimensional vectors of which one component is [[time]]. However, one of the properties of a [[vector space]] is that every vector have an inverse. Time cannot be a vector because it has no inverse.
#It is impossible to perform an experiment to determine whether Einstein's theory of relativity is correct, or the older Lorentz aether theory is correct. Believing one over the other is a matter of [[faith]].
#Despite a century of wasting billions of dollars in work on the theory, "No one knows how to solve completely the equations of general relativity that describe gravity; they are simply beyond current understanding."<ref>[http://www.mathunion.org/o/General/Prizes/2006/TaoENG.pdf Statement in awarding the coveted Fields Medal [Dead link]</ref>
#Experiments in electromagnetic induction contradict Relativity: "Einstein’s Relativity ... can not explain the experiment in graph 2, in which moving magnetic field has not produced electric field."<ref>http://www.wbabin.net/weuro/qingping1.pdf</ref><ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0504223</ref>
#Relativity breaks down if a [[solenoid]] is traveling at or near the speed of light.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

(add to list)

{{Relativity}}

== See also ==
*[[Counterexamples to Evolution]]
*[[Counterexamples to an Old Earth]]
*[[Counterexamples to the Bible]]

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:physics]]

Counterexamples to Relativity

2012-01-10T14:46:47Z

Cengime: Made it clear that only opponents of the theory claim it has anything to do with morality and scientists do not consider relativity to be in dispute

The [[theory of relativity]] is a mathematical model for certain observed physical phenomena. It is universally accepted by physicists of all political and religious affiliations as an important part of what we know about the world due to support by a large body of experimental data, but has attracted opposition from certain conservatives who believe there is some connection between relativity and [[moral relativism]]. The following observations have been advanced as evidence that the theory is false or incomplete.

#Despite wasting millions of taxpayer dollars searching for gravity waves predicted by the theory, none has ever been found.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.3781</ref> ''Sound like [[global warming]]?''
#The eccentricity of the [[Moon]]'s orbit is increasing contrary to the theory of relativity.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.0212</ref>
#Subatomic particles have a speed observed to be faster than the speed of light, which contradicts a fundamental assumption of Relativity.<ref>http://www.hindustantimes.com/Roll-over-Einstein-Law-of-physics-challenged/Article1-749189.aspx - note that a similar observation of faster-than-light speeds was also made in 2007 (with a larger margin of error).</ref> The Italian lab that "shocked the scientific world" has announced more precise results, confirming their previous announcement.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/18/us-science-neutrinos-light-idUSTRE7AH0T720111118</ref>
#The [[Pioneer anomaly]].
#Anomalies in the locations of spacecraft that have flown by [[Earth]] ("flybys").<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23410705/</ref>
#Spiral galaxies confound Relativity, and unseen "[[dark matter]]" has been invented to try to retrofit observations to the theory.<ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/1105.1873</ref>
#The acceleration in the expansion of the universe confounds Relativity, and unseen "[[dark energy]]" has been invented to try to retrofit observations to the theory.
#Increasingly precise measurements of the advance of the perihelion of Mercury show a shift greater than predicted by Relativity, well beyond the margin of error.<ref>In a complicated or contrived series of calculations that most physics majors cannot duplicate even after learning them, the theory of general relativity's fundamental formula, <math>G_{\mu\nu} = 8 \pi K T_{\mu\nu}\,</math>, was conformed to match Mercury's then-observed precession of 5600.0 arc-seconds per century. Subsequently, however, more sophisticated technology has measured a different value of this precession (5599.7 arc-seconds per century, with a margin of error of only 0.01), and leading promoters of Relativity (such as Professor Clifford Will) have omitted this in listing tests confirming Relativity.</ref>
#The discontinuity in momentum as velocity approaches "c" for infinitesimal mass, compared to the momentum of light.
#The logical problem of a force which is applied at a right angle to the velocity of a relativistic mass - does this act on the rest mass or the relativistic mass?
#The observed lack of curvature in overall space.<ref>If space were curved, one would never expect the universe as a whole to be almost precisely flat. Yet it is.</ref>
#The universe shortly after its creation, when quantum effects dominated and contradicted Relativity.
#The [[action-at-a-distance]] of [[quantum entanglement]].<ref>Quantum entanglement has not yet communicated information faster than the speed of light, but has already exhibited action faster than the speed of light.</ref>
#The [[action-at-a-distance]] by [[Jesus]], described in [[John 1-7 (Translated)|John 4:46-54]], [[Matthew 10-19 (Translated)|Matthew 15:28]], and [[Matthew 20-28 (Translated)|Matthew 27:51]].
#The failure to discover [[gravitons]], despite wasting hundreds of millions in taxpayer money in searching.
#Newly observed data reveal that the fine-structure constant, α (alpha), actually varies throughout the universe, demonstrating that all inertial frames of reference do '''not''' experience identical laws of physics as claimed by Relativity.<ref>For a report on the data, see a paper submitted in 2010 by John Webb and Julian King of the University of new South Wales, Australia, to the ''Physical Review Letters''.</ref>
#The double star "W13" weighs "40 times as much as the sun—more than enough to form a [[black hole]]. So why is it not a black hole? The only explanation [a leading scientist] can think of ... does not make astrophysical sense."<ref>http://www.economist.com/node/17035953</ref>
#The inability of the theory to lead to other insights, contrary to every verified theory of physics.
#The change in mass over time of standard kilograms preserved under ideal conditions.<ref>[[Mystery:Why Is the Kilogram Losing Weight?]]</ref>
#The uniformity in temperature throughout the universe.<ref>http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6092-speed-of-light-may-have-changed-recently.html ("A varying speed of light contradicts Einstein's theory of relativity, and would undermine much of traditional physics. But some physicists believe it would elegantly explain puzzling cosmological phenomena such as the nearly uniform temperature of the universe.")</ref>
#"According to Einstein’s view on the universe, space-time should be smooth and continuous" but observations instead show "inexplicable static" greater than "all artificial sources of" possible background noise.<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/Cool-Astronomy/2010/1025/Is-the-universe-a-big-hologram-This-device-could-find-out. Hunt for gravitational waves discovers unexpected data instead].</ref>
