Thomas Jefferson wrote the famous lines that have never stopped resonating in the American mind. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are the rights of every American citizen. Jefferson believed that education was a portal to this American dream. He believed that education guides the future of a nation and is intertwined with the principles of Democracy. Although at the time Jefferson did not include all American people in his educational quest, the second legacy surrounding the aspects of education still resonates amongst the American society.
Thomas Jefferson had two propositions about education. “First, that ‘educational theory was inseparable from political theory,’ and that the survival of a democratic/republican form of government depended on an educated populace that would be ‘virtuous and vigilant’” (qt. in Wagoner 9). He said that education and politics were interlinked. Democracy is one of the many types of government that cannot exist in its pure form. It is a popular belief or a highly debatable belief that the decision made by a majority cannot be right simply because it is based on a majority. The majority can only be right or close to right when the entire decision-making population is educated. Education provides a means to think and to reach the right decision in the end. Education gives people the ability to think and explore ideas and form theories that are best suitable to them. An educated mind is free from ignorance, and an ignorant mind cannot make decisions. For that reason, it is important for a population to be educated, just like Jefferson hoped and stated to Littleton Waller Tazewell in his letter Blue Print of the University, “a degree of learning given to every member of the society as will enable him to read, to judge & to vote understandingly on what is passing.” (1151).
Jefferson’s second proposition was that “freedom in all of its forms-political freedom, religious freedom, and intellectual freedom-was essential to both a sound education system and a well functioning ‘republican polity.’” (qt. in Wagoner 9) Education is supposed to free the mind of all constraints. A slave can break through the chains of oppression through education. Therefore, an educational system that does not free a human being of everything is useless. Jefferson believed education was a means to free oneself and protect the future of the nation.
Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1825 and said that it was one of the three things he would want to be a part of his legacy. (Leffler) According to the University of Virginia website, the educational institute selects individuals who show promise in the future. In a letter to C. Yancey, 1816, Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” He not only viewed education as an advancement of self but also advancement of the nation.
Jefferson considered building large university campuses unnecessary. In his letter to Messrs. Hugh L. White and Others, he said the following, “I consider the common plan followed in this country, but not in others, of making one large and expensive building, as unfortunately erroneous. It is infinitely better to erect a small and separate lodge for each separate professorship, with only a hall below for his class, and two chambers above for himself; joining these lodges by barracks for a certain portion of the students, opening into a covered way to give a dry communication between all the schools.” (1223) He wanted colleges to be more than buildings; he wanted them to be ‘academical villages.’ He wanted the professors to look after the surrounding area of his classroom and communicate with the students often. He wanted the village to keep on expanding as more money came in to create a large educational environment. (Jefferson, 1224).
The University of Virginia’s infrastructure is planned according to Jefferson’s ideas. The faculty homes are planted above classrooms just as Jefferson wished and are further connected to other student rooms. The cafeteria and the library are both near the student rooms, and professors teaching a specific class still patrol the surrounding premises. (The Founding) While comparing institutes today, it is easy to see Jefferson’s vision come alive. Aside from colleges situated in cramped cities, most university campuses are very close to Jefferson’s idea of an ‘academical village.’ Each department is stationed in a different area. A college usually has a separate building for its science majors and a separate building for its literature majors. In most universities, cafeterias are interlinked with particular dorms. In constructing the ‘academical village,’ “Jefferson understood well the need to spend money to achieve excellence (including the architectural distinction, as reflected in his ‘academical village’), and the accounts of his fundraising efforts and the attendant frustrations will resonate with the leaders of private and public universities today.” (Wagoner 10) Jefferson was a true visionary in that his ideas are still present in society today, especially when it comes to the construction of a university campus.
