To follow up a bit more on Bland Whitley's post, which raises excellent
points--Prof. Gordon Wood has long maintained that we spend too much time
and effort burning incense in front of the Founders rather than in looking
for solutions to our problems in ourselves and our own time.  He criticizes
our abiding habit of referring back to the Founders.  And of course, that's
exactly what George Allen has just done.  He wants a "Jefferson" pennant to
fly over the camp of VA Republicans.  It's a smart move because Americans
instinctively like the Founders.  (I do too; and I don't entirely agree with
Prof. Wood.)  Peter Onuf has shown that TJ's thinking on states rights and
the Union shifted over time and TJ became more of a Unionist (sorry, Peter,
if I'm oversimplifying here), so which TJ did Allen have in mind?

Henry Wiencek

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html