THE JEFFERSONIAN UNIT & RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

ARCHITECTURE

I. Jefferson Biography

II. Jefferson’s Influences and how he is

Influential

III. Reading Strategies

IV. Formative and Summative

Assignments

JEFFERSON’S BIOGRAPHY

(April 13th, 1743 – July 4, 1826)

Born in Shadwell, Virginia, in the Blue

Mountain Foothills.

Father, Peter Jefferson, land owner and

surveyor who owned 60 slaves.

Mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, descended

from one of the wealthiest families in colonial

Virginia.

Had seven siblings.

Earliest memory: being carried around the

Jefferson estate on pillow by four slaves.

EARLY LIFE

Practiced law under

George Wythe.

Decided in 1768 to build

his own house which he

called Monticello (Jefferson

never finished completion of

the house).

Married Martha Skelton

in 1770.

EARLY ADULTHOOD

Father died when he was 14.

Ran away from home because

of strained relationship with

mother.

Attended College of William and

Mary in Williamsburg.

Obsessive student: spent 15

hours a day reading, 3 hours

practicing violin, and the

remaining 6 hours sleeping.

EDUCATION

Wrote A Summary View o f

the Rights of Britshy America in

1774 which argued the

American colonies were loosely

controlled by Great Britain.

Virginia Legislature appointed

him delegate to 2nd Continental

Congress in 1775.

Though shy in nature, elected

to five-person committee to

separate from England with

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams,

among others.

EARLY POLITICAL CAREER

Drafted The Declaration of

Independence which included phrase “We

hold these truths to be self-evident; that

all men are created equal” which has

inspired emerging democracies across

the globe.

Involved in the drafting of the

Constitution

Elected governor of Virginia in 1779.

Wife died in 1782 giving birth to 3rd

daughter..

Served as ambassador to France from

1784 – 1789.

REVOLUTION YEARS

1781 wrote Notes on the State of

Virginia. which stated that the race in

America would be resolved with

“convulsions which will probably

never end but in the extermination of

one or the other race.”

Implicit in this statement, blacks

and whites would never get along.

Historians find this hypocritical

because Jefferson had a long affair

with his slave Sally Hemmings.

Note: the phrase “all men are

created equal” only included white

men. It never included African

Americans or women.

SLAVERY AND RACISM

Louisiana Purchase and

Lewis and Clark Expedition

begins (1803).

Most other acts of

president unsuccessful with

his battles with Congress

and the Supreme Court.

PRESIDENCY 1801 - 1809

During last years of Jefferson’s life he was extremely active.

Wrote thousands of letters each year, including a long correspondence

with John Adams.

He created a machine that would replicate any letter he wrote.

Founded the University of Virginia which was built from his design.

Tinkered with Monticello, but never found it to be complete.

John Adams and Jefferson died within hours of each other on July 4th,

1826 – fifty years to the day since the founding of the Republic.

Though Jefferson passed before Adams, Adams’ last words were

“Jefferson still lives.”

RETIREMENT

JEFFERSON’S INFLUENCES AND INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN

RHETORIC

RATIONALISM AS A REACTION TO PURITANISM

PURITANISM

Key Dates: 1620 – 1720

Founded by the

Puritans who

immigrated to

American from England

to escape religious

persecution.

PURITAN SUBJECT MATTER

Preoccupied with sin

and salvation.

Religion determines

social order and

morals.

“Didactic” or

teaching through

lecturing.

PURITAN BELIEFS

People born from

Original Sin.

Hard Work and

Discipline lead to

salvation.

Emphasis on conforming

to God’s will and the will

of the group.

RATIONALISM(1720 – 1820)

The period

leading up to the

Revolutionary War

and the founding of

the United States of

America.

RATIONALISM SUBJECT MATTER

Nature of Government

-Monarchy vs.

Democratic

Politics and Public

Discussion

Based upon Science

RATIONALIST BELIEFS

Support Personal

Freedoms

“Deism”

-Religion based

upon reason vs. Didactic

lecturing.

Universe Explored

through Discovery

Is a dramatic depiction

of how the Salem Witch

Trials affected colonial

Salem, MA.

The play centers

around the conflict

between faith vs. reason.

THE CRUCIBLE

Jefferson has influenced

prominent American leaders from

Abraham Lincoln to JFK, to FDR

to President Obama.

This unit we will explore those

influences and the conversation

that is still going on how America

forms “a more perfect union.”

POLITICAL ANCESTRY

Building on our foundation

discuss ethos/pathos/logos, and

SOAPSToneR, we will add two

new reading strategies:

1. Liu Method: A reading

strategy the analyzes the

structure of a text.

2. Close Reading: A dissection

of a text.

READING STRATEGIES

1. Practice Essays

2. Practice Multiple Choice Exam

3. Op-Ed Beats

4. Your own Declaration…

5. Close Reading

6. Vocabulary/Terms

7. Draft 1 of JRP (more info later)

1. Vocab/Term Quizzes

2. Summative Rhetorical

Analysis Essay

FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Formative Summative

QUESTIONS?

PLEASE STAND FOR THINK ON YOUR FEET