“While struggling to obtain funds to complete the University of Virginia, Jefferson also professed that, if forced to choose between establishing a system of general education and finishing the university [he] would rather abandon the last, because it is safer to have a whole people respectably enlightened, than few in a high state of science [knowledge], and many in ignorance.” (qt in Wagoner 13) The idea that there should be a basic level of education present in the country instead of a few highly qualified individuals today is apparent today. In order for a country to be successful its needs to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. An economy flourishes when there is a large middle class and very small upper class and lower class. A successful economy has a largely middle-class society which means that the middle class could make up the majority. For the majority to be right and Democracy to take its full effect, the population must be educated. Affording a college education at any time in history has been expensive. It is useless to have a few rich people, who only make up the minority, indulge in a high level of education at the expense of the middle class, which makes up the majority. In a democracy, the majority makes the decisions, and when the majority is in the middle class, it must be educated and ‘respectably enlightened’ as Jefferson said. This is apparent today because the majority of the population is educated. Everyone is provided a basic education through a public schooling system free of cost. Also, gone are the days of racism and segregation. Jefferson’s vision makes sense even today because we continue to be a republican/democrat government. To be able to vote, everyone must have a basic education, and no one today is denied a basic k-12 education at the expense of higher and more expensive education.
Any theological text is best understood by the person reading it if it’s in his or her own language. Translation causes a lot to be lost, and interpretation causes confusion and conflicting ideas. If a person wants to truly understand his or her religion or poetry, perhaps, he or she must go back to the original. To learn the real meaning of what God asked of a human being will only be most clear in the language God sent the message in. Therefore to understand anything in-depth and with utmost clarity, it is important to know all the languages. Education in any subject matter can become clearer once the knowledge is obtained from the original source. (Jefferson 1424 – 1425) Knowing many languages falls under the same argument as the minority being too highly educated at the majority’s expense of basic education. Although being able to dig deep within a matter is highly applaudable it isn’t useful to everyone. “The statesman will find in these languages history, politics, mathematics, ethics, eloquence, love of country, to which he must add the sciences of his own day, for which of them should be unknown to him? And all the sciences must recur to the classical languages for the etymon and sound understanding of their fundamental terms. For the merchant, I should not say that the languages are necessary. Ethics, mathematics, geography, political economy, history seem to constitute the immediate foundations of his calling. The agriculturist needs ethics, mathematics, chemistry, and natural philosophy. The mechanic is the same. To them, the languages are but ornament and comfort…to sum the whole. Therefore, it may truly be said that the classical languages are a solid basis for most, and an ornament to all the sciences.” (Jefferson 1425-146) Jefferson believed that a basic education doesn’t require different learning languages. Instead, basic education should revolve around universal concepts that are applicable to everyone.
Education and a democratic/republican government go hand in hand. “Education was necessary not only as a means to make the republican machinery work but also to be a line of defense for liberty against encroachment by potentially overzealous governments.” (Carpenter) His philosophy was often “labeled as utilitarian, empirical, and experiential.” (qt. in Carpenter) Pestalozzi said, “the test of any educational theory lay in its practical applications…[and] to see himself as a moral being and use his attainments for higher purposes” (qt. in Carpenter) Pestalozzi’s and Jefferson’s ideas were similar in the way that they both required something from the student. Although Jefferson understood that education freed a person from any oppression, he also believed that education would help a person give to society and shape the future state of the nation. “For Jefferson, the finished product–the student venturing into the real world was the ultimate goal of education. The practical application for republican citizens was their ability to function in the body politic.” (Carpenter) Pestalozzi believed that both the rich and poor should be educated, but what they are taught and how they are taught should be modified so that each individual gives back to society what it requires of him to make his country better. (Carpenter) “In his 1814 letter to Peter Carr, Jefferson wrote his belief that it is the duty of [our country’s] functionaries, to provide that every citizen in it should receive an education proportioned to the condition and pursuits of his life.” (qtd in Carpenter) Jefferson’s idea is a good one because it ensures that a population is well educated to make decisions about his society. Although instead of democratic, his ideas sometimes seem a utilitarian as James Carpenter points out. Today this idea of education is only present in its full essence during President’s speeches. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” the famous President Kennedy once said idolizes Jefferson’s ideas. Each citizen should give back to the community for its welfare, but that is not the only aim of education as Jefferson hoped it would be. People educate themselves to be liberated and not necessarily function as the government sees best fit.
