Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy – författare

Old World, New World: America and Europe in the Age of Jefferson grew out of workshops in Salzburg and Charlottesville sponsored by Monticello’s International Center for Jefferson Studies, and revisits a question of long-standing interest to American historians: the nature of the relationship between America and Europe during the Age of Revolution. Study of the American-European relationship in recent years has been moved forward by the notion of Atlantic history and the study of the Atlantic world. The present volume makes a fresh contribution by refocusing attention on the question of the interdependence of Europe and America.

Old World, New World addresses topics that are timely, given contemporary public events, but that are also of interest to early modern and modern historians. By turning attention from the Atlantic World in general to the relationship between America and Europe, as well as using Thomas Jefferson as a lens to examine this relationship, this book carves out its own niche in the history of the Atlantic world in the age of revolution.

Established in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the University of Virginia was known as "The University" throughout the South for most of the nineteenth century, and today it stands as one of the premier universities in the world. This volume provides an in-depth look at the founding of the University and, in the process, develops new and important insights into Jefferson’s contributions as well as into the impact of the University on the history of higher education.

The contributors depict the students who were entering higher education in the early republic--their aspirations, their juvenile and often violent confrontations with authority, and their relationships with enslaved workers at the University. Contributors then turn to the building of the University, including its unique architectural plan as an "Academical Village" and the often-hidden role of African Americans in its construction and day-to-day life. The next set of essays explore various aspects of Jefferson’s intellectual vision for the University, including his innovative scheme for medical education, his dogmatic view of the necessity of a "republican" legal education, and the detailed plans for the library by Jefferson, one of America’s preeminent bibliophiles. The book concludes by considering the changing nature of education in the early nineteenth century, in particular the new focus on research and discovery, in which Jefferson, again, played an important role. Providing a fascinating and important look at the development of one of America’s oldest and most preeminent educational institutions, this book provides yet another perspective from which to appreciate the extraordinary contributions of Jefferson in the development of the new nation.

Already renowned as a statesman, Thomas Jefferson in his retirement from government turned his attention to the founding of an institution of higher learning. Never merely a patron, the former president oversaw every aspect of the creation of what would become the University of Virginia. Along with the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he regarded it as one of the three greatest achievements in his life. Nonetheless, historians often treat this period as an epilogue to Jefferson’s career.

In The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind, Andrew O’Shaughnessy offers a twin biography of Jefferson in retirement and of the University of Virginia in its earliest years. He reveals how Jefferson’s vision anticipated the modern university and profoundly influenced the development of American higher education. The University of Virginia was the most visible apex of what was a much broader educational vision that distinguishes Jefferson as one of the earliest advocates of a public education system.

Just as Jefferson’s proclamation that "all men are created equal" was tainted by the ongoing institution of slavery, however, so was his university. O’Shaughnessy addresses this tragic conflict in Jefferson’s conception of the university and society, showing how Jefferson’s loftier aspirations for the university were not fully realized. Nevertheless, his remarkable vision in founding the university remains vital to any consideration of the role of education in the success of the democratic experiment.

Europe’s crucial contribution to the achievement of American independence.

American independence would not have been achieved without diplomatic, financial, and military support from Europe. And without recognition from powerful European nations, the young country would never have assumed an independent status "amongst the powers of the earth." This collection of essays not only offers new glimpses into the ways in which various European powers and actors enabled American patriots to fight and win the war, it also highlights the American Revolution’s short- and long-term impact on the Atlantic world.

Because of the strength of European support, Great Britain found itself diplomatically isolated, without an ally in a war that had become a global conflict, and with a navy outnumbered by the combined fleets of America’s friends. This volume is a timely reminder of the importance of international support for the winning of American independence and the global context of the American Revolution as we approach its 250th anniversary.

Contributors: Olivier Chaline, Sorbonne Université * Robert Rhodes Crout, College of Charleston * Kathleen DuVal, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill * Victor Enthoven, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam * Paul A. Gilje, University of Oklahoma * Jean-Marie Kowalski, Sorbonne Université * Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, University of Virginia * Julia Osman, Mississippi State University * Munro Price, University of Bradford * Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia, Senior Spanish diplomat * John A. Ragosta, Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello * Marie-Jeanne Rossignol, Université Paris Cité * Timothy D. Walker, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth