USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -View of the nature of human beings: Despite Jefferson’s well-to-do upbringing, he was a strong believer in the abilities of the “common man.” He was convinced that people, when given enough information on an issue, were capable of making smart decisions.

Detailed explanation-2: -Jefferson’s most fundamental political belief was an “absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority.” Stemming from his deep optimism in human reason, Jefferson believed that the will of the people, expressed through elections, provided the most appropriate guidance for directing the republic’s course.

Detailed explanation-3: -Jefferson’s republicanism was grounded on an emphatic rejection of monarchical and aristocratic rule on the one hand, and an unshakable belief in the primacy of individual rights and the sovereignty of the states, as guaranteed by the Constitution, on the other.

Detailed explanation-4: -Jefferson, however, was not a metaphysical atomist of the Epicurean sort, but a nominalist like philosopher John Locke (1690).