Thomas Jefferson’s “Summary View”

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary journey began in the 1760s and culminated in his masterfully written Declaration of Independence in 1776. But in between these events, Jefferson crafted one of the most impactful statements ever for American independence. Entitled A Summary View of the Rights of British America, it was perhaps the most logical assessment of the true relationship between Great Britain and her American colonies; concepts that Jefferson had refined over the course of several years.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, explores Thomas Jefferson’s Summary View, and why it still matters today.

Images courtesy of National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, National Archives, Library of Congress, The Library Company of Philadelphia, Smithsonian American Art Museum, New York Public Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Encyclopedia Virginia, National Gallery of Art, Wikimedia.

RELATED ARTICLES
An Expression of the American Mind
An Expression of the American Mind

On May 15, 1776, the fifth Virginia Convention meeting in Williamsburg passed a resolution calling on their delegates at the Second Continental Congress to declare a complete separation from Great Britain. Accordingly, on June 7, Richard Henry Lee rose and introduced into Congress what has come to be known as the Lee Resolution.

Thomas Jefferson’s “Summary View”
Thomas Jefferson’s “Summary View”

Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary journey began in the 1760s and culminated in his masterfully written Declaration of Independence in 1776. But in between these events, Jefferson crafted one of the most impactful statements ever for American independence. Entitled A Summary View of the Rights of British America, it was perhaps the most logical assessment of the true relationship between Great Britain and her American colonies. The concepts Jefferson laid out had been refined and brought into focus following several dustups with Lord Dunmore, the new Royal Governor.

Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Barrister
Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Barrister

In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, the first internal tax on the American colonies, and thus began a decade of missteps by the British. Their miscalculations would take their country and their colonists on a direct path to Lexington Green and Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775. During this same year, Thomas Jefferson was concluding his time studying law under George Wythe and began to turn his eye towards the world at large and, more specifically, politics in the Colony of Virginia.

The Early Life of Thomas Jefferson
The Early Life of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson is one of America’s most iconic Founding Fathers. Best known for his inspirational words in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a brilliant man with diverse interests who spent the bulk of his life in service to his country and his later years in retirement at his beloved mountain home of Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia.

The House of Representatives Chooses Thomas Jefferson
The House of Representatives Chooses Thomas Jefferson

The presidential election of 1800 ended in a tie, as the two Democratic-Republican candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, each received 73 electoral votes under the original guidelines of the Constitution.

The Election of 1800
The Election of 1800

The Presidential election of 1800 was one of the most controversial and consequential in the history of the United States. It represented a true changing of the guard as the Federalist party of Washington, Hamilton, and Adams gave way to the Democratic-Republican ideals of Jefferson and Madison and took the United States in a different direction for a generation to come.

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

In response to the Alien and Sedition Acts passed by the Federalist controlled Congress and signed by President John Adams in July 1798, Democratic-Republicans howled long and loud about the legislation that they viewed as an assault on both their party and the Constitution. They turned to their leader, Vice President Thomas Jefferson, to counter these Acts and, if possible, use them to their political advantage.

The Election of 1796
The Election of 1796

After serving two terms as President, George Washington decided to not seek a third and instead retire from public life. His decision led to the country’s first contested presidential election in the fall of 1796, pitting Thomas Jefferson against Vice President John Adams. Arguably, no presidential election in the history of the United States has ever featured a choice between two such American titans. 

Virginia’s House of Burgesses, British America’s First Elected Legislature
Virginia’s House of Burgesses, British America’s First Elected Legislature

The Colony of Virginia was established at Jamestown by the Virginia Company in 1607 as a for-profit venture by its investors. To bring order to the province, Governor George Yeardley created a one-house or unicameral General Assembly on July 30, 1619.

John Adams Dominates Second Continental Congress
John Adams Dominates Second Continental Congress

John Adams dominated the Second Continental Congress like no other man and was tireless in his efforts to move the assembly towards independence. He sat on ninety committees and chaired twenty-five of them. No other delegate matched his workload.

Tom Hand
Previous

An Expression of the American Mind
Next

Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Barrister