#"The snag is that in quantum mechanics, time retains its Newtonian aloofness, providing the stage against which matter dances but never being affected by its presence. These two [QM and Relativity] conceptions of time don’t gel."<ref>http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=splitting-time-from-space</ref>
#The theory predicts [[wormholes]] just as it predicts [[black holes]], but wormholes violate causality and permit absurd time travel.<ref>http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v61/i13/p1446_1 . The popular science press promotes black holes to a far greater extent than wormholes.</ref>
#The theory predicts natural formation of highly ordered (and thus low entropy) black holes despite the increase in [[entropy]] required by the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]].<ref>Contrived explanations have been suggested for this dilemma, such as Stephen Hawking proposing that the entropy of matter in a black hole is somehow stored in the surface area of its event horizon to be released back into its surroundings as the black hole decays by radiation, known as "Hawking radiation."</ref>
#Data from the [[PSR B1913 16|PSR B1913+16]] increasingly diverge from predictions of the [[General Theory of Relativity]] such that, despite a Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded for early work on this pulsar, no data at all have been released about it for over five years.
#The lack of useful devices developed based on any insights provided by the theory; no lives have been saved or helped, and the theory has not led to other useful theories and may have interfered with scientific progress.<ref>Contrary to the claims of Relativists, the GPS system has never been based on Relativity. The Time Service Department, U.S. Navy, observed that "The Operational Control System (OCS) of the Global Positioning System (GPS) does not include the rigorous transformations between coordinate systems that Einstein’s general theory of relativity would seem to require" in part because "the effects of relativity, where they are different from the effects predicted by classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory, are too small to matter – less than one centimeter, for users on or near the earth.”</ref> This stands in stark contrast with every verified theory of science.
#Relativity requires different values for the inertia of a moving object: in its direction of motion, and perpendicular to that direction. This contradicts the logical principle that the laws of physics are the same in all directions.
#Relativity requires that anything traveling at the speed of light must have mass zero, so it must have momentum zero. But the laws of electrodynamics require that light have nonzero momentum.
#Unlike most well-tested fundamental physical theories, the theory of relativity violates conditions of a conservative field. Path independence, for example, is lacking under the theory of relativity, as in the "twin paradox" whereby the age of each twin under the theory is dependent on the path he traveled.<ref>In defense of the theory, it is noted that it mandates conservation of the matter-stress-energy tensor (the only way to get ''real'' conservation, since matter and energy are interchangeable.) This follows from the "contracted Bianchi identity." [http://www.mth.uct.ac.za/omei/gr/chap6/node14.html] Also, the curl of the "gravitational field vector" is exactly zero in the absence of moving sources, due to symmetries of [[Riemann]]'s tensor. It follows, from [[Stokes' Theorem]], that the gravitational field is conservative and has a potential function. Energy is conserved.</ref>
#The Ehrenfest Paradox: Consider a spinning hoop, where the tangential velocity is near the speed of light. In this case, the circumference (<math>2 \pi R</math>) is length-contracted. However, since <math>R</math> is always perpendicular to the motion, it is not contracted. This leads to an apparent paradox: does the radius of the accelerating hoop equal <math>R</math>, or is it less than <math>R</math>?
#The Twin Paradox: Consider twins who are separated with one traveling at a very high speed such that his "clock" (age) slows down, so that when he returns he has a younger age than the twin; this violates Relativity because ''both'' twins should expect the other to be younger, if motion is relative. Einstein himself admitted that this contradicts Relativity.<ref>Einstein attempted to explain the paradox based on the acceleration that one twin uniquely undergoes, but the length of travel can simply be extended such that any effect from acceleration would be ''de minimis''.</ref>
#Based on Relativity, Einstein predicted in 1905 that clocks at the Earth's equator would be slower than clocks at the North Pole, due to different velocities; in fact, all clocks at sea level measure time at the same rate, and Relativists made new assumptions about the Earth's shape to justify this contradiction of the theory; they also make the implausible claim that relativistic effects from gravitation precisely offset the effects from differences in velocity.<ref>http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v227/n5255/abs/227270a0.html</ref>
#Based on Relativity, Einstein claimed in 1909 that the [[aether (science)|aether]] does not exist, but in order to make subatomic physics work right, theorists had to introduce the aether-like concept of the Higgs field, which fills all of space and breaks symmetries.
#In [[Genesis (ch.1)|Genesis 1:6-8]], we are told that one of God's first creations was a firmament in the heavens. This likely refers to the creation of the luminiferous [[aether]].
#[[Minkowski space]] is predicated on the idea of four-dimensional vectors of which one component is [[time]]. However, one of the properties of a [[vector space]] is that every vector have an inverse. Time cannot be a vector because it has no inverse.
#It is impossible to perform an experiment to determine whether Einstein's theory of relativity is correct, or the older Lorentz aether theory is correct. Believing one over the other is a matter of [[faith]].
#Despite a century of wasting billions of dollars in work on the theory, "No one knows how to solve completely the equations of general relativity that describe gravity; they are simply beyond current understanding."<ref>[http://www.mathunion.org/o/General/Prizes/2006/TaoENG.pdf Statement in awarding the coveted Fields Medal]</ref>
#Experiments in electromagnetic induction contradict Relativity: "Einstein’s Relativity ... can not explain the experiment in graph 2, in which moving magnetic field has not produced electric field."<ref>http://www.wbabin.net/weuro/qingping1.pdf</ref><ref>http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0504223</ref>
#Relativity breaks down if a [[solenoid]] is traveling at or near the speed of light.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