“At the peak of Jefferson’s educational pyramid were those students advancing to the college level. According to his plan of 1779, one outstanding student from among the grammar school seniors would be chosen for a three-year state scholarship at the College of William and Mary.” (Carpenter) The aspect of scholarships is largely present today, although things have changed a little. Jefferson’s ultimate goal was for citizens to give back. In society today, most students who get huge sums of scholarships are the ones who show the most promise that same way the process took place in the Jeffersonian era. Jefferson wanted a citizen who would give back and in so many ways, the concept is still the same today, especially when foreign students are considered. In many countries, students are given scholarships to go to universities in different countries after signing a contract that says they will put to use whatever they have learnt and bring back new ideas into their own country and help develop it. In the United States, when the government gives scholarships and grants it expects an individual to be transformed by his education, turning him into a responsible individual who would in some way, either big or small, give back to society. To only thing that is different is that now the education level is not adjusted according to a student-specific pursuit and socio economic background and that he or she gives back to a capitalistic society of privatized giants and not necessarily directly to the government.
“Whereas citizenship education was the major goal of his faith in an educated public, it was not an exclusive one. Rather, Jefferson saw a need for all students who would attend his schools, regardless of which level, to learn social studies disciplines for their personal and professional benefit. Education for Jefferson was a lifelong endeavor, and to enjoy the benefits required the knowledge and skills provided by learning history, geography, and civics.” (Carpenter) Although Jefferson’s ideas can be analyzed in a million different ways, he shed light on how much it was important to learn all the basic subjects and not just specialize in European originated romantic languages. His broader vision was to educate the masses so that they could make sounds decisions relating to the government. By doing this, he help Democracy be one step closer to existing in a purer form where the majority could be right because it was educated.(Carpenter).
In his letter to Nathaniel Burwell on March 14, 1818, Jefferson said spoke about female education. He said that educating the other half of the population had crossed his mind only when it came to the subject of his daughters. The reasons he chose to educate his daughters were far from exemplary according to the standards of society today. Jefferson stated in the letter: “I thought it essential to give them a solid education, which might enable them, when become mothers, to educate their own daughters, and even to direct the course for sons, should their fathers be lost, or incapable, or inattentive.” (1412) He continued telling Mr. Burwell how his daughter’s sole object in life was to educate her children. His entire visionary legacy comes to a halt with his ideas about female education. Aside from other things, he was unable to see that women are equal to men and have the right to study and be educated not just to educate their sons incase a male is not present but to be free like any other man.
“The story of women’s educational opportunities at the University of Virginia begins with Thomas Jefferson’s vision and intentions. His values created the nineteenth-century university and hovered over it through much of the twentieth century. Over the years, administrators, students, and alumni summoned the Sage of Monticello and the force of tradition to justify the status quo and to resist the full incorporation of women into its programs. In so doing, they claimed to protect the honor system, maintain standards, and preserve the elite reputation of the university.” (Leffler) His legacy did not include the education of women. In his letter to Mr. Burwell he speaks about the importance of “ornaments…and the amusements of life [to receive] their portion of attention [and the ornamental and amusing education a woman will receive is to include] dancing, drawing, and music…” (Jefferson 1413) “…in order to develop their attractiveness and taste.” (Leffler) He reduced women’s education to trivial things such as attracting the opposite sex and defined that dancing would be considered inappropriate after marriage and drawing is something that must be carried on no matter because it was an innocent act. (Jefferson, 1413) “I need say nothing of household economy, in which the mothers of our country are generally skilled, and generally careful to instruct their daughters. We all know its value, and that diligence and dexterity in all its processes are inestimable treasures. The order and economy of a house are as honorable to the mistress as those of the farm to the master, and if either be neglected, ruin follows, and children destitute of the means of living.” (Jefferson 1413 – 1414) Jefferson reduces women simply educators of their children to prevent chaos in the future. In Jefferson’s definition of education, women are only to pass on education so that their sons can prosper and that their daughters can educate their future sons.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (The Declaration of Independence) The Declaration of Independence is one of the three things he wished to be a part of his legacy. Unfortunately, this legacy overlooked women too. It is only now that people overlook the former part of the sentence that ends in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and often forget the battles women over the history of the United States have fought. Up to this day, Alice Paul’s Equal Rights Amendment has not been passed.
