Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire

(Paperback)

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Description

This biography of one of America's greatest political figures focuses on Thomas Jefferson's role as a maker of foreign policy. Although he was not the sole formulator of American diplomacy, Jefferson's voice was the most pervasive in the first generation of the republic's history. This text explores how the concept of the United States' westward expansion worked as the moving force in forming Jefferson's judgments and actions in foreign relations. Although much has been written about Jefferson, this volume is one of the few that explores the full range of his positions on foreign relations. Readable and authoritative, Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire offers new insight into the man who shaped American foreign policy.

Reviews

Kaplan's synthesis of Jefferson sets a high standard, and the book belongs in all college and university collections. * The International History Review *
Gracefully written, engrossing biography. -- Howard Jones, research professory, University of Alabama
With this volume, Lawrence Kaplan confirms his reputation as a master of Jeffersonian studies. Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire presents a brisk but comprehensive, eminently fair-minded account of Jefferson's views and policies regarding foreign policy. By no means uncritical of Jefferson's strategic errors and wanderings from his professed principles, Kaplan nevertheless discerns a basic consistency in aims, namely, a desire to throw off European constraints and to expand the American empire. -- Bradford Perkins, University of Michigan
Scholars will applaud this evenhanded study of Mr. Jefferson. This volume, well written and well grounded in the most recent secondary accounts, should be well received by its intended audience. * American Diplomacy *

Author Bio

Lawrence S. Kaplan is university professor emeritus at Kent State University and adjunct professor of history at Georgetown University.