(add to list)

{{Relativity}}

== See also ==
*[[Counterexamples to Evolution]]
*[[Counterexamples to an Old Earth]]
*[[Counterexamples to the Bible]]

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:physics]]

Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies

2012-01-10T13:37:07Z

Cengime:

'''There have been many superb [[conservative]] films''':

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Witness''
|1985
|R
|Highlights the virtues of strong moral values, with more substance than ''High Noon''.
|$ 65,500,000
|-
|''[[Spider-Man]]''
|2002
|PG-13
|Praises moral virtue (hard-working teenager, devout aunt and well-meaning uncle) and pokes fun at [[liberals]] (entertainers and journalist). Hero chooses [[abstinence]]. This was one of the most profitable films ever made.
|$ 403,706,375
|-
|''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''
|1956
|UR
|A science fiction condemnation of [[communism]], produced for only $420,000 and remade successfully in three additional movies.
|$ 2,500,000
|-
|''[[The Exorcist]]''
|1973
|R
|(''not for children'') - A portrayal of pure evil against a positive characterization of [[Christianity]]. It broke the record for movie revenue.
|$ 441,071,011
|-
|''[[Dark Matter]]''
|2007
|R
|A candid look at [[professor values]] along with problems associated with lack of assimilation; [[liberal]]s first praised the movie, but after realizing its [[conservative]] message then panned it.
|$ 30,041
|-
|''Miracle''
|2004
|PG
|Movie about the United States hockey team which won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Stresses the important of hard work, resiliency, selflessness and putting your best effort forward to reach an unseen goal.
|$ 64,445,708
|-
|''[[Gone With the Wind]]''
|1939
|UR
|Celebrates a strongly ''feminine'' heroine who is the antithesis of a modern [[feminist]], and held the record for top-grossing movie for decades.
|$ 198,676,459
|-
|''[[Ben-Hur (film, 1959)|Ben-Hur]]''
|1959
|UR
|Celebrates honor and duty to family and country, with a pro-Christian ending, long held the record for the most [[Academy Awards]].
|$ 17,300,000
|-
|''[[Expelled | Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed]]''
|2008
|PG
|[[Ben Stein]] exposes [[evolution|evolutionists]]' scientific and education system [[deceit]].
|$ 7,690,545
|-
|''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''
|2011
|PG-13
|Big screen adaptation of the classic objectivist text.
|$ 4,563,873
|-
|''[[Chasing the Devil: Inside the Ex-Gay Movement]]''
|2008
|UR
|The personal journeys of four people who claim to have changed their sexual orientation from gay to straight. <ref>[http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/chasing_the_devil_inside_the_ex_gay_movement Chasing the Devil:Inside the Ex-Gay Movement documentary online]</ref>
|NA
|-
|''[[Hillary: The Movie]]''
|2008
|UR
|Citizens United film exposing Hillary Clinton. This movie was the impetus of the lawsuit which overturned the McCain-Feingold legislation by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]''.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Indoctrinate U]]''
|2007
|UR
|Exposed political correctness, racial and ethnic politics in the academic setting. <ref>[http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3624795/9994231 Indoctrinate U -Part 1/3, Yahoo]</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Fireproof (film)|Fireproof]]''
|2008
|PG
|Highly successful pro-Christian, pro-marriage film created by [[Sherwood Pictures]].
|$ 33,451,479
|-
|''[[Beauty and the Beast]]''
|1991
|G
|A powerful and immensely popular antidote to [[feminism]], far better than the [[liberal]] movies churned out by [[Disney]] since.
|$ 25,487,028
|-
|''[[Titanic]]''
|1997
|PG-13
|Every life had value and the most powerful men gave up their seats on lifeboats to women and children first; the media and a young [[RINO]] are rightly criticized; broke the record in movie revenues.
|$ 600,779,824
|-
|''The Lives of Others''
|2006
|R
|(''Not for children'') - This German-language film is a stinging criticism of the [[communist]] [[East Germany]] from a liberal perspective.
|$ 11,286,112
|-
|''[[The Sound of Music]]''
|1965
|UR
|Solid family entertainment.
|$ 158,671,368
|-
|''[[Chinatown]]''
|1974
|R
|A thriller about the deceit surrounding water rights in southern California and LA's water system, removing most of the water from the central valley.
|$ 30,000,000 (world wide estimate)
|-
|''[[The Fountainhead]]''
|1949
|UR
|Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal starring in Ayn Rand's classic story of the right of the individual to produce on their own terms.
|Unknown
|-
|''The Undefeated''
|2011
|PG-13
|Documentary about [[Sarah Palin]]
|$ 100,085 (to date)
|-
|''Moses''
|1974
|PG
|Italian-British-American production which features [[Burt Lancaster]] playing [[Moses]] the lawgiver. Less flamboyant than Cecil B. Demille's movie The Ten Commandments and focuses more on the biblical figure of Moses. Originally a 6-part TV mini-series, but edited to make it a movie.
|-
|''[[The Ten Commandments]]''
|1956
|UR
|The definitive film portrayal of [[Exodus]].
|$ 65,500,000
|-
|''[[Mr. Smith Goes To Washington]]''
|1939
|UR
|A tale of a good, simple man rising above the pressures of [[liberals]] to do the right thing. Features perhaps the best defense of the American political system ever committed to film.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Star Wars]]''
|1977-2005
|PG
|Simple truths about the triumph of good over evil.
|$460,998,007
|-
|''The Winning Team''
|1952
|UR
|[[Ronald Reagan]] stars as a baseball pitcher who overcomes his problems to help his team win. This was one of Reagan's own favorites.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[King of Kings]]''
|1961
|PG-13
|2 hour, 51 minute widescreen epic by the great director Nicholas Ray about Jesus and his promises of spiritual redemption, as contrasted with the story of the revolutionary leader Barabbas and his promises of worldly redemption.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Iron Eagle]]''
|1986
|PG-13
|
|$ 24,159,872
|-
|''[[On The Waterfront]]''
|1954
|UR
|[[Marlon Brando]] plays Terry Malloy, who under the inspiration of a Catholic priest (Father Barry, played by [[Karl Malden]]), becomes a Christ-like figure. Betrayed by his brother and almost killed by the gang, he finds the strength to overcome and redeem his people from the slavery to the mobsters who run the waterfront. In stunning contrast to the liberals who kept silent about the Communist subversion in Hollywood, the film portrays the informer as the hero; liberal Hollywood never forgave director [[Elia Kazan]] for his stunning film. In real life, Kazan, Malden and screenwriter Budd Schulberg all testified before Congress, along with [[Ronald Reagan]]. Together they broke the power of the Reds in Hollywood.
|$ 9,600,000
|-
|''The Name of the Rose''
|1986
|R
|A mystery centered around the balance between faith and science, as well as debate over the role of poverty in religion and religious orders.
|$ 5,595,706
|-
|''[[Sergeant York]]''
|1941
|UR
|A young American soldier during WWI overcomes an unfounded religious objection to killing and becomes a war hero.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Knute Rockne: All-American]]''
|1940
|UR
|Stars [[Ronald Reagan]] as corageous football player George Gipp, who dies before an important game.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Ninotchka]]''
|1939
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Forbidden Planet]]''
|1956
|UR
|
|$ 3,000,000
|-
|''[[Rudy]]''
|1993
|PG
|A young man overcomes many obstacles, including dyslexia, to play for the [[Notre Dame]] football team. Shows the value of hard work and never giving up.
|$ 22,750,363
|-
|''[[The Prince of Egypt]]''
|1998
|PG
|A telling of the life of [[Moses]].
|$ 101,217,900
|-
|''[[Strategic Air Command (film)|Strategic Air Command]]''
|1955
|UR
|Actor (and Brigadier [[General]]) [[James Stewart]]'s story of the real [[Strategic Air Command]] and its transition from prop planes to jet planes.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[A Gathering of Eagles]]''
|1963
|UR
|Illustrates duty, honor, and the burden of command.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Red Dawn]]''
|1984
|PG-13
|A film by conservative writer and director [[John Milius]] about American high school students resisting a Soviet invasion through guerrilla warfare.
|$ 35,866,000
|-
|''[[Harry's War]]''
|1981
|PG
|Anti-IRS comedy.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Patriot]]''
|2000
|R
|A patriot fights for American freedom during the [[American Revolution]].
|$ 113,330,342
|-
|''[[Ladder 49]]''
|2004
|PG-13
|Shows the courageousness of firefighters.
|$ 74,541,707
|-
|''[[Rocky]]''
|1976
|PG
|A talented but down-on-his-luck fighter gets a chance to challenge himself to the ends of his ability. This film reinforces man's ability to overcome challenges.
|$ 117,235,247
|-
|''[[October Sky]]''
|1999
|PG
|Four high school boys from a rural coal mining town, inspired by Sputnik, set out to build their own rockets and become rocket scientists.
|$ 32,481,825
|-
|''[[Amazing Grace (film)|Amazing Grace]]''
|2006
|PG
|Shows the horrors of slave trade.
|$ 21,208,358
|-
|''[[Bruce Almighty]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Shows, in a comedic, accessible way, that no one mortal can successfully do [[God]]'s job.
|$ 242,589,580
|-
|''[[World Trade Center]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Highlights the bravery of the firemen and police in [[9/11]]
|$ 70,236,496
|-
|''[[Flight 93]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Shows the bravery of the passengers on Flight 93, which was hijacked on September 11th, 2001, and crashed into a Pennsylvania field. The passengers fought back against the hijackers.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[A Man For All Seasons]]''
|1966
|UR
|In 16th Century England, statesman and philosopher Thomas More is forced to choose between his Catholic faith and his loyalty to the king. Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design in 1966.
|$ 20,000,000<ref>This figure is a worldwide gross.</ref>
|-
|''[[Chariots of Fire]]''
|1981
|PG
|
|$ 58,972,904
|-
|''[[One Foot In Heaven]]''
|1941
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Quo Vadis?]]''
|1951
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Lost Weekend]]''
|1945
|UR
|Illustrates the dangers of alcohol abuse.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Manchurian Candidate]]''
|1962
|PG-13
|Anti-communist in general, but with a swipe at [[Joseph McCarthy]].
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Green Berets]]''
|1968
|G
|Vivid defense of our troops' conduct in the Vietnam War.
|$ 11,000,000
|-
|''[[My Son John]]''
|1952
|UR
|A small-town couple's world is turned upside-down by the discovery that their adult son is a Communist.
|Unknown
|-