Professor Jennings Wagoner, author of the book Jefferson and Education, looks at all of Jefferson’s ideas and recognizes his inability to include women and African American people in his vision. Jefferson was not the only man in his time who did great things without doing great things for “every person in the nation” and not simply the “white man”. Many people from his era had idea’s that do not translate or measure up to society’s standards today, especially when it comes to the equality of women and people of non-Anglo Saxon background. Jefferson is not the only person who has successfully built a great university. Cecil Rhodes is among the category of Jefferson, she founded the University of Cape Town, South Africa. (Wagoner 11) Mamphela Ramphele was installed as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town and in her speech she “set out to ‘lay to rest the ghosts of the past [and] paid tribute to the vision and foresight individuals such as Cecil Rhodes [and her contribution to the founding of} ‘this illustrious institution’ [and she added that] it is said that their vision failed to acknowledge the inhumanity of racism and sexism [and concluded by saying that we should] let them rest, they must find peace alongside the ghosts…of other people whose intellectual contributions to South Africa were curtailed by racism and sexism.” (qtd in Wagoner 11) We must do the same today and appreciate Jefferson for what he bestowed upon and let the rest, rest in peace.
Liberal education is “a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a strong sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement. [It is] characterized by challenging encounters with important issues, and more a way of studying than specific content.” (What is liberal education) Jefferson’s citizenship education and liberal education fall along the same lines. In the Jeffersonian era, a liberal education was only available to the elite and anyone who could afford it. Jefferson fought his entire life to change that. He wanted everyone to be educated because it would help society become a better place. Education would become a part of that pursuit of happiness. Today, it can successfully said that Jefferson accomplished his goal and more than he imagined. Liberal education is available to everyone today. Jefferson had only envisioned the white male to receive a liberal education despite of his socio economic background. Today, everyone can receive a liberal education despite his or her gender, the color of his or skin, or ethnicity.
In typical American education today we see “Academic villages” and people being provided with a basic education. Colleges actually have the feel of the architecture described by Jefferson. There are quiet places to study all over campus and different buildings for each field or study. Students can easily communicate with their professors and cafeterias are interlinked with dorms. The government provides a basic education to all citizens, and scholarships are still a popular means to getting into college. Aside from architecture and a basic access to education, Jefferson wanted citizenship education. This is still very apparent today. Today, a person cannot survive without a basic liberal education. With the increase of media influence, people are more aware of the political and environmental surroundings than they have ever been before. If, in this day and age, a person is devoid of the basic curriculum Jefferson highlighted he/she cannot do much in society. Today, education paves a citizen’s future. He wanted people to be educated so they could give back to society and be able to vote with full awareness. Students today are more involved in political debate and other fields and give back to society in a way Jefferson had not imagined. The idea of Jefferson’s liberal education is still present in the United States, except in this century the education is limitless, and there is no limit to who can be educated.
Jefferson wanted to be remembered for three things, one of which was education. He left a deep mark in the nation that he once presided over and engrained in the American mind the importance of education. Although many of his ideas did not measure up completely to the standards of the 21st century because of his exclusion of women and blacks and his criticisms of being totalitarian, his ideas are still reflected in our education system today. From “academic villages” to a basic knowledge of universal concepts, his ideas encircle our lives today. He fought for the nation to be educated as a whole so Democracy could never be blamed for having a majority was ignorant.
Works Cited
Carpenter, James J. “Jefferson’s Views on Education: Implications for Today’s Social Studies.” Social Studies 95.4 (2004): 140-146. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO.
Jefferson, Thomas, and Merrill D. Peterson. Letters. Charlottesville, Va: University of Virginia Library, Electronic Text Center, 1993. Web.
Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence.” US Constitution Online. 2008. Web.
Leffler, Phyllis. “Mr. Jefferson’s University.” Virginia Magazine of History & Biography 115.1 (2007): 56-107. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO.
Wagoner, Jennings L. Jefferson and Education. Monticello monographs series. [Charlottesville, Va.]: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 2004.
“What is Liberal Education?.” AACU. Association of American Colleges and Universities. 2008. Web.