a coalition of disenfranchised, poor, minority, HOMOSEX-
UAL, and FEMINISTwomen voters in the Rainbow Coali-
tion, supporting his U.S. presidential candidacy in 1984
(the first African-American candidacy as part of a main-
stream party in U.S. history). Jackson’s “anti-American
corporate–militarism–imperialism” theme made him a
favorite among developing countries, especially among
Africans and Arabs. But this radical appeal diminished
his influence with other contingents in the Democratic
Party (notably Jewish Americans and CATHOLICS). His
association with the radical leader of the black Nation
of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, further eroded Jackson’s
appeal to mainstream U.S. voters.
However, Jackson is held in tremendously high
esteem among African Americans, partly due to his
close association with civil rights leader Dr. Martin
Luther KING, Jr. Accused of personal vanity and politi-
cal opportunism, Jackson nevertheless articulates the
politics of inclusion.
Further Readings
Frady, Marshall. Jesse: The Life and Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson,
1st ed. New York: Random House, 1996.
Hertzke, Allen D. Echoes of Discontent: Jesse Jackson, Pat Robert-
son, and the Resurgence of Populism.Washington, D.C.:
Congressional Quarterly, 1993.
Jacobin
A member of the French Revolution Jacobins political
party, led by Maximilien Robespierre, which consti-
tuted the most RADICALand extremist group during
that revolution. The Jacobin period was known as the
Reign of Terror because of the mass executions carried
on during its rule (1793–94). The term Jacobinthen
became generally applied to any ruthless, radical revo-
lutionary who used violence and dictatorship to
accomplish ends. So, for example, the Russian COMMU-
NISTrevolutionary, V. I. LENINwas often called a Jacobin
by his critics. MAO TSE-TUNG’s CHINESECultural Revolu-
tion, which used radical threats, humiliation, torture
and execution of “enemies of the People,” was often
accused of Jacobinism. So, any extremely brutal revo-
lutionary change may be termed Jacobin,even though
it was not a formal part of the French revolutionary
group that gave rise to the title.
Further Reading
Cole, C. Robert, and Moody, Michael E., eds. The Dissenting Tra-
dition: Essays for Leland H. Carlson.Athens: Ohio Univer-
sity Press, 1975.
Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826) American
statesman, revolutionary, and political philosopher
Possibly the most famous thinker of the American
Revolution and early American Republic, this author
of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and founder of
Jeffersonian Democracy is the quintessential American
political philosopher. His ideals of individual LIBERTY
and RIGHTS, popular DEMOCRACY, economic EQUALITY,
public education, and religious freedom underlie U.S.
political culture. Americans revere Jefferson so much
that one scholar said that their image of him is a reflec-
tion of their own identity. A Renaissance man and
ENLIGHTENMENT LIBERAL, Thomas Jefferson’s brilliance
covered politics, economics, religion, LAW, science,
education, art, music, and literature. His genius and
wide range of interests and accomplishments make
him a fascinating figure to study. Numerous books
have examined every aspect of his life. A wealthy plan-
tation owner in Virginia, Jefferson served as governor
of that state, as a delegate to the Continental Congress,
ambassador to France, secretary of state under Presi-
dent Washington, vice president in John Adams’s presi-
dency, and third president of the United States
(1801–09). He authored the Virginia statute for reli-
gious freedom and Notes on the State of Virginiaand
founded the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Jefferson received a CLASSICALeducation from clergy
of the Church of England and at William and Mary
College, before reading the law under George Wythe.
His political thought drew upon an exceedingly broad
range of thinkers, including John LOCKE, ARISTOTLE,
James HARRINGTON, MONTESQUIEU, BOLINGBROKE, and
Jesus Christ.
Early in his career he wrote from the SOCIAL-
CONTRACT, NATURAL-RIGHTSphilosophy of John Locke
and the ANCIENT CONSTITUTION. He used these ideas of
individual LIBERTY, private RIGHTS, limited government,
and “the Right of Revolution” to justify the American
Revolution in his Declaration of Independence. Jeffer-
son adapted Locke’s conception of a STATE OF NATURE
made up of “free, equal, and independent” individuals
to the British Empire made up of free, equal, and inde-
pendent political communities (including the North
American colonies). This theory rationalized the
United States separating from Britain and becoming an
independent nation. Such reasoning inspired many
imperial dominated nations (including India, Mexico,
Vietnam, China, and many African and South Ameri-
can countries).162 Jacobin