|''[[True Lies]]''
|1994
|R
|Stars the future Republican governor of California, [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. Teaches conservative values like marital loyalty, and political incorrect facts such as the fact that most terrorists are Middle Eastern Arabic speakers who don't value human life.
|$ 146,261,000
|-
|''[[The Island]]''
|2005
|PG-13
|Pro-life statement against cloning to harvest organs.
|$ 35,799,026
|-
|''[[Evelyn]]''
|2002
|PG
|True story of Irish father's legal struggle to recover his kids from an orphanage.
|$ 1,483,975
|-
|''[[Shane]]''
|1953
|UR
|Western about defending a homesteading family.
|$ 20,000,000
|-
|''[[Lean on Me]]''
|1989
|PG-13
|A true story about combating drug use, violence, and contempt for authority while exalting positive values like academic achievement and family values.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097722/</ref>
|$ 31,906,454
|-
|''[[Hero]]''
|1992
|PG-13
|Even those with character flaws can do good.
|$ 19,487,173
|-
|''[[The 6th Day]]''
|2000
|PG-13
|Pro-Life, Anti-Cloning movie Featuring Republican Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]
|$ 34,543,701
|-
|''Ghost Busters''
|1984
|PG
|Fitting satire of an unfair (and likely liberal) professor, paganism, and an EPA regulator.
|$ 238,632,124
|-
|[[Facing the Giants]]
|2006
|PG
|Trust in [[God]], let him take over, and good things will happen.
|$ 10,178,331
|-
|''Flash of Genius''
|2008
|PG-13
|The intellectual property of a hard-working, solitary inventor is promoted, and his children stuck by his side through enormous difficulties.
|$ 3,744,790
|-
|''Oh, God!''
|1977
|PG
|Acceptance of God's calling is rewarded, the faithful are vindicated, and naysayers are proven wrong.
|$ 41,687,243
|-
|''[[Courageous]]''
|2011
|PG-13
|Upcoming [[Sherwood Pictures]] film focusing on the role of fathers.
|
|-
|''[[Air Force One (film)|Air Force One]]''
|1997
|R
|Positively portrays a strong U.S. president who takes an uncompromising stance against terrorism. Includes positive material about family, authority, the military and sacrifice.
|$ 172,956,409
|-
|''[[The Fellowship of the Ring (film, 2001)|The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring]]''
|2001
|PG-13
|Clear distinction between good and evil with positive themes of friendship, bravery, honor, sacrifice and overcoming temptation.
|$ 314,776,114
|-
|''[[The Two Towers (film, 2002)|The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers]]''
|2002
|PG-13
|Strong portrayals of redemption and good over evil.
|$ 340,478,898
|-
|''[[The Return of the King (2003 film)|The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Bravery, heroism, sacrifice and good ultimately triumphing over evil.
|$ 377,027,325
|-
|''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Promotes many positive conservative values including faith in God, patriotism, duty, honor, respect for authority, discipline, bravery, sacrifice, and friendship.
|$ 93,926,386
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]''
|2005
|PG
|Based upon the Christian allegory written by C.S. Lewis.
|$ 291,709,845
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]]''
|2008
|PG
|
|$ 141,621,490
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]''
|2010
|PG
|
|$ 104,383,624
|-
|''Coach Carter''
|2005
|PG-13
|Promotes the theme that graduating from high school and having proper moral values are more important than becoming famous athletes.
|$ 67,253,092
|-
|''[[The Seventh Sign]]''
|1988
|R
|Starring Demi Moore, a fictional account of the return of Jesus to usher in the apocalypse and judge mankind. Catholic themed movie has Demi offering her life for the souls of others.
|$ 18,875,011
|-
|''[[Maafa21]]''
|2009
|UR
|This film explores the inception of [[Planned Parenthood]] as an organization created to exterminate African-Americans. It exposes the words of its' racist founder [[Margaret Sanger]] and their impact on black genocide more than a century later. <ref>[http://www.maafa21.com www.maafa21.com]</ref>
|NA - DVD
|-
|''[[Twelve O'Clock High]]''
|1949
|UR
|A thrilling movie about the heroics of fighter pilots during [[World War II]]; used as an educational film for management training seminars.
|$ 3,225,000
|-
|''[[Escape from Hell]]''
|2000
|UR
|Drama about a doctor and near-death experience.
|NA - DVD
|-
|''[[Waiting for Superman]]''
|2010
|PG
|Documentary on the failed public school system.
|$ 6,410,257
|-
|''The Hurt Locker''
|2008
|R
|A look into the life of an American bomb disposal regiment in Iraq risking their lives for their country and for the innocent by confronting evil. Rated R for violence and language.
|$ 12,647,089
|-
|''The Tunnel'' (''Der Tunnel'')
|2001
|
|Based on a true story a group of East Berliners escaping harsh Communist rule and hatch a plan to help others escape that same oppressive regime.
|$ 10,890
|-
|''A Charlie Brown Christmas''
|1965
|G
|The real meaning of Christmas is discussed, as Linus quotes Luke 2:8-14. Decries the materialism that can surround the Christmas holiday.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[The Great Global Warming Swindle]]''
|2007
|UR
|Exposing the greatest fraud in the history of science.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]''
|1971
|G
|A celebration of tradition, faith, and the importance of family, against a historical background of the persecution of Russian Jews.
|$ 50,000,000
|-
|''[[Kids Aren't Cars]]''
|2011
|UR
|How the teachers' unions are destroying our public schools. <ref>[http://www.kidsarentcars.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/KACOneSheet.pdf KAC Summary]</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''[[How Should We Then Live]]''
|1976
|UR
|Christian film that traces Western history from Ancient Rome until 1976. A study of philosophic, scientific, and religious movements reflecting changing patterns.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Gattaca]]''
|1997
|PG-13
|A condemnation of human genetic engineering, and a wonderful triumph of individualism in an extremely totalitarian regime. Unfortunately the movie ends with a materialistic message: "They say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. So, maybe I'm not leaving, maybe I'm going home" (A phrase said when the protagonist finally managed to go to space).
|$ 12,339,633
|-
|''The Lion King''
|1994
|G
|A main message of the movie is honoring thy father, and the power-hungry main antagonist, once he becomes ruler, favors big government, pushes [[liberal values]] and destroys their territory.
|$ 312,825,899
|-
|''Contact''
|1997
|PG
|The overall message is about how science and faith do not have to be in opposition to one another.
|$ 100,853,835
|-
|''The Sandlot''
|1993
|PG
|Honestly depicts 1950s America when boys acted like boys and girls acted like girls, wimps were taught to toughen up, and every boy had a chance to be great. No historical revisionism.
|$ 32,416,586
|-
|''I Confess''
|1953
|UR
|In this classic by Alfred Hitchcock, a clergyman honors his sacred vow of confidentiality with respect to a confession despite intense pressure to disclose it.
|Unknown
|-
|''Mr. Skeffinton''
|1944
|UR
|Bette Davis portrays a socialite whose life is ruined when she turns ugly with age. Anti-Nazi and anti-materialistic.
|Unknown
|-
|''The Forgotten''
|2004
|PG-13
|A mystery film with a great [[Pro-life]] message.<ref>[http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/forgotten.html ''The Forgotten''] at Decent Film Guide</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''Pulp Fiction''
|1994
|R
|(''not for children'') - In this black comedy by Quentin Tarantino, gangster Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) interprets a "miraculous" event as a sign from God, and goes straight, while his partner (John Travolta) ignores it with tragic consequences; and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) risks his life to retrieve a watch passed down by his father and grandfather.
|Unknown
|-
|''The Tree of Life''
|2011
|PG-13
|An adaptation of the Book of Job set in 1950s Texas with a narrative structure based on the nature of human memory which many viewers will find confusing.
|Unknown
|-
|''Cronos''
|1993
|R
|In this Mexican film by Guillermo del Toro (''Pan's Labyrinth'', ''Hellboy''), an elderly antiques dealer has a chance at immortality—but at the cost of being a leech to others. Mostly in Spanish with large parts in English.
|Unknown
|-
|}

