It is virtually impossible to find a U.S. civics or government textbook that does not cite Thomas Jefferson's faith in a well-educated citizenry as the great defense against tyranny. It is also common to open a U.S. history textbook for middle or high school students and find a reference to Jefferson and the value he put on education. Because the social studies as a curricular area is a recent development not formally organized until the twentieth century, Jefferson himself did not make a direct connection between his views on education and what is today known as social studies education. Yet, there is a natural tendency to include him in social studies conversations, more so than any other of the founding generation, even those who were also concerned with education in the new republic. In this article, the author presents documented evidence about Jefferson's views on citizenship education and answer the question about how Jefferson's ideas regarding proper schooling serve as a foundation for the subject matter that is now called the social studies.