publius-esquire:

whatagrump:

So Thomas Jefferson really liked Giuseppe Ceracchi’s (life-sized) sculpture of Hamilton, and got a copy of it for his entrance hall at Monticello. Then he set up a bust of himself across from it, so that anyone walking through the main entrance had to walk between the two. Which, you know, is petty and weird enough as it is. But apparently Jefferson’s bust was “colossal” and set up on this super ornate green marble pedestal so that it was waaaay bigger and more impressive than Hamilton’s. Literal children.

(source)

Way more childish than you even imagine:

“Jefferson went to his grave struggling to cast his relationship with
Hamilton in the right light, trying to depict himself as a liberal,
right-minded leader rather than the petty and vindictive politician he
often appeared to be. It was concern for his reputation that inspired
him to put Hamilton’s bust in the main entrance way to Monticello; there
could be no nobler act than to acknowledge the greatness of one’s
enemies – and only the greatest of men could defeat such a foe.
Positioned in Jefferson’s American museum alongside Indian artifacts and
moose antlers, Hamilton’s bust is a political hunting trophy, evidence
of the path not taken and the superiority of those who chose the right
course.”

– Joanne Freeman, Affairs of Honor