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Published in:
2016 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
6. The Environmental Legacy of Thomas Jefferson: Cultivating the Rooted Citizen
Author : Franklin Kalinowski
Published in: America's Environmental Legacies
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US
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Abstract
There are three components that demonstrate Jefferson’s absorption in the topic of Nature and comprise his legacy to contemporary radical environmentalism. First is his belief in the primacy of ethics over economics and his assertion that ethics require an active exercise of citizenship. The second is his conviction that healthy, ethical communities must be based in rural settings where individuals are rooted in and committed to the protection of the Earth and the nurturing of human relationships. The third element is the persistent strength of American Populism. The political thought of Thomas Jefferson is not without flaws. Jefferson is important because he symbolizes both the power of American ideals, and his waffling, dodging, and eventual reactionary intransigence on slavery exemplifies our failure to live up to the high standards of our moral values.