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Writings of Thomas Jefferson, by Thomas
Jefferson

Project Gutenberg's The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, by Thomas Jefferson This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at

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Title: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson Library Edition - Vol. 6 (of 20)
Author: Thomas Jefferson
Editor: Andrew A Lipscomb Albert Ellery Bergh
Release Date: April 7, 2007 [EBook #21002]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

Writings of Thomas Jefferson, by Thomas Jefferson
1

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WRITINGS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON ***
Produced by Robert Cicconetti and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
[Illustration: Jefferson at Sixty-two]
THE WRITINGS OF
THOMAS JEFFERSON
Library Edition
CONTAINING HIS
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, NOTES ON VIRGINIA, PARLIAMENTARY MANUAL, OFFICIAL PAPERS,

MESSAGES AND ADDRESSES, AND OTHER WRITINGS, OFFICIAL AND PRIVATE, NOW
COLLECTED AND
PUBLISHED IN THEIR ENTIRETY FOR THE FIRST TIME
INCLUDING
ALL OF THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS, DEPOSITED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND

PUBLISHED IN 1853 BY ORDER OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
AND

A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYTICAL INDEX
ANDREW A. LIPSCOMB, Chairman Board of Governors EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ALBERT ELLERY BERGH MANAGING EDITOR
VOL. VI.

ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
THE THOMAS JEFFERSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION
OF THE UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON, D. C.
1903
Copyright, 1903, by The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association

Transcriber's Note: Omitted text or text that was in cypher is denoted by asterisks.
Writings of Thomas Jefferson, by Thomas Jefferson
2
JEFFERSON AS A TACTICIAN

The word "tactician" is usually applied to military movements, but it has a broader meaning than this; it
embodies the idea of a peculiar skill or faculty--a nice perception or discernment which is characterized by
adroit planning or management, artfully directed in politics or diplomacy in government.

"Of all creatures the sense of tact is most exquisite in man"--Ross: Microcosmia.
"To see in such a clime, Where science is new, men so exact In tactic art"--Davenant Madagascar.

True statesmanship is the masterful art. Poetry, music, painting, sculpture and architecture please, thrill and
inspire, but the great statesman and diplomatist and leader in thought and action convinces, controls and
compels the admiration of all classes and creeds. Logical thought, power of appeal and tactfulness never fail
to command attention and respect. It has always been thus, and it will unquestionably so remain. Many really
able and brilliant men, however, lack balance and the faculty of calculation. They are too often swayed by
emotions, and their intellectual powers, which otherwise might exert a controlling influence, are thus
weakened, and often result in failure. True greatness in a man is gauged by what he accomplished in life, and
the impress he left upon his fellow-men. It does not consist of one act, or even of many, but rather their effect
upon the times in which he lived, and how long they endure after the actor is gone from the throng of the
living.

At the bar, in the pulpit, in the medical profession, and especially in political life,tact is the sine qua non to
the highest degree of individual success. However gifted one may be, he cannot win conspicuous laurels in
any calling or avocation, if he be deficient in tactfulness. The man who best understands human nature, knows
how to approach people, and possesses the art of leading them, is the one who will invariably have the largest
following and will possess the greatest amount of influence over his fellows. The fact cannot be disputed that
men of great brilliancy of intellect, without tact, have been distanced by others far less talented, who
possessed the knack of getting near to the masses with the object in view to lead and control them. A military
commander who knows how to muster and marshal his men so as to make them most effective when a battle
is pending, will be unquestionably successful in manoeuvres and successful also in battle; and it is equally
true in statecraft, and in the learned professions as well. The skillful tactician is master of every situation and
is the victor in every important contest. But more than in any other calling is this true in politics. The
successful leader in legislative bodies,--he whose name is recorded on the legislative journal as the author of
the most important measures which are enacted into laws--is, without exception, that member who is tactful,
thoughtful, industrious and sincere. It makes no difference how great his natural endowments may be, if he be
wanting in these elements his success will be restricted to a narrow sphere; and the greatest of these is
tactfulness.

The world's great tacticians are few. In America I can mention but three who are deserving of first
rank,--Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay and James G. Blaine. Neither represented the same generation, and
neither was the exact counterpart of the others, but all of them were renowned in their ability to control their
fellow-men. Each possessed that peculiar magnetic power to draw men around them and to win their
confidence and support. Each had but to say the word, and his wishes were carried out. Each needed only to
give the command to follow, and, like drilled soldiers, the multitudes fell into line and were obedient to every
order. They were evidently cast in a peculiar mould, and that particular mould is limited seemingly to a single
man in every generation. Why it is thus we know not, and yet we know that it is so. As the precentor in a choir
leads the masses with his baton, and under correct leadership they rarely miss a note, so does the great
tactician issue his commands, and his wishes are supreme. I here write Jefferson, Clay and Blaine as
America's intrepid leaders and commanders in civil life; these three, and the greatest of these was Jefferson, as
he seemed to have learned in early life, more than any of his compeers, that a little management will often
avoid resistance, which a vast force will strive in vain to overcome; and that it is wisdom to grant graciously
what he could not refuse safely, and thus conciliate those whom he was otherwise unable to control.

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