With the Fourth of July around the corner, this week had me thinking about Thomas Jefferson.
He’s one of my favorite Founding Fathers. Beyond helping shape our nation, he was a foodie, a scholar, a diplomat, and an insatiably curious learner. He spoke four languages fluently: French, Latin, Italian, and Spanish (which he famously claimed to have learned in just 19 days on a boat to Europe). He also read and studied Ancient Greek, Anglo-Saxon (Old English), and some German. He possessed dictionaries, vocabularies, and grammars for various other languages in his personal library, including Arabic, Welsh, and Irish. The man had a thirst for knowledge.
Like many historical figures, Jefferson was complicated. His life included extraordinary accomplishments alongside chapters that remain deeply troubling. But one thing that has always fascinated me was his love of learning. He collected more than 6,400 books, creating one of the largest personal libraries in the world.
After leaving the presidency, Jefferson’s finances were in bad shape. At the same time, during the War of 1812, the British burned Washington, including the new Library of Congress. Jefferson offered to part with his entire collection to help offset his debt, believing there was no subject a member of Congress might not one day need to understand.
In 1815, Jefferson did just that – he parted with his immense library of knowledge, and Congress purchased it for $23,950, a substantial sum at the time. The sale provided Jefferson with much-needed financial relief, and his extraordinary collection became the foundation of the Library of Congress that still stands today.
I think we could all benefit if some of our legislators read a bit more and had a better understanding that history has a tendency to repeat itself. Look to Jefferson and the legacy of books he left. They could all learn by his example and his hope of working for the greater good of all.
A couple of weeks ago, while I was in Washington, D.C., I stood inside the Library of Congress in front of Thomas Jefferson’s actual library. As someone who loves American history, it struck me that one man’s lifelong curiosity helped rebuild our nation’s library more than 200 years ago.
So, as we head into the holiday weekend, look to our Founding Fathers, what they wanted this country to be, and the gifts they left us. Take a minute to see how far we have come and ask yourself if you think they would be proud.
Maybe we all need to read a little more, listen a little better, and develop the same thirst for knowledge that Jefferson had. If we did, perhaps we’d leave this country just a little better than we found it.
I know I am.