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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC04433 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to 1811 |
| Title | Thomas Jefferson to Pierre Paganel regarding the French Revolution |
| Date | 15 April 1811 |
| Author | Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) |
| Recipient | Paganel, Pierre |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Paganel, author of Essai historique et critique sur la Révolution Française (Paris, 1810), sent a copy of his work to Jefferson, perhaps one of the few copies to survive burning at the hands of Napoleon's censors. Jefferson writes in part: "[t]he perusal of this work has given me new views of the causes of failure in a revolution of which I was a witness in it's early part, & then augured well of it. I had not means afterwards of observing it's progress but the public papers, & their information came thro channels too hostile to claim confidence. An acquaintance with many of the principal characters, & with their fate, furnished me grounds for conjectures, some of which you have confirmed, & some corrected." Jefferson prophesizes "The day of deliverance will come, altho' I shall not live to see it." He argues that "[t]he art of printing secures us against the retrogradation of reason & information, and the examples of it's safe & wholsome guidance in government, which will be exhibited thro' the wide spread regions of the American continents, will obliterate in time the impressions left by the abortive experiment of France." A second printing of Paganel's Essai appeared without incident in 1815 . Paganel, a provincial professor, rose during the French Revolution to a member of the Committee of Public Safety and served as Secretary to the National Convention. He was removed by Napoleon and later exiled by Louis XXVII. He died in 1826. Paganel's Essai historique et critique sur la Révolution Française (Paris, 1810), first edition, was almost entirely destroyed by Napoleon's censors. A second printing, issued anonymously in 1815, appeared without incident. In M. Sowerby, The Library of Thomas Jefferson, no. 92n. Hochet is a (small) shake or disturbance. |
| Subjects | France French Revolution Global History and Civics Foreign Affairs Literature and Language Arts Printing Journalism President |
| People | Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) Paganel, Pierre (1745-1826) |
| Place written | Monticello, Virginia |
| Theme | Foreign Affairs; Arts & Literature; The Presidency |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | After receiving a history of the French Revolution, Jefferson reflects on the meaning and implications of that epochal historical event. During the early 1790s, Jefferson had been a strong supporter of the revolution, which he viewed as part of a broader struggle to overthrow monarchical tyranny. In 1793, the year Louis XVI was executed, Jefferson had gone so far as to write that he was willing to see half the earth drenched in blood if this was necessary to bring about human freedom. In retrospect, however, he expresses his misgivings about the revolution's outcome. Pagenel, the author of the history book, was a member of the Committee of Public Safety and served as secretary to the National Convention. The first edition of his 1810 book was almost completely destroyed by Napoleon's censors. Later, Louis XVII exiled Pagenel, who died in 1826, the same year as Jefferson. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |
| Transcript | Show/hide |