== Debatable Whether Conservative ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''[[The Passion of the Christ]]''
|2004
|R
|Downplays the [[Resurrection]],<ref>The original version of the film had no references at all to the Resurrection.</ref> and strength of Christianity and omits powerful angels; instead exaggerates triumph of evil; film had little lasting effect on public or its producer; portrayed nails as through the hands rather than through the wrists as depicted by the [[Shroud of Turin]] and confirmed by modern science.
|$ 370,782,930
|-

|''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]''
|1946
|UR
|Falsely teaches that humanism is what makes life worthwhile; marginalizes [[faith]] with a cartoonish depiction and demonizes capitalism as sadistic and greedy.
|$ 3,300,000
|-
|''[[High Noon]]''
|1952
|UR
|Bill Clinton saw this movie 20 times, and John Wayne said it was the most un-American movie ever;<ref>http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/47/highnoon.php</ref> though susceptible of various interpretations, most of all it seems to scare people into wanting more government.
|$ 3,750,000
|-
|''[[P.C.U.]]''
|1994
|PG-13
|College students fight back against a campus where the administration promotes official [[diversity]] awareness weekends and radical [[feminism]], [[vegan]]ism, and [[political correctness]] run amok, but a conservative group on campus is also portrayed just as negatively as the P.C. groups.
|$ 4,350,774
|-
|''Pillow Talk''
|1959
|UR
|A classic starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day in which conservative values triumph over liberal ones. There are no distortions by feminist ideology. Indeed, in one scene a leading man slaps the leading lady, but then is beaten up by dimwitted bystanders for it!
|$ 18,750,000
|-
|''[[Blues Brothers]]''
|1980
|R
|Comedy musical. A story of redemption, "A mission from God", raising money to save a Catholic orphanage. R-rated movie for vulgar language, slap stick comedy. Vatican approved. <ref>[http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/18/vatican-blesses-blues-brothers/ Vatican Calls The Blues Brothers “Catholic”, FOXNews, June 19, 2010]</ref>
|$ 57,229,890
|-
|''The Way We Were''
|1973
|PG
|Unique in the way that it appears liberal to liberals while unintentionally sending a [[conservative]] message to young women.
|$ 49,919,870
|-
|''Grease''
|1978
|PG-13
|Some [[conservative]] messages and no [[feminism]] or other [[political correctness]]; mocks [[public school]] and even [[television]].
|$ 153,113,000
|-
|''Fargo''
|1996
|R
|Pregnant sheriff with traditional American family values solves an elaborate criminal embezzlement, kidnapping and murder scheme.
|$ 24,611,975
|-
|''[[Juno (film)|Juno]]''
|2007
|PG-13
|A pregnant teenage woman rejects [[abortion]] and decides for an adoptive birth instead. This movie pushes [[feminism]] and marginalizes the essential role of fatherhood.
|$ 143,492,840
|-
|''[[The Dark Knight]]''
|2008
|PG-13
|Christian allegory with message of not giving in to terrorists, but the movie also arguably has some liberal themes as pointed on [[Talk:Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies]].
|$ 533,316,061
|-
|''Camelot''
|1967
|G
|The famous jousting scene is a powerful display of Christian values and chivalry, but the movie seems lost afterward.
|$ 31,102,578
|-
|}

== Debatable Whether Great ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''The Room''
|2003
|R
|A tragedy showing the corrosive effects of [[liberal values]] like [[alcoholism]] and [[adultery]], while reflecting the conservative traits of [[charity]], innovation (in banking) and support for small business.
|Unknown
|-
|''Space Jam''
|1996
|PG
|Michael Jordan uses the help of beloved children's characters from the '50s (a simpler time in America's history) to beat back foreign invaders who wish to take away our freedoms.
|$ 90,443,603
|-
|}

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Essays about Conservatism]]
[[Category:Hollywood]]

Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies

2012-01-10T13:35:46Z

Cengime:

'''There have been many superb [[conservative]] films''':

