[gborrego1991]

I was reading a few Wikipedia articles on “The Empire of Liberty” and “Manifest Destiny” which claimed that Jefferson wanted to spread freedom across the globe, by setting an example, expanding into the west, and intervening abroad.

Is this an accurate representation of his views?

[Brion McClanahan]

Not in the least. Jefferson never wanted to spread “freedom across the globe.” He did use the phrase “empire of liberty,” but his conception included several confederacies in North America pledged to the principle of liberty, not beholden to some powerful centralized imperial state.

[gborrego1991]

Here is the article in case you want to read it – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Liberty

[gutzmank]

In general, Wikipedia cannot be trusted, on this or any other subject.

For Jeffersonian views regarding foreign policy, I recommend McCoy’s THE ELUSIVE REPUBLIC, Kaplan’s THOMAS JEFFERSON: WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE, Tucker and Hendrickson’s EMPIRE OF LIBERTY, and my own JAMES MADISON AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA.

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