Jefferson's Vision: Education, Democracy, and the Struggle for a Republic

Join Professor Alan Taylor for an examination of Thomas Jefferson’s program for public education and its essentiality to training citizens who would defend the republic against demagogues and tyrants. He will explain that, despite Jefferson’s urging, the Commonwealth of Virginia failed to fund such a program. He will explore the origins and early years of the University of Virginia and Jefferson’s attempt to reform the leadership class in that state. He will discuss the ways and whys of the frustration of Jefferson’s utopian vision.