In March of 1807 Thomas Jefferson wrote to the comte de Diodati-Tronchin, an old friend from his days among the diplomats at Versailles. Reminiscing about ‘the many happy hours’ he had spent with the comte and Madame Diodati on the banks of the Seine, Jefferson recalled, ‘those were indeed days of tranquility & happiness’. Jefferson then shifted his focus from personal matters to the geopolitical situation. Writing from the comfort of his home at Monticello, he drew an unfavorable contrast between the tumult to be seen in Napoleonic Europe and the supposed tranquility of Jeffersonian America.

Jefferson boasted of the peace enjoyed by the United States when he was halfway through his difficult second presidential term. As he wrote to Diodati his former vice president, Aaron Burr, was awaiting trial in Richmond, Virginia on charges of treason for allegedly attempting to detach the western states from the American union. American commerce was beset by trade restrictions imposed by France and Britain. Within two months the British warship Leopard would fire on the USS Chesapeake, threatening to start a war between Britain and the United States. Given such turmoil, how could Jefferson justify his optimistic view of recent American history?