Unit 03_Leons from Jefferson_The American Idea of a great leader由刀豆文库小编整理，希望给你工作、学习、生活带来方便，猜你可能喜欢“七上unit8重难点全解”。
Unit Three
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Jefferson died long ago, but many of his ideas are still of great interest to us.Leons from Jefferson
Bruce Bliven
Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, may be le famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but many people remember him at least one fact about him: he wrote the Declaration of Independence.Although Jefferson lived more than 200 years ago, there is much that we can learn from him today.Many of his ideas are especially interesting to modern youth.Here are some of the things he said and wrote:
Go and see.Jefferson believed that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books and that personal investigation is important.When still a young man, he was appointed to a committee to find out whether the South Branch of the James River was deep enough to be used by large boats.While the other members of the committee sat in the state capitol and studied papers on the subject, Jefferson got into a canoe and made on-the-spot observations.You can learn from everyone.By birth and by education, Jefferson belonged to the highest social cla.Yet, in a day, when few noble persons ever spoke to those of humble origins except gave an order, Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners, servants and waiters.Jefferson once said to the French nobleman, Lafayette, “You must go into the people’s homes as I have done, look into their cooking pots and eat their bread.If you will only do this, you may find out why people are diatisfied and understand the revolution that is threatening France.”
Judge for yourself.Jefferson refused to accept other people’s opinions without careful thought.“Neither believe nor reject anything, “ he wrote to his nephew, “because any other person has rejected or believed it.Heaven has given you a mind for judging truth and error.Use it.“
Jefferson felt that the people “may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment.Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.Do what you believe is right.In a free country, there will always be conflicting ideas, and this is a source of strength.It is conflict and not unquestioning agreement that keeps freedom alive.Though Jefferson was for many years the object of strong criticism, he never answered his critics.He expreed his philosophy in letters to a friend, “There are two sides to every question.If you take one side with decision and act on it with effect, those who
take the other side will of course resent your actions.”
Trust the future, trust the young.Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulne.“No society, “ he said, “can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law.The earth belongs to the living generation.“ He did not fear new ideas, nor did he fear the future.“How much pain, “ he remarked, “has been caused by evils which have never happened!I expect the best, not the worst.I steer my ship with hope, leaving fear behind.”
Jefferson’s courage and idealism were based on knowledge.He probably knew more than any other man of his age.He was an expert in agriculture, archeology, and medicine.He practiced crop rotation and soil conservation a century before these became standard practice, and he invented a plow superior to any other in existence.He influenced architecture throughout America, and he was constantly producing devices for making the tasks of ordinary life easier to perform.Of all Jefferson’s many talents, one is central.He was above all a good and tirele writer.His complete works, now being published for the first time, will fill more than fifty volumes.His talent as an author was soon discovered, and when the time came to write the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776, the task of writing it was his.Millions have thrilled to his words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”
When Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American independence, he left his countrymen a rich legacy of ideas and examples.American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson, who believed that only a nation of educated people could remain free.Paage
The American Idea of a great leader
Of all figures from American’s past, Abraham Lincoln is dearest to the hearts of the American people.In fact, the admiration they have for him borders on worship.Writers note that the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.is not unlike the temples that ancient Greeks built in honor of their gods, and that annual ceremonies of celebrating Lincoln’s birthday in schools and public places have sometimes had characteristics of religious services.Certainly Lincoln is America’s ideal of a great leader.He had many of the qualities of leadership that Americans admire.First of all, Lincoln’s career fits a popular American belief that every child can dream of becoming President.American admire the self-made person – the one who, with neither money nor family influence, fights his or her way to the top.Lincoln was born of poor parents.His mother died when he was young.He had little opportunity for schooling.His early study was done alone at night by the light of a fireplace.He did hard manual labor through the day – splitting rail for
fences, taking care of livestock, working on a river boat or in a store.He was a good speaker and student of political philosophy.His ability made a name for him and eventually he became President of Unite States.Lincoln is also admired because of his leadership during the difficult period of the Civil War.He dared to do what he thought was right at a time when his beliefs were unpopular with many people.He, in a sense, represents the spirit of union among the states.Before the Civil War, the economy of the South depended on an agriculture system which made use of slave labor.When reformers in the northern states put preure on the Congre not to permit slavery in western territories that later became states, some of the Southern states wanted to secede, or withdraw, from the United States.They argued that the question of slavery was a matter for the individual states to decide rather than the federal government, and they did not want to accept its decision.The national government said that no state had the right to secede, and the Civil War was the result.If the South had won the war, what is now the United States might well have been divided into several countries.Lincoln worked hard to preserve the union, and the northern states were victorious.Furthermore, Lincoln had many personal qualities that made him dear to the heart of his countrymen.He had infinite patience and tolerance for those who disagreed with him.As President, he appointed men to high government positions whom he considered most capable, even though some of them openly scorned him.He was generous to his opponents.There are many stories about his thoughtful treatment of South leaders.When the war was over, he showed the South no hatred.Since generosity toward a defeated opponent is admired by Americans, Lincoln fitted the national ideal of what is right.Shortly after the Civil War ended, Lincoln was shot while attending a play in a Washington theater.He died within a few hours.The uncontrolled emotional reaction of the nation to his death was almost unbelievable and demonstrated the deep esteem in which he was held.Newspapers were edged with black.Religious leaders gave praise of Lincoln instead of their prepared sermons.His funeral proceion in Washington was miles long.Lincoln’s body was taken by train to his former home in Springfield, Illinois, but in all the major cities through which the train paed, the coffin was paraded through streets lined with sorrowful thousands.In the small towns which the train paed, bells rang in honor of the dead President.Citizens lit torches along the railroadtrack to show their last respects.The circumstances of his death set Lincoln apart from other American leaders.Had Lincoln lived, it might well be that his postwar polices would have brought criticisms upon him that would have tarnished his popularity.Instead, an aain’s bullet erased in the minds of Americans any faults he had and emphasized his virtues.
