Jefferson used the phrase “empire for liberty” on April 27 in a letter to James Madison. In this letter, he spoke of his intention to create all sorts of barriers to the further expansion of the British Empire in North America, including British Canada. In addition, Jefferson expressed his desire to include vast and sparsely populated North areas to the confederacy. Even though it could be done by means of war, it would help to create the so-called empire for liberty. Jefferson believed that in order to survive, the new empire had to expand westward, stretching across the American continent. Moreover, he was confident that “no constitution was ever before so well calculated as ours for extensive empire self-government” (Jefferson, n.d., para. 1). The two concepts of empire and liberty may seem unfitting to be out together; however, he still managed to connect them.
First of all, people usually consider an empire as one united territory that is controlled by a sole leader. Such a person is called an emperor; they are not elected by people, which is the opposite of democracy and liberty. Nevertheless, Jefferson did not think at all that an empire should necessarily have a single ruler or the same political state basis, although this would be preferable for him. Instead, by using the word “empire”, he meant that leaders should control the vast amount of territory. At the same time, people are given their respected rights and are allowed to participate in the representative government. In this way, despite the initial contradictions, Jefferson still managed to unite two concepts of empire and liberty in his idea while also preserving the freedom-loving spirit of Americans.
References
Jefferson, T. (n.d.). Thomas Jefferson to James Madison. Library of Congress. Web.