Thomas Jefferson as Philosopher of Revolution

How did Jefferson perceive himself? This question has a foot in the subject of historical method as well as philosophic orientation. On his headstone at Monticello, Jefferson set out the three things for which he hoped he would be most remembered:
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.
Each of these accomplishments encompassed a grand philosophic principle aimed at the freedom of the person in both rights and thought. For an older historiography going back to the 1950s and 60s, this was consonant with the view of Jefferson as the philosopher of the American Revolution. Much has happened since those days to divert attention from that way of interpreting Jefferson’s legacy, but this paper will make the argument that it remains the correct reading both in terms of how Jefferson understood himself and in terms of how historical context is best interpreted.