Article Title
Beyond the Schoolhouse Door: Educating the Political Animal in Jefferson’s Little Republics
Abstract
Jefferson believed that citizenship must exhibit republican virtue. While education was necessary in a republican polity, it alone was insufficient in sustaining a revolutionary civic spirit. This paper examines Jefferson's expectations for citizen virtue, specifically related to militia and jury service in his 'little republics.' Citizens required not only knowledge of history and republican principles, but also public spaces where they could personify what they learned. Jefferson often analogized the nation as a ship at sea, and while navigational instruments are necessary in charting an accurate course, i.e., republican theories, they become inconsequential without the decisive action required for their successful use.
Response to this Article
Andrew Holowchak, Educating Each according to His Needs
Recommended Citation
Dotts, B. W.
(2015).
Beyond the Schoolhouse Door: Educating the Political Animal in Jefferson’s Little Republics.
Democracy and Education,
23
(1), Article 5.
Available at:
https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol23/iss1/5
Included in
American Politics Commons, Political History Commons, Political Theory Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons, United States History Commons