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Witness''
|1985
|R
|Highlights the virtues of strong moral values, with more substance than ''High Noon''.
|$ 65,500,000
|-
|''[[Spider-Man]]''
|2002
|PG-13
|Praises moral virtue (hard-working teenager, devout aunt and well-meaning uncle) and pokes fun at [[liberals]] (entertainers and journalist). Hero chooses [[abstinence]]. This was one of the most profitable films ever made.
|$ 403,706,375
|-
|''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''
|1956
|UR
|A science fiction condemnation of [[communism]], produced for only $420,000 and remade successfully in three additional movies.
|$ 2,500,000
|-
|''[[The Exorcist]]''
|1973
|R
|(''not for children'') - A portrayal of pure evil against a positive characterization of [[Christianity]]. It broke the record for movie revenue.
|$ 441,071,011
|-
|''[[Dark Matter]]''
|2007
|R
|A candid look at [[professor values]] along with problems associated with lack of assimilation; [[liberal]]s first praised the movie, but after realizing its [[conservative]] message then panned it.
|$ 30,041
|-
|''Miracle''
|2004
|PG
|Movie about the United States hockey team which won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Stresses the important of hard work, resiliency, selflessness and putting your best effort forward to reach an unseen goal.
|$ 64,445,708
|-
|''[[Gone With the Wind]]''
|1939
|UR
|Celebrates a strongly ''feminine'' heroine who is the antithesis of a modern [[feminist]], and held the record for top-grossing movie for decades.
|$ 198,676,459
|-
|''[[Ben-Hur (film, 1959)|Ben-Hur]]''
|1959
|UR
|Celebrates honor and duty to family and country, with a pro-Christian ending, long held the record for the most [[Academy Awards]].
|$ 17,300,000
|-
|''[[Expelled | Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed]]''
|2008
|PG
|[[Ben Stein]] exposes [[evolution|evolutionists]]' scientific and education system [[deceit]].
|$ 7,690,545
|-
|''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''
|2011
|PG-13
|Big screen adaptation of the classic objectivist text.
|$ 4,563,873
|-
|''[[Chasing the Devil: Inside the Ex-Gay Movement]]''
|2008
|UR
|The personal journeys of four people who claim to have changed their sexual orientation from gay to straight. <ref>[http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/chasing_the_devil_inside_the_ex_gay_movement Chasing the Devil:Inside the Ex-Gay Movement documentary online]</ref>
|NA
|-
|''[[Hillary: The Movie]]''
|2008
|UR
|Citizens United film exposing Hillary Clinton. This movie was the impetus of the lawsuit which overturned the McCain-Feingold legislation by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]''.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Indoctrinate U]]''
|2007
|UR
|Exposed political correctness, racial and ethnic politics in the academic setting. <ref>[http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3624795/9994231 Indoctrinate U -Part 1/3, Yahoo]</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Fireproof (film)|Fireproof]]''
|2008
|PG
|Highly successful pro-Christian, pro-marriage film created by [[Sherwood Pictures]].
|$ 33,451,479
|-
|''[[Beauty and the Beast]]''
|1991
|G
|A powerful and immensely popular antidote to [[feminism]], far better than the [[liberal]] movies churned out by [[Disney]] since.
|$ 25,487,028
|-
|''[[Titanic]]''
|1997
|PG-13
|Every life had value and the most powerful men gave up their seats on lifeboats to women and children first; the media and a young [[RINO]] are rightly criticized; broke the record in movie revenues.
|$ 600,779,824
|-
|''The Lives of Others''
|2006
|R
|(''Not for children'') - This German-language film is a stinging criticism of the [[communist]] [[East Germany]] from a liberal perspective.
|$ 11,286,112
|-
|''[[The Sound of Music]]''
|1965
|UR
|Solid family entertainment.
|$ 158,671,368
|-
|''[[Chinatown]]''
|1974
|R
|A thriller about the deceit surrounding water rights in southern California and LA's water system, removing most of the water from the central valley.
|$ 30,000,000 (world wide estimate)
|-
|''[[The Fountainhead]]''
|1949
|UR
|Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal starring in Ayn Rand's classic story of the right of the individual to produce on their own terms.
|Unknown
|-
|''The Undefeated''
|2011
|PG-13
|Documentary about [[Sarah Palin]]
|$ 100,085 (to date)
|-
|''Moses''
|1974
|PG
|Italian-British-American production which features [[Burt Lancaster]] playing [[Moses]] the lawgiver. Less flamboyant than Cecil B. Demille's movie The Ten Commandments and focuses more on the biblical figure of Moses. Originally a 6-part TV mini-series, but edited to make it a movie.
|-
|''[[The Ten Commandments]]''
|1956
|UR
|The definitive film portrayal of [[Exodus]].
|$ 65,500,000
|-
|''[[Mr. Smith Goes To Washington]]''
|1939
|UR
|A tale of a good, simple man rising above the pressures of [[liberals]] to do the right thing. Features perhaps the best defense of the American political system ever committed to film.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Star Wars]]''
|1977-2005
|PG
|Simple truths about the triumph of good over evil.
|$460,998,007
|-
|''The Winning Team''
|1952
|UR
|[[Ronald Reagan]] stars as a baseball pitcher who overcomes his problems to help his team win. This was one of Reagan's own favorites.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[King of Kings]]''
|1961
|PG-13
|2 hour, 51 minute widescreen epic by the great director Nicholas Ray about Jesus and his promises of spiritual redemption, as contrasted with the story of the revolutionary leader Barabbas and his promises of worldly redemption.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Iron Eagle]]''
|1986
|PG-13
|
|$ 24,159,872
|-
|''[[On The Waterfront]]''
|1954
|UR
|[[Marlon Brando]] plays Terry Malloy, who under the inspiration of a Catholic priest (Father Barry, played by [[Karl Malden]]), becomes a Christ-like figure. Betrayed by his brother and almost killed by the gang, he finds the strength to overcome and redeem his people from the slavery to the mobsters who run the waterfront. In stunning contrast to the liberals who kept silent about the Communist subversion in Hollywood, the film portrays the informer as the hero; liberal Hollywood never forgave director [[Elia Kazan]] for his stunning film. In real life, Kazan, Malden and screenwriter Budd Schulberg all testified before Congress, along with [[Ronald Reagan]]. Together they broke the power of the Reds in Hollywood.
|$ 9,600,000
|-
|''The Name of the Rose''
|1986
|R
|A mystery centered around the balance between faith and science, as well as debate over the role of poverty in religion and religious orders.
|$ 5,595,706
|-
|''[[Sergeant York]]''
|1941
|UR
|A young American soldier during WWI overcomes an unfounded religious objection to killing and becomes a war hero.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Knute Rockne: All-American]]''
|1940
|UR
|Stars [[Ronald Reagan]] as corageous football player George Gipp, who dies before an important game.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Ninotchka]]''
|1939
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Forbidden Planet]]''
|1956
|UR
|
|$ 3,000,000
|-
|''[[Rudy]]''
|1993
|PG
|A young man overcomes many obstacles, including dyslexia, to play for the [[Notre Dame]] football team. Shows the value of hard work and never giving up.
|$ 22,750,363
|-
|''[[The Prince of Egypt]]''
|1998
|PG
|A telling of the life of [[Moses]].
|$ 101,217,900
|-
|''[[Strategic Air Command (film)|Strategic Air Command]]''
|1955
|UR
|Actor (and Brigadier [[General]]) [[James Stewart]]'s story of the real [[Strategic Air Command]] and its transition from prop planes to jet planes.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[A Gathering of Eagles]]''
|1963
|UR
|Illustrates duty, honor, and the burden of command.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Red Dawn]]''
|1984
|PG-13
|A film by conservative writer and director [[John Milius]] about American high school students resisting a Soviet invasion through guerrilla warfare.
|$ 35,866,000
|-
|''[[Harry's War]]''
|1981
|PG
|Anti-IRS comedy.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Patriot]]''
|2000
|R
|A patriot fights for American freedom during the [[American Revolution]].
|$ 113,330,342
|-
|''[[Ladder 49]]''
|2004
|PG-13
|Shows the courageousness of firefighters.
|$ 74,541,707
|-
|''[[Rocky]]''
|1976
|PG
|A talented but down-on-his-luck fighter gets a chance to challenge himself to the ends of his ability. This film reinforces man's ability to overcome challenges.
|$ 117,235,247
|-
|''[[October Sky]]''
|1999
|PG
|Four high school boys from a rural coal mining town, inspired by Sputnik, set out to build their own rockets and become rocket scientists.
|$ 32,481,825
|-
|''[[Amazing Grace (film)|Amazing Grace]]''
|2006
|PG
|Shows the horrors of slave trade.
|$ 21,208,358
|-
|''[[Bruce Almighty]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Shows, in a comedic, accessible way, that no one mortal can successfully do [[God]]'s job.
|$ 242,589,580
|-
|''[[World Trade Center]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Highlights the bravery of the firemen and police in [[9/11]]
|$ 70,236,496
|-
|''[[Flight 93]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Shows the bravery of the passengers on Flight 93, which was hijacked on September 11th, 2001, and crashed into a Pennsylvania field. The passengers fought back against the hijackers.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[A Man For All Seasons]]''
|1966
|UR
|In 16th Century England, statesman and philosopher Thomas More is forced to choose between his Catholic faith and his loyalty to the king. Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design in 1966.
|$ 20,000,000<ref>This figure is a worldwide gross.</ref>
|-
|''[[Chariots of Fire]]''
|1981
|PG
|
|$ 58,972,904
|-
|''[[One Foot In Heaven]]''
|1941
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[Quo Vadis?]]''
|1951
|UR
|
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Lost Weekend]]''
|1945
|UR
|Illustrates the dangers of alcohol abuse.
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Manchurian Candidate]]''
|1962
|PG-13
|Anti-communist in general, but with a swipe at [[Joseph McCarthy]].
|Unknown
|-
|''[[The Green Berets]]''
|1968
|G
|Vivid defense of our troops' conduct in the Vietnam War.
|$ 11,000,000
|-
|''[[My Son John]]''
|1952
|UR
|A small-town couple's world is turned upside-down by the discovery that their adult son is a Communist.
|Unknown
|-

