The internet abounds with articles that cite Jefferson’s speech impediments of a partial stutter and a slight lisp, as well as his name on lists of famous people who stutter. In addition, he was known to have a high-pitched, weak voice. All of these factors created a lifelong aversion to public speaking. The third president of the United States, who served from 1801-1809, broke tradition by submitting his annual messages to Congress in writing rather than delivering them in person.
The 2010 biography Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn M. Brodie addressed Jefferson’s poor communication skills and how he stumbled over his words, “Jefferson himself was never eloquent in speechmaking, only in writing, in committees, and in quiet conversation. For some reason, perhaps having to do with a fear and tension that began in his childhood, when he began to speak in public his voice ‘sank into his throat’ and became ‘guttural and inarticulate’. Surprisingly, in view of his great popularity as president, he gave almost no public speeches, save for his inaugural addresses, which he read in a low mumble that the audience barely heard.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON 3RD
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 4, 1801 − MARCH 4, 1809
Thomas Jefferson: A Life by Thomas S. Randall, a 2014, further expounds on his speaking difficulties, “He loved conversation, but he couldn’t make a speech; mumbling, he became tongue-tied when he made extemporaneous remarks. Perhaps as one result, Jefferson lionized Indians, ‘a people with whom, in the early part of my life, I was very familiar,’ who naturally excelled at both conversation and public speaking. In Notes on the State of Virginia, he praised and quoted the rhetoric of Indians.’”
Thomas Jefferson’s stutter was apparently not severe and could not be documented considering the lack of media during the years of his presidency, but it was a factor in both his life and his presidency.
While to some degree the stuttering remains the only disability that is mocked and ridiculed, it is important that the public knows that there have been three presidents of the United States who have struggled with stuttering, especially as this fact can give inspiration to young people who are dealing with the trials and tribulations of stuttering on a daily basis.
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