American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis (published 1997) is not a biography in the traditional sense. Rather, it is an analysis of Jefferson’s character and his essential understandings as highlighted at various points in his life. These include his time writing the Declaration of Independence, his time overseas, his time before and during his presidency, and finally his time in his self-imposed retirement at Monticello.
The end result is a ma that is still complicated and, in some ways, unknowable. Jefferson himself contradicted his own writings many times. His own opinions shifted and changed through the years. Just like anyone, his own understanding of events changed as time passed. For example, his opinions on slavery shifted as time passed, and as a retiree, he even felt supporting the life style of the South was inevitable enough that the Union maybe should be dissolved in order to preserve the right to slavery. His interpretations of limited government were shifting as well, especially during his time in the Presidency, in which he purchased the Louisiana territory against his inclinations that it was illegal.
You would think that a scholarly work about Thomas Jefferson could not be “dated.” After all, he lived hundreds of years ago. And yet Ellis himself acknowledges that more is being understood about the man every year. He recognized when he wrote it 30 years ago that the analysis of Jefferson will continue to grow, and the complicated “enigma” of his true feelings will continue to be explored in further scholarship. Ellis’ book is one for the end of the twentieth century: the early twenty-first century has revealed its own secrets about Thomas Jefferson.
After reading American Sphinx, I am left wondering more about Thomas Jefferson. It was a difficult read for me right now, but mostly because it left many questions in my mind rather than answering them. Jefferson truly was a complex man, so the author’s title is very appropriate. His character is a riddle and even two hundred year later, we are still puzzling him out.
