ABSTRACT
The classical demands that what we do, we do for a reason that embodies “a general proposition applying beyond the particular instance,” and serves “a rational interest that expands into a principle, leaving behind the arbitrary preference of an isolated individual.” 1 This applies equally to a tyrannous king and an unleashed architect. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) and other patriots pounded home the role of principles on 4 July 1776, in the Declaration of Independence, and for another fifty years of service to the new nation, the tall redhead’s adaptation of the land and designs for buildings serving the new nation’s institutions made visible the complementary principles of the classical in architecture. For Jefferson more persuasively than for other architects of the era, the classical embraced ancient architecture and its subsequent enrichment with innovation. He both served the new nation and founded a distinctive American civil landscape by using principles for urbanism and architecture which are as valid today as they were in his day.
