The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind
eBook - ePub

The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind

Thomas Jefferson's Idea of a University

  1. 368 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind

Thomas Jefferson's Idea of a University

About this book

Already renowned as a statesman, Thomas Jefferson in his retirement from government turned his attention to the founding of an institution of higher learning. Never merely a patron, the former president oversaw every aspect of the creation of what would become the University of Virginia. Along with the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he regarded it as one of the three greatest achievements in his life. Nonetheless, historians often treat this period as an epilogue to Jefferson's career.

In The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind, Andrew O'Shaughnessy offers a twin biography of Jefferson in retirement and of the University of Virginia in its earliest years. He reveals how Jefferson's vision anticipated the modern university and profoundly influenced the development of American higher education. The University of Virginia was the most visible apex of what was a much broader educational vision that distinguishes Jefferson as one of the earliest advocates of a public education system.

Just as Jefferson's proclamation that "all men are created equal" was tainted by the ongoing institution of slavery, however, so was his university. O'Shaughnessy addresses this tragic conflict in Jefferson's conception of the university and society, showing how Jefferson's loftier aspirations for the university were not fully realized. Nevertheless, his remarkable vision in founding the university remains vital to any consideration of the role of education in the success of the democratic experiment.

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Yes, you can access The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind by Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy,Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Leadership in Education. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Foreword
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
  9. 1. Feast of Reason
  10. 2. Enlighten the People
  11. 3. My Single Anxiety in the World
  12. 4. We Shall Have Every Religious Man in Virginia against Us
  13. 5. The Academical Village
  14. 6. Useful Knowledge
  15. 7. A Wall of Separation
  16. Color Images
  17. 8. This Deplorable Entanglement
  18. 9. Idle Ramblers Incapable of Application
  19. 10. This Athenaeum
  20. Notes
  21. Index