Thomas Jefferson

Different politicians have different styles of governing. Although it is an overgeneralization, the popular perception is that Republicans are more interested in foreign affairs, while Democrats devote most of their energies to domestic programs. As the November elections get closer and we are exposed to campaign advertising on a daily basis, these political preferences are easy to spot.

For his part, Thomas Jefferson was adamant that the United States should focus on self-governing and stay out of world affairs as much as possible. He wrote:

“Unmeddling with the affairs of other nations, we presume not to prescribe or censure their course. Happy, could we be permitted to pursue our own in peace, and to employ all our means in improving the condition of our citizens.” (To Madame de Stael de Holstein, July 16, 1807)

It is easy to tell from this statement and from many of Jefferson’s other writings, which often warn against forming alliances with foreign nations, that Jefferson believed the American government’s first concern should be the welfare of its people at home. It is interesting to consider, however, what Jefferson might say on the same subject if he could see the world in which we live today. Would the danger of terrorism or nuclear tests by so-called “rogue nations” like North Korea make Jefferson rethink his reluctance to get involved in other countries’ business? Or would Jefferson argue that it was the United States’ over-involvement in international relations that encouraged these new dangers to develop in the first place?