Getting Jefferson Right

If the United States survives this latest surge of Christian nationalism -- the mistaken notion that America is and always has been a Christian nation -- no small measure of credit will be due to Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter. Their work in uncovering and exposing the falsehoods perpetrated by David Barton and the Religious Right is nothing short of heroic. These historical distortions strike at the heart of America’s genius, the First Amendment and the separation of church and state, and if we as a nation follow the course Barton and others prescribe, both individual liberty and religious integrity will suffer. Calmly, patiently, and painstakingly – without favor or rancor – Throckmorton and Coulter dismantle the lies and the distortions that have fueled the misguided push for Christian nationalism.

One fundamental mark of Christians, especially in our politicized and polarized age, should be that they insist on truth versus partisan lies. Throckmorton and Coulter offer conclusive proofs of how partisanship led to promoting popular falsehoods that exaggerate the roles of Christianity in America’s founding. Anyone seeking an accurate understanding of that history should read this engaging volume, Getting Jefferson Right.

Ideologues and demagogues are working harder than ever to control how the story of our history is told. We cannot even speak to each other effectively, much less find common ground, if each of us lives in our own little self-created universe where we can make anything up and refuse to be held accountable to the actual historical record. Careful and responsible investigations, focused above all on getting the facts right, are indispensable to any effort to resist the siren songs of extremism. Getting Jefferson Right helps us get Jefferson right, and by doing so, helps Americans of all persuasions understand both themselves and one another more clearly.

In GETTING JEFFERSON RIGHT, Coulter and Throckmorton prove beyond doubt that Barton is no more scrupulous about the facts of American history than the “revisionists” whose work he pretends to correct. The authors have performed a valuable service.

The arrival of the new edition of Getting Jefferson Right is timely – and deeply needed. Christian nationalism is surging in the United States, a movement that threatens to undermine our nation’s founding commitment to religious liberty for all. Pseudo-historians, most notably David Barton, are revising our history, transforming Thomas Jefferson and other Founders into champions of a dangerous and false ideology. Barton is well-aware that pushing a distorted historical narrative in pews and classrooms is key to shaping hearts and minds in the culture war battles over the future of our country. Getting Jefferson Right pushes back against Barton and his ilk with a balanced, meticulously researched account of the real Thomas Jefferson, strengths and flaws alike, and his actual convictions about the American arrangement in religious liberty. All Americans who care about democratic pluralism and freedom of conscience should be grateful to Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter for this essential book.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of reading Getting Jefferson Right, by Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter. It is a point-counterpoint to David Barton's, aptly titled, The Jefferson Lies; and, it corrects every myth that Barton presents. Every evangelical pastor in America, especially African-American pastors, needs to not only read, but also study the facts in Getting Jefferson Right. For too many years, David Barton has misled pastors across America and this book is the perfect tool to help bring us back to the true, undiluted life of Thomas Jefferson.

Getting Jefferson Right is an intellectual and historical takedown of David Barton’s pseudo-history of Thomas Jefferson by two Christian professors who teach at a conservative Christian college. Michael Coulter and Warren Throckmorton have done their homework. Anyone who reads this book must come to grips with the untruths and suspect historical interpretations that Barton regularly peddles in his books, speaking engagements, and on his radio program. I have yet to read a more thorough refutation of Barton’s claims.

Getting Jefferson Right is an excellent example of the art of historical contextualization, of trying to tell the whole story, not just part of it. For those reasons, the work should become a standard reference.

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most revered Presidents in U.S. history. And also one of the most misunderstood. In Getting Jefferson Right, Throckmorton and Coulter confront some of the biggest myths with objective facts. The result is a provocative and informative book that has something to teach everyone.

As a historian, reading Getting Jefferson Right consistently elicits in me a dual response: the first is a deep appreciation for the careful, objective and thorough scholarship of Coulter and Throckmorton; the second is incredulous outrage at the numerous historical distortions, misreadings, and outright falsehoods they labor to debunk. Based in a thorough and careful analysis of primary sources in their full context, Getting Jefferson Right is an essential volume for understanding Jefferson in all his complexity, and a robust defense of historical truth against the propagandists who twist the past to serve their agenda.

This timely new edition of Getting Jefferson Right addresses a new wave of alt-Right Christian nationalists who get Jefferson wrong by downplaying his secular contribution to the rise of religious freedom in America. Yet again, Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter separate Jefferson fact from fiction in an eminently readable book that belongs on the shelf of any serious student of early American history.

In Getting Jefferson Right, Throckmorton and Coulter provide a valuable public service to readers in at least two important respects. First, they expose some of the tactics increasingly employed by so-called Christian leaders to obfuscate and manipulate the facts of the past to advance various social and political agendas. And second, they supply us with a model of patient, nuanced truth-seeking that should be the unwavering standard of every historian and of every Christian.

As a pastor and historian, Getting Jefferson Right has been my go-to recommendation when asked the dreaded question, “what is your take on David Barton?” Throckmorton and Coulter judiciously provide evidence and historical context to place Thomas Jefferson in his era, rather than the version of Jefferson that conveniently fits ideological commitments held by Barton. Instead of hot takes with bullet points, Throckmorton and Coulter spend time with the evidence and help the reader to better understand one of our most interesting Founding Fathers. Furthermore, this new edition considers the rise of white Christian nationalism over the past five years. This updated text includes ways Christian nationalists mishandle and misinterpret Jefferson. I will continue to recommend Getting Jefferson Right and am grateful for this new edition.

Getting Jefferson Right is a great book for pastors to study. Today we continue to have debates on Christian nationalism and right-wing revisionist history. Many of our church members are exposed to these issues through the Internet and Christian mass media. Pastors need to be up to date on these matters, and this book gives excellent rebuttals based on genuine historical research and facts to counter what David Barton and others claim as support for their assertions on American history and the evangelical church’s role in it. Disinformation is real and Throckmorton’s and Coulter’s work brings true historical research to dispel it. I highly recommend it for pastors so that they can help members discern truth from intentional disinformation.

As Christian nationalism continues to rise in the American Evangelical church, so does the spread of misinformation and revisionist history regarding the founding fathers. Getting Jefferson Right is a thoughtful, well researched resource for anyone seeking to discern historical fact from politicized fiction.

In Getting Jefferson Right, Throckmorton and Coulter plead for good historical thinking because “history done right will lead to an accurate account.” The historian’s job, regardless of religious persuasion, is to tell the truth, not making a case for a client but rather making an account of the evidence from the past. Through their examination of Christian nationalists’ historical claims, Throckmorton and Coulter exhibit sound historical reasoning. They test the conclusions of historians as they consider the full context of the events and people. Their work continues to be necessary as the battle for telling the truth about the American past continues with assaults from all sides. Letting go of current political agendas and allowing the evidence from the past to speak reveals a powerful story of how the United States has changed over time.

Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter offer a valuable contribution to Jefferson scholarship and a needed correction to historical revisionism in their new edition of Getting Jefferson Right. They expand their critique of Christian nationalist revisionists like David Barton and offer valuable resources for placing Thomas Jefferson firmly in his historical and cultural context. With so many political and cultural forces working to distort historical understanding for their own ends, Throckmorton and Coulter model historical research as it should be done with careful consideration for what the primary sources say on their own terms before making conclusions about contemporary issues. The book is accessible for general audiences while still resting on a foundation of rigorous research that is clearly documented in extensive notes and primary source engagement.