Frank Cogliano is Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh. This interview is based on his new book, A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic (Harvard University Press, 2024).
JF: What led you to write A Revolutionary Friendship?
FC: A student question. One of my honors students at the University of Edinburgh asked me about the Washington-Jefferson relationship and I gave them the textbook answer (they didn’t like each other very much and disagreed over politics). I then wondered whether that was actually true. I did a literature review and was surprised that there was no book-length study of their relationship (there are a couple of chapters and essays on it), so I set out to write one.
JF: In 2 sentences, what is the argument of A Revolutionary Friendship?
FC: Washington and Jefferson had a productive relationship that blossomed into a genuine friendship for almost three decades. Because they became estranged at the end of Washington’s life we’ve misunderstood this key relationship, and thus misunderstood the high politics of the revolutionary era.
JF: Why do we need to read A Revolutionary Friendship?
FC: Seeing Washington and Jefferson in relationship to each other sheds new light on both men and the American Revolution. The story of their estrangement has resonances for our own moment of political polarisation.
JF: Why and when did you become an Am​erican historian?
FC: I’ve been fascinated with the American Revolution since I was a child in Massachusetts during the Bicentennial. I hope the upcoming Semiquincentennial will inspire a new generation of historians.
JF: What is your next project?
FC: I’m working on a short book with Peter Onuf called, The Earth Belongs to the Living: Why Jefferson Matters. It’s my first co-authored book and I’m really enjoying working on it with Peter. We hope to complete the manuscript in the next few months.
JF: Thanks, Frank!