Rethinking an ‘Empire for Liberty’: George Wythe Randolph and the Jeffersonian Inheritance of Expansion in the Confederacy

Rethinking an ‘Empire for Liberty’: George Wythe Randolph and the Jeffersonian Inheritance of Expansion in the Confederacy

This talk will begin with the nature and development of Thomas Jefferson’s views on expansion, on commerce, territory, and slavery, together with his ideas on foreign relations and the role of the United States in the world. Second, the talk will trace the thinking on these topics of his grandson, George Wythe Randolph, sometime railroad president, leader of secession, Confederate general and Secretary of War; Brettle will determine the influence of Jefferson – and other thinkers – on Randolph before 1861.  Lastly, Brettle will explore Randolph’s experience in the Confederacy and show how independence and war guided or changed his expansionist ideas.