ord. He had an evident love for counting, counting, and measuring. He was a prominent inventor who invented such things as the hempbeater, a swivel chair, and the dumb waiter. Jefferson believed that revolts, ever so often, actually nourished the unity of the country, The tree of liberty must be watered periodically with the blood of tyrants.(Page 32) He also came up with the radical idea that the constitution should be rewritten, or at least modified, every twenty- five years. Jeffersons character must be looked at in the whole not just in part, not just in action but in thought as well. Jefferson was a man that lacked consistency and sometimes looked upon as a person of somewhat poor morals. His moral corruption may be traced all the way back to his father and mother, he was much more proud of his fathers achievements rather than his mothers but never forgot where his mothers stature had put him. Jefferson was a slave owner yet a revolutionist who said all men are created equal. Jefferson claimed to dislike the aristocracy but made no major attempts to change its ways. He had accepted urbane ideas, but was an American patriot. He was a pacifist, a nationalist, and a loyal Virginian. His cosmopolitan mind- set produced the most liberating ideas of the time. Jefferson was one who believed that that there should be a strong central government while his opponents believed most power should be given to the states. His belief that a rebellion here and there is not a bad thing but a good thing is an understandable theory. Jefferson claims that it is better to have the people involved in their government rather than them just doing what they are told. One of Jeffersons reinstated themes is the pursuit of happiness and he thinks that it should be acquired regardless of class. He believed that farmers and other rural people were the purest people of virtue and they are the best social bases for a democratic republic. Those wh...
