• Home
  • About
  • Links
  • Calendar

Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World

Libertarian Movies, Films & Documentaries

  • News
  • Film
  • Documentary
  • Shorts
  • Blog
  • Top Picks
    • Movies & Films: The Top 25
    • Documentaries: The Top 25
    • Music Videos: The Top 10
    • Films for Students: Top Ten
  • Netflix

Thomas Jefferson (1997)

Tagged: American revolution, Libertarian heroes

The story of Thomas Jefferson’s life, his contributions to liberty, and his personal pursuits of happiness. Biographical. [ Thomas Jefferson credits: Dir: Ken Burns/ 180 min/ Documentary-Educational, Biography/ American Revolution, Libertarian Heroes]

Trailer not available but full documentary often available on YouTube or Vimeo.

Thomas Jefferson was no doubt a multi-talented person. He was a farmer, violinist, scientist, surveyor, architect, writer, and politician. All this is covered here, in varying degrees. But of all his accomplishments, it is telling for which he wanted to be remembered: writing the Declaration of Independence, agitating for religious freedom in Virginia, and establishing the University of Virginia. Note what is not included in that list: his serving as president for two terms. No wonder he is such a hero extraordinaire to libertarians.

There is plenty in this generally favorable portrayal to confirm his suitability for hero-worship. However, this is as much a liberal as libertarian interpretation of Jefferson. There is some mention of his radical limited-government views but not so much as to make one realize that limited government was the instrument through which he hoped the world would become free. Nor amidst all this respect for Jefferson is there any mention of what he might have thought of today’s government.

On the other hand, reflecting today’s obsession with race relations, his ownership of slaves is dealt with extensively. It’s treated here as a mystery—how could he be both a champion of liberty and a slave-owner? To this reviewer it doesn’t seem all that mysterious. He was a spendthrift and a poor manager who had grown dependent on slaves. Freeing them would have been the right thing to do; but it would have meant certain destitution, a lifestyle that Jefferson of Monticello must have considered an impossible choice. It’s an irony that one of the greatest champions of freedom fell short of his own vision, yes, but not really a mystery.

The other disturbing liberal intrusion into this film is the point made subtly here and there that Jefferson’s ideals were and are unattainable and contradictory, that he represents today’s political hodgepodge because he advocated both liberty and equality. Sorry, but Jefferson’s idea of equality before the law had no conflict with liberty.

These qualifications aside, this is nonetheless a flattering portrait of Thomas Jefferson. It’s also intensely personal, probably even a little more so than the shy Jefferson would have wanted. If you want to learn something about the man who more eloquently than anyone declared not only American independence from Britain but in so doing the independence of mankind from oppressive government—this isn’t a bad place to start.

How to See It

Netflix
Amazon (DVD)
YouTube Video Search
Google Video Search

Links

IMDB
Wikipedia
Google
More Films About: American Revolution
More Films About: Libertarian Heroes

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

  • RSS
  • Twitter

Featured Post

voter fraud

Voter Fraud 2020: The Complete List

There is "no voter fraud," so we are told. Here are multiple examples and related links. h/t Instapundit, Ace Of Spades, PJMedia, Project Veritas, Breitbart, Battleswarm, Gateway Pundit Half Of Americans Believe Election Stolen, Even A Third of Democrats US | Whoa: Nearly a Third of Democrats Believe … Continue Reading

Themes

Abuse of power American revolution Anti-draft Anti-regulation Anti-slavery Anti-socialism Anti-taxation Anti-war Ayn Rand Corrupt government Creator as hero Democide Econ 101 Eminent domain Equality & law Escape from socialism Freedom of speech Free press as hero Government as bigot Government as torturer Government enforced morality Government healthcare Government schools Incompetent government Individualism John Stossel Law & liberty Legalize Drugs Libertarian heroes Libertarianism 101 Power corrupts Power worship Pro-capitalism Pro-immigration Propaganda Psychiatric coercion Resistance to tyranny Right to secede Search & seizure Second amendment Sexual liberty Social tolerance Unions & monopolies Voluntarism Working for government

Genres/Categories

Action-Adventure Animated Biography Blog Comedy Documentary Drama Family Featured Film Foreign History Horror Music-Dance Netflix News Romance SciFi-Fantasy Shorts Thriller Western

About Miss Liberty

This site is a collection of films and documentaries of particular interest to libertarians (and those interested in libertarianism). It began as a book, Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium, where many of the recommended films were first reviewed. The current collection has grown to now more than double the number in that original list, and it’s growing still.

  • RSS

© 2021 Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World. All Rights Reserved

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.