The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 1785-1800 - Hardcover

O'Brien, Conor Cruise

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226616533 ISBN 13: 9780226616537

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1996

Synopsis

As controversial and explosive as it is elegant and learned, The Long Affair is Conor Cruise O'Brien's examination of Thomas Jefferson, as man and icon, through the critical lens of the French Revolution. O'Brien offers a provocative analysis of the supreme symbol of American history and political culture and challenges the traditional perceptions of both Jeffersonian history and the Jeffersonian legacy.

"The book is an attack on America's long affair with Jeffersonian ideology of radical individualism: an ideology that, by confusing Jefferson with a secular prophet, will destroy the United States from within."—David C. Ward, Boston Book Review

"With his background as a politician and a diplomat, O'Brien brings a broad perspective to his effort to define Jefferson's beliefs through the prism of his attitudes toward France. . . . This is an important work that makes an essential contribution to the overall picture of Jefferson."—Booklist

"O'Brien traces the roots of Jefferson's admiration for the revolution in France but notes that Jefferson's enthusiasm for France cooled in the 1790s, when French egalitarian ideals came to threaten the slave-based Southern economy that Jefferson supported."—Library Journal

"In O'Brien's opinion, it's time that Americans face the fact that Jefferson, long seen as a champion of the 'wronged masses,' was a racist who should not be placed on a pedestal in an increasingly multicultural United States."—Boston Phoenix

"O'Brien makes a well-argued revisionist contribution to the literature on Jefferson."—Kirkus Reviews

"O'Brien is right on target . . . determined not to let the evasions and cover-ups continue."—Forrest McDonald, National Review

"The Long Affair should be read by anyone interested in Jefferson—or in a good fight."—Richard Brookhiser, New York Times Book Review

About this title

About the Author

Conor Cruise O’Brien (1917-2008) was a leading Irish intellectual of his generation and had a distinguished career in public life as a diplomat, politician, government minister, writer, newspaper editor, critic, and scholar. He published numerous books in subjects such as history, biography, politics, and religion.

From the Back Cover

Certain to be as controversial and explosive as it is elegant and learned, The Long Affair is Conor Cruise O'Brien's examination of Jefferson, as man and icon, through the critical lens of the French Revolution. Unable to speak the language, endowed with few close friends or colleagues, and curiously detached from Parisian intellectual life, Thomas Jefferson seemed an alienated and somewhat homesick Virginia farmer during most of his tenure as American Minister to France. But the advent of the French Revolution seized Jefferson with a new fervor, and in 1789 he returned to the United States an ardent admirer and ally of that cause. O'Brien argues that Jefferson, though enthralled with the ideological mystique of the French Revolution, nevertheless retained a shrewd political pragmatism, skillfully exploiting the Revolution's popularity with the American public. Ultimately, O'Brien suggests, Jefferson's egalitarian ideals came into conflict with his staunch political support for the slave-based Southern economy. Following the slave insurrection in Haiti inspired by the French Revolution, his revolutionary zeal was tempered and began to cool. Concluding with an evaluation of Jefferson's current role in the system of American political beliefs, O'Brien seriously questions whether we can sustain Jefferson's lofty status in an increasingly multiracial America, and he suggests a disturbing link between Jefferson's vision and white supremacist, survivalist extremists. A provocative analysis of the supreme symbol of American history and political culture, The Long Affair will challenge our traditional perceptions of both Jeffersonian history and the Jeffersonian legacy.

Reviews

In The Great Melody, O'Brien wrote a masterful study of one of the great early opponents of the French Revolution, Edmund Burke. Now he applies his counterrevolutionary principles to an examination of Thomas Jefferson, reevaluating Jefferson's thought and correcting some scholarly misinterpretations. But while the book will appeal to anyone interested in Jefferson and his pivotal role in American politics, the themes are less well-developed than in The Great Melody, and the book is ultimately disappointing. Through plentiful direct quotations from his subject and his own effective analysis, O'Brien demonstrates that Jefferson's support of the French Revolution began to wane after such support no longer furthered his domestic political aims and when he came to see it as a threat to slavery. Because of his support of slavery, says O'Brien, Jefferson is no longer appropriate as an icon for an increasingly multiracial American society. He points out that racists on the right have begun to claim Jefferson as a prophet, but O'Brien seems to repeat their mistake of evaluating him only through his views on race. Though Jefferson may indeed have been a racist and did not intend the Declaration of Independence ever to apply to blacks, the brilliance of the document was that it could be expanded over the years to include groups previously excluded. Though one would not want admiration of Jefferson's principles to lead to support for white supremacy, neither would one want rejection of white supremacy to lead to disbelief in the revolutionary idea that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Illustrated.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

O'Brien (Ancestral Voices, Univ. of Chicago, 1995) is one of the most respected men of letters in Europe and America today. He has also served as a diplomat and politician for his native Ireland. His present work is bound to stir debate because he gives a distinctly sober, often unflattering interpretation of the life and career of Thomas Jefferson. O'Brien traces the roots of Jefferson's admiration for the revolution in France but notes that Jefferson's enthusiasm for France cooled in the 1790s, when French egalitarian ideals came to threaten the slave-based Southern economy that Jefferson supported. Though O'Brien infers that the evidence for Jefferson's putative liaison with his slave Sally Hemings is not conclusive, he devotes much space to the topic. O'Brien is incapable of writing a dull or sloppy book. His revisionary interpretation of Jefferson, however, lacks sufficient weight to be totally persuasive. O'Brien fails to cite the works of Lawrence S. Kaplan on Jefferson's relationship to France, and O'Brien's readings in recent literature on the French Revolution is spotty. Suitable for all readers.?Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ.,
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Those who elevate Thomas Jefferson to near sainthood in the U.S. pantheon will find this a disturbing work. As minister to France, Jefferson witnessed the first stirrings of revolution, and as secretary of state under Washington, Jefferson was seen as leader of the pro-French faction in the U.S. as the revolution became increasingly radical and violent. With his background as a politician and a diplomat, O'Brien brings a broad perspective to his effort to define Jefferson's beliefs through the prism of his attitudes toward France. At times, the picture that emerges is not a pretty one. Although he acknowledges Jefferson's devotion to "liberty" in the abstract, O'Brien lays great emphasis on Jefferson's defense of the slave-based southern economy. While Jefferson often toyed with schemes for emancipation, he was deeply skeptical of the prospects for black equality. O'Brien may not always be objective or fair; however, this is an important work that makes an essential contribution to the overall picture of Jefferson. Jay Freeman

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226616533
• ISBN 13: 9780226616537
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 386