Keith,
I happen to be reading "Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Archenemy Betrayed the American Revolution—and What It Means for America Today," by the libertarian Thomas J. DiLorenzo. In this connection, this is worth reading. It presents an e-mail that argues that John Adams was more liberty-minded than Jefferson.
While watching the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game last night (I fell asleep in inning 14), a scenario occurred to me that would make a good premise for a story: If Thomas Jefferson were transported to our era, how would you explain today's world to him? Most sports, including baseball, were not yet invented in 1809 (the only exception that comes to mind is horse racing). He would know about Boston and New York, but the rules of the game would need to be explained to him, and he might wonder how it came about that a pitcher named Tazawa was pitching to a batter named Matsui (where did those people come from?). Possibly the biggest transformation of daily life from Jefferson's era would be the consequences of electricity and electronics (electric lighting, telephone, radio, TV, internet). Jefferson would be spending a lot of time browsing through my "McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology."
Maybe somebody has already written a story or two based on such a premise.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY)
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 