| | | British politicians, pamphleteers, and newspapers hurled some remarkably vicious insults at Thomas Jefferson—especially during and after the American Revolution.
Here are some of the worst (and most revealing) things they called him, with context.
Political & Moral Attacks - “The American Caligula”
Likened Jefferson to the notoriously depraved Roman emperor—suggesting tyranny, moral corruption, and dangerous ambition.
- “A fanatic in philosophy”
A common British jab portraying him as an impractical radical whose Enlightenment ideas threatened social order.
- “An enemy to religion” / “Atheist”
British critics repeatedly accused Jefferson of irreligion and godlessness, particularly because of his views on church–state separation.
Personal Character Assassinations - “A coward”
After Jefferson fled Richmond in 1781 during a British raid, Tory writers mocked him as weak and unmanly, unfit for leadership.
- “A hypocrite of liberty”
This line attacked the contradiction between Jefferson’s rhetoric on freedom and his ownership of enslaved people—an accusation British polemicists eagerly exploited.
- “A seditious scribbler”
Used to belittle his role as principal author of the Declaration of Independence, implying he was merely a dangerous propagandist.
Satire & Caricature - “That prating philosopher of Virginia”
“Prating” meant idle or foolish talk—casting Jefferson as an overeducated windbag detached from reality.
- “The penman of rebellion”
Meant as an insult, suggesting he hid behind words rather than honor or arms—though history has been kinder to that “crime.”
Why the British Were So Hostile Jefferson uniquely enraged British elites because he:- Articulated rebellion in universal moral language
- Grounded resistance in Enlightenment philosophy
- Made British rule look not merely mistaken, but illegitimate
In short, he didn’t just rebel—he intellectually embarrassed them. |
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