Jefferson’s gravestone inscription listed three accomplishments:
“Here was buried Thomas Jefferson”
“Author of the Declaration of American Independence”
“of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom”
“Father of the University of Virginia”
Curious that nothing about being President or Governor of Virginia.
Americans were not politicized back then.
Authoring the Declaration, Founding a University, and Authoring that important statute are clearly more important than being a governor or being president.
Culture is downstream of politics.
Nowadays everybody is just politics politics politics, elections elections elections. When is the next election?
Back in those days, liberty and freedom were much more important than a few years of service in “small government.”