Originally published on October 25, 2021 (Episode 229)
Introduction
Alumni of the University of Virginia often delight in pointing out a striking fact about their founder: while Thomas Jefferson’s tombstone records his authorship of the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the founding of the University of Virginia, it makes no mention of his service as President of the United States. Jefferson considered his university one of his greatest achievements—an embodiment of his republican philosophy and his hopes for the new American republic.
In his new book The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson’s Idea of a University, Andrew O’Shaughnessy explores Jefferson’s vision for education as a transformative force in American life. Jefferson dreamed of a university that would shape citizens for a republic, improve society, and uplift humanity itself. That vision was utopian, but as O’Shaughnessy makes clear, it was also profoundly influential.
About the Guest
Andrew O’Shaughnessy is Vice President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello and the Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. His previous book, The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of Empire (Yale University Press, 2013), received the George Washington Book Prize.
For Further Investigation
Andrew O’Shaughnessy, The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson’s Idea of a University (University of Virginia Press, 2021)
—The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of Empire (Yale University Press, 2013)
Alan Taylor, Thomas Jefferson’s Education (W. W. Norton, 2019)
Cara Rogers Stevens, Thomas Jefferson and the Fight Against Slavery (University Press of Kansas, 2023)
💬 Listen & Discuss
What does Jefferson’s idea of a university reveal about his political philosophy? Does higher education still play the civic role he envisioned—or was that vision always flawed in practice? Share your reflections in the comments—and pass this episode along to a friend who cares about the history of education, universities, and how we create and maintain a civil society.
