Thomas Jefferson - A Film by Ken Burns

• Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
• The Civil War
• John Adams
• Ken Burns: Mark Twain
• Perry Mason: Season 3, Vol. 1

Burns begins the documentary with an anecdote which is the 19th century equivalent of JFK's quip to a 1962 dinner for 49 Nobel laureates that it was "the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House-with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." But the primary focus is on the inherent paradoxes of the man who could write the Declaration of Independence but own slaves, write about their unpleasant body odor, and avoided emancipating them. The charges continue in kind: Jefferson denounced the idea of political parties yet founded the first one, denounced the moral bankruptcy of Europe but enjoyed the gilded Paris salons, deplored a centralized government and then became the chief executive of the nation and doubled its size by buying the Louisiana Purchase.

The thesis of this documentary appears right before Jefferson's name appears at the end of the introduction: "He remained a puzzle, even to those who thought they knew him best, embodied contradictions common to the country whose independence it fell to him to proclaim in words whose precise meaning Americans have debated ever since." The key point here is not just that Jefferson is an enigmatic figure but that his paradoxes are those written in the soul of the nation. It was not until Abraham Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg in November of 1863 that America finally accepted the proposition that "all men are created equal," but it was Jefferson who wrote the proposition. The gap between his vision and his actual achievement as a human being is arguably a defining element of the American spirit.

Do I think that Jefferson fathered children by Sally Hemmings? Yes, I do; the fact that she turned out to be the half-sister of his late wife Martha, along with his promise to Martha on her deathbed that he would never remarry, seems a compelling rationale to explain his behavior, although I would never confuse seeking physical comfort with love. Why did Jefferson never free his slaves? That is the question that will never be known for sure (there is at least enough DNA evidence to show that the Hemmings children were fathered by a Jefferson, whether Thomas or one of his relatives, perhaps his brother Randolph). My best guess at this point would be that he was afraid of what would happen to his slaves if they were freed and sent off into the world out of the reach of his protection. That his economic problems were such that the slaves were sold off after his death is but another contradiction in the long line of those that defined his life.

By now we are as familiar with the method of a Ken Burns documentary the same way we know the conventions of a situation comedy, romance novel, or rock 'n' roll song. The camera studies historic engravings and paintings before shifting to contemporary film taken in all four seasons of Jefferson's Monticello home and other key places from his life. The documentary was written by Geoffrey C. Ward and Jefferson's words are spoken by actor Sam Waterston with Ossie Davis providing the narration. Blythe Danner does the voice of Martha Jefferson, whom she played in the film version of the musical "1776." Many of those who have followed Burns' work will no doubt find much of the music familiar and be reminded from time to time of "The Civil War" and "Baseball."

If there is a failing in this documentary it is that it has trouble doing full justice to Jefferson's words, which in the final analysis are his greatest legacy and testament. The problem is that Jefferson usually wrote on large pieces of paper and the camera cannot capture an entire line, forcing it to rely time and again on showing us a few choice words and phrases. Yet there is no denying the power of those words or of seeing them written in Jefferson's own hand.

However, I believe these battling opinions have led to an even worse condition. Jefferson is too much ignored in our schools. I believe this series can help our children gain additional understanding and appreciation for this vital Founding Father without resorting to worship. It is worth viewing more than once.

Reveals Jefferson as a very complex character who perhaps cannot be fully understood by history (let alone by his peers). Perhaps overly focused on the slavery issue in Jefferson's life, especially towards the end, but perhaps this is fair as the contradictory Jefferson displays both intellectual forwardness and the fixed attitudes of the plantation owner.

A small complaint, but Sam Waterston's voice as Jefferson bugs me since I believed he defined himself as Lincoln in 'The Civil War'. He does a solid job, however. Highly recommended documentary on American history.

He was a tireless champion of representative government at a time when the rest of the world was ruled by monarchies. And even though he was shy, soft spoken, and totally lacking in oratorical ability, he would eventually become Governor of Virginia, Ambassador to France, and President of the United States.

No one embodied the optimism of the American spirit more; yet he was a slave holder all of his life (even while others in Virginia were setting their own slaves free); and in the only book he ever wrote, he espoused the inferiority of the Negro race, (as if to imply that freedom and equality should apply to everyone but them).

Much of the film deals with the political backroom maneuvering of the Electoral College which made him President; his lifelong feuding - and friendship with John Adams; his purchase of the Louisiana Territory; and his brief love affair with a married woman while he was Ambassador to France. During his time away from politics, the biography also highlights Jefferson the scientist, the architect, and the supposed father of numerous mulatto children by his Negro mistress, Sally Hemmings.

No one tells American history like Ken Burns. His biographies of Mark Twain and Frank Lloyd Wright, and his accounts of Lewis & Clark are inspirational and uplifting. His remembrances of Thomas Jefferson, however, fall short. Perhaps it's the subject. Mr. Jefferson's life isn't without controversy. Rather than coming across as almost superhuman in his accomplishments as we are hoping, this film makes him appear to be, at best, merely human. True history fans will find this work to be fascinating and thorough. Others will probably discover it to be extremely tiring - as did I.

As I said, I really enjoyed the style of this documentary, but there are problems as well. Unlike his excellent film on the Civil War, Burns seems here to ignore some basic historical facts. It's almost as if he tries to set up Jefferson as THE founding father instead of A founding father. Credit to Jefferson for drafting the Declaration of Independence is well-deserved, but giving him full credit for the treaty in France (which Franklin, Adams, and Arthur Lee had much more to do with than he did) is stretching it a lot.

When speaking of Jefferson's years in France, the film is silent as to the great friendship between he and John Adams. Indeed, Adams is portrayed as the great antagonist, and Burns here calls him a friend and close ally of Alexander Hamilton (also not true). Later, when Adams and Jefferson begin their famous correspondence late in life, you can barely understand why the two men are writing to each other (since it makes only passing mention of their previous close friendship).

Ken Burns has given us another good documentary here, but it would have been better, in my opinion, to make this one a little longer to be able to provide a more accurate portrait of Jefferson's life. Instead, many basic historical facts have been ignored, and we are left with a picture of Jefferson that, despite making him seem a great hero of the revolution (which he was), is not accurate.

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