Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1993. [Vol. 1.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 21)

STUDIES - András Tarnóc: "Jefferson Still Survives".

complying with British trade regulations could have meant seizure of goods by French authorities. British frigates repeatedly harassed American vessels and through a practice called impressment they raided United States merchant ships and kidnapped sailors deemed subjects of the Queen. In 1807 seething BritishAmerican hostilities reached the boiling point in the Chesapeake Affair. A British warship, "Leopard" had attacked the United States vessel "Chesapeake" killing three sailors and kidnapping four. Following a nation wide uproar Congress on Jefferson's prodding passed the Embargo Act effectively stopping all foreign trade. Jefferson's efforts to protect the United States from "entangling alliances" with economic measures were frustrated by his own countrymen as the historically commercial and shipping towns of New England turned to smuggling to recover lost profits. The Act had also thrown American agriculture in a crisis exposing Jefferson to broad-based public criticism. After the election of 1808 a tired and disillusioned Jefferson returned to his beloved Monticello estate in Virginia. Freed from the pressure of governing Jefferson turned his attention to one of his favorite causes, education. In 1814 in a letter to Peter Carr he outlined his comprehensive education reform plan and later donated his library to become the foundation of the Library of Congress. In 1817, the cornerstone of the University of Virginia

—his long cherished dream

—was laid and the University opened for instruction in 1825. In the last year of his life the two time president of the United States and the author of the Declaration of Independence was forced to live in financial uncertainty. While the Virginia legislature authorized a lottery at Monticello, friends and supporters raised funds to help Jefferson to keep his estate. Any attempt to summarize the achievement of Thomas Jefferson is doomed by the greatness and complexity of his lifework. A frustrated writer, however, might find solace in the words of the man himself, as Jefferson's epitaph describes the three deeds he was the most proud of. "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Inde119