Abstract
Robert Bolling was an acquaintance of Thomas Jefferson and a fellow agitator for revolution against Britain. In his ceaseless ambition and violent hatred of the British and of the ruling clique in Virginia, Bolling seems to resemble the ferocious young revolutionaries of Robespierre's France. Like them, he seemed determined to create a new world in which he could succeed, and like them he died in the effort. A mutual friend said to Jefferson on hearing of Bolling's death in 1775, “Poor Bolling,” as if Robert Bolling were worthy of pity. But what is extraordinary is that in his ambitions and desires, he resembled his friend Jefferson so profoundly. In the 1760s and 1770s, both men danced the dance of ambition that young southern gentleman with insufficient resources had to perform, and each felt and expressed its frustrations. Both focused their anger on the young women with wealth whose hands they must win, in a fierce competition with other suitors, if they were to advance themselves. These women were more resented than the British rulers. Jefferson's unique skill was in dissembling his fury in courtship and in politics and in leading equivocal allies into a revolutionary world where his leadership would redefine both masculinity and success. Both men are obvious kin to the young Virginians who, a generation later, would seize success on the lands of the new cotton South.
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