The Essential Jefferson

by Yarbrough, Jean M.; Jefferson, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780872207479
• ISBN10: 0872207471
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-30
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Inc

Summary

In substantial selections from his earliest writings, the Notes on Virginia, his public papers, and his personal correspondence, this volume traces the development of Jefferson's thinking on such fundamental issues as republicanism, constitutionalism, political parties, and the separation of religion from politics. His proposals for the education of women, the emancipation of slaves, and the expatriation of Native Americans are included, along with a number of intimate letters illustrating the range of Jefferson's interests and offering a peek into his private life. Drawing on the best Jeffersonian scholarship of the last thirty years, Yarbrough's Introduction sets Jefferson's life and writing in context and illuminates the ways in which his understanding of human nature influenced his political views. A brief headnote introduces each selection and provides crucial background information; footnotes offer concise biographies of Jefferson's correspondents and identify other important figures and events. An index and select bibliography are also included.

Author Biography

Jean M. Yarbrough is Gary M. Pendy, Sr. Professor of Social Sciences and Professor of Government, Bowdoin College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Time Line of the Life of Thomas Jefferson	xi
Introduction	xiii
Select Bibliography	xxxvi
PUBLIC PAPERS AND ADDRESSES
1. A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)	3	(15)
2. A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled (with Jefferson's original draft and congressional amendments) (1776)	18	(5)
3. The Declaration of Independence (as adopted by Congress) (1776)	23	(4)
4. A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom (1777)	27	(2)
5. Report on Government for Western Territory (1784)	29	(3)
6. Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank (1791)	32	(5)
7. Opinion on the French Treaties (1793)	37	(11)
8. Draft of the Kentucky Resolutions (1798)	48	(7)
9. First Inaugural Address (1801)	55	(4)
10. To Messrs. Nehemiah Dodge and Others, a Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association, in the State of Connecticut (1802)	59	(1)
11. Second Inaugural Address (1805)	60	(5)
12. Report of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia (1818)	65	(14)
EXCERPTS FROM NOTES ON VIRGINIA (1782)
1. Query VI
A quarrel with Buffon: the New World is not inferior	79	(10)
2. Query VIII
Should America encourage immigration?	89	(5)
3. Query XI
A description of the Indians	94	(4)
4. Query XIII
The Virginian constitution	98	(11)
5. Query XIV
The laws of Virginia: slavery, the natural endowments of the black race, education	109	(16)
6. Query XVII
Religious freedom	125	(5)
7. Query XVIII
The effect of slavery on manners	130	(2)
8. Query XIX
Agrarian virtue	132	(2)
9. Query XXII
Commerce, shipping, and self-defense	134	(7)
CORRESPONDENCE
1. To Edmund Pendleton, Aug. 26, 1776
Early views on constitutionalism	141	(2)
2. To David Rittenhouse, July 19, 1778
An obligation higher than politics	143	(3)
3. To John Jay, Aug. 23, 1785
A preference for sailors over manufacturers	146	(2)
4. To Charles Bellini, Sept. 30, 1785
French and American morals	148	(2)
5. To John Banister, Jr., Oct. 15, 1785
The disadvantage of study abroad	150	(3)
6. To James Madison, Oct. 28, 1785
A "fundamental right to labor"	153	(2)
7. To James Madison, Jan. 30, 1787
Shays's Rebellion and western secession	155	(4)
8. To Anne Willing Bingham, Feb. 7, 1787
"The tranquil pleasures" ofAmerican society	159	(2)
9. To Peter Carr, Aug. 10, 1787
The moral sense	161	(5)
10. To William S. Smith, Nov. 13, 1787
"The tree of liberty"	166	(2)
11. To James Madison, Dec. 20, 1787
Objections to the Constitution	168	(4)
12. To Francis Hopkinson, Mar. 13, 1789
Party: "The last degradation of a free and moral agent"	172	(2)
13. To James Madison, Mar. 15, 1789
A bill of rights	174	(2)
14. To James Madison, Sept. 6, 1789
"The earth belongs to the living"	176	(5)
15. To Benjamin Banneker, Aug. 30, 1791
Equality and "our black brethren"	181	(1)
16. To the President of the United States George Washington, Sept. 9, 1792
The conflict with Alexander Hamilton	182	(8)
17. To Elbridge Gerry, Jan. 26, 1799
"A profession of my political faith"	190	(3)
18. To William Green Munford, June 18, 1799
Progress and perfectibility	193	(3)
19. To Dr. Joseph Priestley, Mar. 21, 1801
Something new under the sun	196	(2)
20. To the U.S. Minister to France Robert Livingston, Apr. 18, 1802
The strategic importance of New Orleans	198	(3)
21. To Benjamin Hawkins, Feb. 18, 1803
A plan for civilizing Indians	201	(2)
22. To Wilson Cary Nicholas, Sept. 7, 1803
The Louisiana Purchase and constitutional amendments	203	(2)
23. To Henri Gregoire, Feb. 25, 1809
Negro equality and rights	205	(1)
24. To John Tyler, May 26, 1810
Education and the wards	206	(2)
25. To John B. Colvin, Sept. 20, 1810
The "law of necessity and self-preservation"	208	(3)
26. To John Adams, June 15, 1813
An airing of our political differences	211	(3)
27. To John Adams, Oct. 28k, 1813
The natural aristocracy	214	(6)
28. To J. Correa de Serra, Apr. 19, 1814
Happiness and virtue	220	(2)
29. To Thomas Law, June 13, 1814
The moral sense	222	(4)
30. To Joseph C. Cabell, Feb. 2, 1816
"Divide the counties into wards"	226	(3)
31. To P. S. Dupont de Nemours, Apr. 24, 1816
The moral principles on which government is founded	229	(4)
32. To John Taylor, May 28, 1816
What is a republic?	233	(4)
33. To Francis W. Gilmer, June 7, 1816
The sense of justice is natural to man	237	(2)
34. To Samuel Kercheval, July 12, 1816
How to reform the Virginian constitution	239	(7)
35. To Isaac H. Tiffany, Aug. 26, 1816
"This new principle of representative democracy"	246	(1)
36. To Nathaniel Burwell, Mar. 14, 1818
Ideas on female education	247	(3)
37. To Judge Spencer Roane, Sept. 6, 1819
Constitutional construction	250	(4)
38. To John Holmes, April 22, 1820
"A fire bell in the night"	254	(2)
39. To Jared Sparks, Feb. 4, 1824
A plan for emancipation	256	(4)
40. To Major John Cartwright, June 5, 1824
The lessons of experience; Christianity and the common law	260	(7)
41. To Henry Lee, May 8, 1825
"The object of the Declaration of Independence"	267	(2)
42. To William Branch Giles, Dec. 26, 1825
Resistance to consolidation	269	(4)
43. To James Madison, Feb. 17, 1826
"Take care of me when dead"	273	(4)
44. To Roger C. Weightman, June 24, 1826
Last thoughts on the Declaration of Independence	277	(2)
Index	279