Getting Jefferson Right

Nearly two centuries after his death, Thomas Jefferson continues to be the subject of competing claims about his public policy and private beliefs.

In Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson, two conservative scholars examine key claims frequently made by religious conservatives about Thomas Jefferson. Using Jefferson's correspondence, accounts of Jefferson's contemporaries, and other primary sources, Throckmorton and Coulter separate fact from fiction.

In earlier editions of Getting Jefferson Right, the authors debunked claims made by Christian nationalist David Barton. In this third edition, Throckmorton and Coulter broaden their scope to include additional false claims about Jefferson and respond to criticisms of their past work. They also widen their analysis of Jefferson's religious beliefs, his role in expanding slavery, and his view of separation of church and state.

Throckmorton and Coulter take on the following questions and much more:

-What did Jefferson mean by wall of separation between church and state?

-Did Jefferson and other Founders finance a Bible in 1798 to get the Word of God to America's Families?

-Was Jefferson an orthodox Christian?

-Did Jefferson approve laws providing federal funds to evangelize Indians?

-Did Jefferson edit the Gospels of the New Testament to remove supernatural sections he disagreed with?

-Did Virginia law keep Jefferson from freeing his slaves?

-Did Jefferson father children with Sally Hemings?

-Did Jefferson attempt to influence the creation of the Bill of Rights?

-Did Jefferson recite a prayer for the nation each morning during his presidency?

The aim of the authors is to get Jefferson right.