# Thomas Jefferson — Sticks and Stones character guide

> Thomas Jefferson in Sticks and Stones by Lewis Mumford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Jefferson

**First appearance:** 0003-i-the-medieval-tradition

## Snapshot

Statesman, student, and artist in nearly equal measure, Jefferson gave America its strict classicism and designed Monticello, the Virginia Capitol, and Charlottesville's university.

## Who they are

Jefferson embodied the eighteenth-century gentleman who had read Horace and Livy with one foot in his own age and the other in the grave of Rome, and he had nothing but contempt for the free Georgian vernacular. After the Revolution, men who had plotted like Catiline and denounced like Cicero wanted a stage for their gestures, and Jefferson supplied the classical foundation. He marks the moment when the carpenter-builder's classical finish gave way to the architect's classical myth.

## Relationships

### [H. H. Richardson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/characters/h_h_richardson)

_psychological_

Richardson respected Jefferson's neoclassical architecture but diverged toward a more medieval Romanesque style.

## In the story

### [I: The Medieval Tradition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/i-the-medieval-tradition)

Referenced indirectly through the contrast with the classic republic style of the eighteenth century.

### [The Heritage of the Renaissance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/ii-the-heritage-of-the-renaissance)

Designed a Chinese-style pavilion for Monticello before the Revolution, illustrating the eclectic Oriental influence of the eighteenth century.

### [The Colonial Village and the Rise of Commerce](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/i)

Designed a Chinese-style pavilion for Monticello before the Revolution, reflecting the eclectic Oriental influence of the eighteenth century.

### [The Classical Myth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/iii-the-classical-myth)

Exemplified classical culture, designed Monticello and other buildings, and gave a strict interpretation to classicism in America.

### [The Classical Myth and the American Renaissance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/i)

Exemplified the classical culture at its best, designing Monticello and other houses, the Virginia State Capitol, and the university at Charlottesville; gave a strict interpretation to classicism.

### [The Classical Mode and Its Discontents](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/iv)

His University of Virginia is cited as the most perfect consummation of classical order, planning for both the institution's life and its shell.

### [IV: The Diaspora of the Pioneer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/iv-the-diaspora-of-the-pioneer)

Mentioned as a contrast to the pioneer era; he could design Monticello, while later figures like Poe could only dream of fantastic domains.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/ii)

Jefferson is cited as a figure who could lay out and develop an estate like Monticello, contrasting with the later inability of society to support architectural imagination.

### [Architecture and Civilization](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/viii-architecture-and-civilization)

Cited as an example of a man of great ability in architecture.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/chapters/i)

Cited as an example of great ability in architecture.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/characters/thomas_jefferson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sticks_and_stones_se/characters