Thomas Jefferson - The Atlantic

Thomas Jefferson

The Very Powerful Men Who Think Introspection Is Dumb

Thomas Chatterton Williams

March 27, 2026

A photo-illustration of a man turned away from a silhouette of his head

Trashing American Allies Turns Out to Be Bad for National Security

March 18, 2026

An illustration of the top half of Donald Trump's head, wearing a red MAGA hat, with two missiles, a drone, and a fighter jet circling his head.

How to Wake the Constitution’s Sleeping Giant

February 2026 Issue

The October 2025 Atlantic magazine open to Jill Lepore's article

What Stephen Miller Gets Wrong About Human Nature

January 10, 2026

Old illustration of a king overlooking the world, with people inside his body, tinted in red.

‘You Are Now a King, Under a Different Name’

February 2026 Issue

Illustration of a golden snap trap formed by the sharp spikes of a jeweled crown, with a gold chain anchoring it.

The Ideal That Underlies the Declaration of Independence

Walter Isaacson

November 9, 2025

Illustration of the American flag as two overlapping text bubbles—the stripes are a bubble coming from the right, and the stars are a bubble coming from the left

More Than the East Wing Got Demolished This Week

October 24, 2025

A diptych of the present-day demolished East Wing of the White House and a sepia-toned photograph of the old White House on the right

The Beacon of Democracy Goes Dark

November 2025 Issue

Black-and-white drawing of the Statue of Liberty's hand holding an extinguished torch with smoke rising from it.

The Many Lives of Eliza Schuyler

November 2025 Issue

Illustration multiplying reflected black-and-white portraits of Eliza Schuyler in a grid pattern.

What Is Colonial Williamsburg For?

November 2025 Issue

black-and-white illustration of man in colonial-period clothing with cane and scroll giving a speech on a stage with a modern crowd looking on

What the Founders Would Say Now

Fintan O’Toole

November 2025 Issue

black-and-white illustration of colonial American man standing in large room with portraits on wall and desk, wearing hat, coat, and breeches with cane, looking at his distorted reflection in a fun-house mirror

The Moral Foundation of America

November 2025 Issue

illustration in style of an engraving of a tree branch with a lit lantern hanging from it, beaming out light

Whose Independence?

Annette Gordon-Reed

November 2025 Issue

collage-style illustration with an image of words from the Declaration of Independence turned sideways, striped across a painting of a Black hand on a robed lap, with manacle and thick metal chain

The Insurrection Problem

November 2025 Issue

detail from black-and-white illustration of soldiers in colonial dress, with swords, on horseback in haze of battle

Behind The Atlantic’s November 2025 Issue Cover

Peter Mendelsund

November 2025 Issue

painting of tableau of figures from early American society both standing and seated, with heavy red drapes and pastoral scene behind

No One Gave a Speech Like Patrick Henry

Drew Gilpin Faust

November 2025 Issue

illustration in style of oil painting of brown-haired colonial American man in red cloak on blue background

The Mind-Altering Effect of a Good Workout Routine

Arthur C. Brooks

October 2, 2025

An illustration of a man jogging on a treadmill with round, yellow, smiling faces tied to the soles of his shoes

The Secret of George Washington’s Revolutionary Success

August 3, 2025

An illustration of George Washington

Oklahoma Is Asking the Supreme Court to Ignore History

April 25, 2025

Collage with a photo of children in school and the architecture of a church

The Lesson Trump Is Learning the Hard Way

March 17, 2025

A boat travels down a thinning river superimposed on an old map

Trump’s Own Declaration of Independence

Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer

March 6, 2025

A lithograph print showing Independence Hall, Washington, and Jefferson

The Other Fear of the Founders

February 12, 2025

A minimalistic graphic illustration of a red mustache beneath a red broken monocle that reads "We" in a dark-blue script resembling that of the U.S. Constitution's Preamble.

The Lessons of 1800

November 5, 2024

An illustration showing Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr facing each other

The Founders’ Guide to Happiness

February 8, 2024

A collection of portraits of the Founders

Who Really Wrote ‘the Pursuit of Happiness’?

July 4, 2023

An illustration of an eye superimposed on an image of Thomas Jefferson, against a background of text from the Declaration of Independence.

Reading Thomas Jefferson’s Bible

November 2020 Issue

illustration with text of Jefferson Bible over an engraving of Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson’s Doomed Educational Experiment

Annette Gordon-Reed

December 2019 Issue

Subversive of What?

August 1948 Issue

A blue illustration of Thomas Jefferson with red tape over his mouth