Section III:
 Jefferson, United States Minister to France

"Behold you, then, my dear friend, at the head of a great army, establishing the liberties of your country against a foreign enemy. May heaven favor your cause, and make you the channel through which it may pour its favors."

                       Thomas Jefferson to Marquis de Lafayette, June 1792

"The ball of liberty is now so well in motion that it will roll around the globe."

                        Thomas Jefferson to Tench Coxe , 1795  

What does it mean to be an American Minister or Ambassador?

Thomas Jefferson served as minister to France from 1785 to 1789. The current US ambassador to France is ?? (Answer can be found at the French embassy website).  Compare and contrast Jefferson and the current ambassador's background. List any similarities you find. List any differences you discover.

Review two letters written by Jefferson from Paris:  

and develop a chart indicating what you think Jefferson's duties were as Minister to France in one column.   Review the information at the French Embassy website and in a second column of the chart list the duties that you think Ambassador Leach attends to today.  Did you find any similarities?  Are there any major differences?

Jefferson described using a cipher wheel for sending classified messages from France to the United States.  A cipher is a system of changing text in order to hide a message.

What types of information do you think Jefferson sent in secret code?

Today the mission statement of the National Security Agency is "the ability to understand the secret communications of our foreign adversaries while protecting our own communications -- a capability in which the United States leads the world -- gives our nation a unique advantage."  

(Click here for a current event regarding CodeTalkers from WWI.)
Courtesy of the National Security Agency

In his letter to George Washington, December 4, 1788, Jefferson wrote:

"The Marquis de La Fayette is out of favor with the court, but high in favor with the nation."

Code these words so they do not fall into enemy hands.  

Try your hand at solving some of the puzzles provided by the National Security Agency at
http://www.nsa.gov/kids/index.cfm 
For more information on the National Security Agency visit:  http://www.nsa.gov

Lafayette sought Jefferson's council on preparing a declaration of rights for the French people.  Compare and contrast the American Declaration of Independence  (July 4, 1776) to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 26, 1789).

List in a chart items that are similar and items that are unique to each document.  

In June of 1792 Jefferson wrote to Lafayette:

"Behold you, then, my dear friend, at the head of a great army, establishing the liberties of your country against a foreign enemy.  May heaven favor your cause, and make you the channel through which it may pour its favors."

Create a time line for the French Revolution and label with the following information: 

  • The Women's March to Versailles (The October Days)

  • The Trial of Louis XVI

  • Napoleon Bonaparte declares himself Emperor of France

  • Louis XVI signing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

  • Storming of the Bastille

  • Abolition of the Monarchy

  • The Oath of the Tennis Court

  • Storming of the Tuileries Palace

  • The Execution of Louis XVI

 

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