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American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People. By Jean M. Yarbrough. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998. xxiv, 256 pp. $35.00, ISBN 0-7006-0906-7.)
As the title of this splendid book implies, it concerns two enormous topics: a discussion of the kinds of virtues, both public and private, necessary for Americans to cultivate if they wish to ensure their freedom and happiness; and an interpretation of Thomas Jefferson's thoughts on this topic. These themes are skillfully interwoven into a thoughtful and thoughtprovoking discussion on Jefferson, the issue of character, and the future of the American republic.
Jean M. Yarbrough, a political theorist with classic conservative tastes, argues that recent Jefferson scholarship tends to reinforce a public/ private liberal bias by focusing almost exclusively on his ideas on civic matters at the expense of his concern with private virtue. And...