, June 30 -- As the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, the legacy of Thomas Jefferson continues to spark debate, with historians saying no other American founder reflects the country's ideals and contradictions more than the author of the Declaration of Independence.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham says defining what it means to be "Jeffersonian" is far from simple because Jefferson's ideas have been interpreted differently across generations.

Meacham notes that before the civil rights movement, Jefferson was often associated with states' rights and limited government. He also points out that President Franklin D. Roosevelt once described Jefferson as an "apostle of liberty" whose principles supported Ame...