|''[[True Lies]]''
|1994
|R
|Stars the future Republican governor of California, [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. Teaches conservative values like marital loyalty, and political incorrect facts such as the fact that most terrorists are Middle Eastern Arabic speakers who don't value human life.
|$ 146,261,000
|-
|''[[The Island]]''
|2005
|PG-13
|Pro-life statement against cloning to harvest organs.
|$ 35,799,026
|-
|''[[Evelyn]]''
|2002
|PG
|True story of Irish father's legal struggle to recover his kids from an orphanage.
|$ 1,483,975
|-
|''[[Shane]]''
|1953
|UR
|Western about defending a homesteading family.
|$ 20,000,000
|-
|''[[Lean on Me]]''
|1989
|PG-13
|A true story about combating drug use, violence, and contempt for authority while exalting positive values like academic achievement and family values.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097722/</ref>
|$ 31,906,454
|-
|''[[Hero]]''
|1992
|PG-13
|Even those with character flaws can do good.
|$ 19,487,173
|-
|''[[The 6th Day]]''
|2000
|PG-13
|Pro-Life, Anti-Cloning movie Featuring Republican Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]
|$ 34,543,701
|-
|''Ghost Busters''
|1984
|PG
|Fitting satire of an unfair (and likely liberal) professor, paganism, and an EPA regulator.
|$ 238,632,124
|-
|[[Facing the Giants]]
|2006
|PG
|Trust in [[God]], let him take over, and good things will happen.
|$ 10,178,331
|-
|''Flash of Genius''
|2008
|PG-13
|The intellectual property of a hard-working, solitary inventor is promoted, and his children stuck by his side through enormous difficulties.
|$ 3,744,790
|-
|''Oh, God!''
|1977
|PG
|Acceptance of God's calling is rewarded, the faithful are vindicated, and naysayers are proven wrong.
|$ 41,687,243
|-
|''[[Courageous]]''
|2011
|PG-13
|Upcoming [[Sherwood Pictures]] film focusing on the role of fathers.
|
|-
|''[[Air Force One (film)|Air Force One]]''
|1997
|R
|Positively portrays a strong U.S. president who takes an uncompromising stance against terrorism. Includes positive material about family, authority, the military and sacrifice.
|$ 172,956,409
|-
|''[[The Fellowship of the Ring (film, 2001)|The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring]]''
|2001
|PG-13
|Clear distinction between good and evil with positive themes of friendship, bravery, honor, sacrifice and overcoming temptation.
|$ 314,776,114
|-
|''[[The Two Towers (film, 2002)|The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers]]''
|2002
|PG-13
|Strong portrayals of redemption and good over evil.
|$ 340,478,898
|-
|''[[The Return of the King (2003 film)|The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Bravery, heroism, sacrifice and good ultimately triumphing over evil.
|$ 377,027,325
|-
|''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]''
|2003
|PG-13
|Promotes many positive conservative values including faith in God, patriotism, duty, honor, respect for authority, discipline, bravery, sacrifice, and friendship.
|$ 93,926,386
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]''
|2005
|PG
|Based upon the Christian allegory written by C.S. Lewis.
|$ 291,709,845
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]]''
|2008
|PG
|
|$ 141,621,490
|-
|''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]''
|2010
|PG
|
|$ 104,383,624
|-
|''Coach Carter''
|2005
|PG-13
|Promotes the theme that graduating from high school and having proper moral values are more important than becoming famous athletes.
|$ 67,253,092
|-
|''[[The Seventh Sign]]''
|1988
|R
|Starring Demi Moore, a fictional account of the return of Jesus to usher in the apocalypse and judge mankind. Catholic themed movie has Demi offering her life for the souls of others.
|$ 18,875,011
|-
|''[[Maafa21]]''
|2009
|UR
|This film explores the inception of [[Planned Parenthood]] as an organization created to exterminate African-Americans. It exposes the words of its' racist founder [[Margaret Sanger]] and their impact on black genocide more than a century later. <ref>[http://www.maafa21.com www.maafa21.com]</ref>
|NA - DVD
|-
|''[[Twelve O'Clock High]]''
|1949
|UR
|A thrilling movie about the heroics of fighter pilots during [[World War II]]; used as an educational film for management training seminars.
|$ 3,225,000
|-
|''[[Escape from Hell]]''
|2000
|UR
|Drama about a doctor and near-death experience.
|NA - DVD
|-
|''[[Waiting for Superman]]''
|2010
|PG
|Documentary on the failed public school system.
|$ 6,410,257
|-
|''The Hurt Locker''
|2008
|R
|A look into the life of an American bomb disposal regiment in Iraq risking their lives for their country and for the innocent by confronting evil. Rated R for violence and language.
|$ 12,647,089
|-
|''The Tunnel'' (''Der Tunnel'')
|2001
|
|Based on a true story a group of East Berliners escaping harsh Communist rule and hatch a plan to help others escape that same oppressive regime.
|$ 10,890
|-
|''A Charlie Brown Christmas''
|1965
|G
|The real meaning of Christmas is discussed, as Linus quotes Luke 2:8-14. Decries the materialism that can surround the Christmas holiday.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[The Great Global Warming Swindle]]''
|2007
|UR
|Exposing the greatest fraud in the history of science.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]''
|1971
|G
|A celebration of tradition, faith, and the importance of family, against a historical background of the persecution of Russian Jews.
|$ 50,000,000
|-
|''[[Kids Aren't Cars]]''
|2011
|UR
|How the teachers' unions are destroying our public schools. <ref>[http://www.kidsarentcars.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/KACOneSheet.pdf KAC Summary]</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''[[How Should We Then Live]]''
|1976
|UR
|Christian film that traces Western history from Ancient Rome until 1976. A study of philosophic, scientific, and religious movements reflecting changing patterns.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Gattaca]]''
|1997
|PG-13
|A condemnation of human genetic engineering, and a wonderful triumph of individualism in an extremely totalitarian regime. Unfortunately the movie ends with a materialistic message: "They say every atom in our bodies was once a part of a star. So, maybe I'm not leaving, maybe I'm going home" (A phrase said when the protagonist finally managed to go to space).
|$ 12,339,633
|-
|''The Lion King''
|1994
|G
|A main message of the movie is honoring thy father, and the power-hungry main antagonist, once he becomes ruler, favors big government, pushes [[liberal values]] and destroys their territory.
|$ 312,825,899
|-
|''Contact''
|1997
|PG
|The overall message is about how science and faith do not have to be in opposition to one another.
|$ 100,853,835
|-
|''The Sandlot''
|1993
|PG
|Honestly depicts 1950s America when boys acted like boys and girls acted like girls, wimps were taught to toughen up, and every boy had a chance to be great. No historical revisionism.
|$ 32,416,586
|-
|''I Confess''
|1953
|UR
|In this classic by Alfred Hitchcock, a clergyman honors his sacred vow of confidentiality with respect to a confession despite intense pressure to disclose it.
|Unknown
|-
|''Mr. Skeffinton''
|1944
|UR
|Bette Davis portrays a socialite whose life is ruined when she turns ugly with age. Anti-Nazi and anti-materialistic.
|Unknown
|-
|''The Forgotten''
|2004
|PG-13
|A mystery film with a great [[Pro-life]] message.<ref>[http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/forgotten.html ''The Forgotten''] at Decent Film Guide</ref>
|Unknown
|-
|''Pulp Fiction''
|1994
|R
|(''not for children'') - In this black comedy by Quentin Tarantino, gangster Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) interprets a "miraculous" event as a sign from God, and goes straight, while his partner (John Travolta) ignores it with tragic consequences; and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) risks his life to retrieve a watch passed down by his father and grandfather.
|-
|''The Tree of Life''
|2011
|PG-13
|An adaptation of the Book of Job set in 1950s Texas with a narrative structure based on the nature of human memory which many viewers will find confusing.
|-
|''Cronos''
|1993
|R
|In this Mexican film by Guillermo del Toro (''Pan's Labyrinth'', ''Hellboy''), an elderly antiques dealer has a chance at immortality—but at the cost of being a leech to others. Mostly in Spanish with large parts in English.
|-
|}

