227 Quotes by Jon Meacham

For Jefferson, William and Mary was largely about what university life is supposed to be about: reading books, enjoying the company of like-minded, and savoring teachers who seemed to be ambassadors from other, richer, writer worlds. Jefferson believed Williamsburg "the finest school of manners and morals that ever existed in America.

Jackson lead as he lived, sometimes with his heart, sometimes with his mind, sometimes with both.

Unless he convinced himself that no great life was without its mishaps and its mistakes, he would not be able to return to the arena.

Politics was at once clinical and human, driven by principles and passions that he (the leader) had to master and harness for the good of the whole.

Parents in the Northeast sometimes invoked the name of Andrew Jackson to frighten misbehaving children.

Leadership meant knowing how to distill complexity into a comprehensible message to reach the hearts as well as the minds of the larger world.

Steadiness of faith, was, in the long run, as illuminating and essential as sophistication of thought.

As much as Jefferson loved France residence abroad gave him greater appreciation for his own nation. He was a tireless advocate for things American while abroad, and a promoter of things European while at home. Moving between two worlds, translating the best of the old into the new and explaining the benefits of the new to the old, he created a role for himself as both intermediary and arbiter.

It is a charming thing to be loved by everybody, he told his grandchildren, "and the way to obtain it is, never to quarrel or be angry with anybody. He hated arguing face-to-face, preferring to smooth out the rough edges of conversation, leading some people to believe Jefferson agreed with them when, in fact, he was seeking to avoid conflict