== Debatable Whether Conservative ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''[[The Passion of the Christ]]''
|2004
|R
|Downplays the [[Resurrection]],<ref>The original version of the film had no references at all to the Resurrection.</ref> and strength of Christianity and omits powerful angels; instead exaggerates triumph of evil; film had little lasting effect on public or its producer; portrayed nails as through the hands rather than through the wrists as depicted by the [[Shroud of Turin]] and confirmed by modern science.
|$ 370,782,930
|-

|''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]''
|1946
|UR
|Falsely teaches that humanism is what makes life worthwhile; marginalizes [[faith]] with a cartoonish depiction and demonizes capitalism as sadistic and greedy.
|$ 3,300,000
|-
|''[[High Noon]]''
|1952
|UR
|Bill Clinton saw this movie 20 times, and John Wayne said it was the most un-American movie ever;<ref>http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/47/highnoon.php</ref> though susceptible of various interpretations, most of all it seems to scare people into wanting more government.
|$ 3,750,000
|-
|''[[P.C.U.]]''
|1994
|PG-13
|College students fight back against a campus where the administration promotes official [[diversity]] awareness weekends and radical [[feminism]], [[vegan]]ism, and [[political correctness]] run amok, but a conservative group on campus is also portrayed just as negatively as the P.C. groups.
|$ 4,350,774
|-
|''Pillow Talk''
|1959
|UR
|A classic starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day in which conservative values triumph over liberal ones. There are no distortions by feminist ideology. Indeed, in one scene a leading man slaps the leading lady, but then is beaten up by dimwitted bystanders for it!
|$ 18,750,000
|-
|''[[Blues Brothers]]''
|1980
|R
|Comedy musical. A story of redemption, "A mission from God", raising money to save a Catholic orphanage. R-rated movie for vulgar language, slap stick comedy. Vatican approved. <ref>[http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/18/vatican-blesses-blues-brothers/ Vatican Calls The Blues Brothers “Catholic”, FOXNews, June 19, 2010]</ref>
|$ 57,229,890
|-
|''The Way We Were''
|1973
|PG
|Unique in the way that it appears liberal to liberals while unintentionally sending a [[conservative]] message to young women.
|$ 49,919,870
|-
|''Grease''
|1978
|PG-13
|Some [[conservative]] messages and no [[feminism]] or other [[political correctness]]; mocks [[public school]] and even [[television]].
|$ 153,113,000
|-
|''Fargo''
|1996
|R
|Pregnant sheriff with traditional American family values solves an elaborate criminal embezzlement, kidnapping and murder scheme.
|$ 24,611,975
|-
|''[[Juno (film)|Juno]]''
|2007
|PG-13
|A pregnant teenage woman rejects [[abortion]] and decides for an adoptive birth instead. This movie pushes [[feminism]] and marginalizes the essential role of fatherhood.
|$ 143,492,840
|-
|''[[The Dark Knight]]''
|2008
|PG-13
|Christian allegory with message of not giving in to terrorists, but the movie also arguably has some liberal themes as pointed on [[Talk:Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies]].
|$ 533,316,061
|-
|''Camelot''
|1967
|G
|The famous jousting scene is a powerful display of Christian values and chivalry, but the movie seems lost afterward.
|$ 31,102,578
|-
|}

== Debatable Whether Great ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''The Room''
|2003
|R
|A tragedy showing the corrosive effects of [[liberal values]] like [[alcoholism]] and [[adultery]], while reflecting the conservative traits of [[charity]], innovation (in banking) and support for small business.
|Unknown
|-
|''Space Jam''
|1996
|PG
|Michael Jordan uses the help of beloved children's characters from the '50s (a simpler time in America's history) to beat back foreign invaders who wish to take away our freedoms.
|$ 90,443,603
|-
|}

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Essays about Conservatism]]
[[Category:Hollywood]]