Notes on the State of Virginia : With Related Documents

by Jefferson, Thomas; Waldstreicher, David

• ISBN13: 9780312257132
• ISBN10: 0312257139
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-04-30
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Thomas Jefferson published one book,Notes on the State of Virginia;and ever since, it has been the touchstone for understanding Jefferson's ideas about Republican government, the environment, education, race and slavery, and Native-white relations. The author's unique analysis of Jefferson's thoughts on these crucial issues and their impact on the formation of the United States make this edition of the Notes the first to present these issues as fundamentally inseparable. A collection of lively letters and other documents related to the Notes accompanies them, and charts the evolution of the book in the revolutionary crucible and during the heady early days of the new nation. An introduction by David Waldstreicher places the work in the contexts of the Revolution and the social and cultural history of Jefferson's Virginia, with particular attention to developing ideas about race and nature. A chronology of the life and career of Thomas Jefferson and selected bibliography also add to the pedagogical benefits of this volume.

Author Biography

David Waldstreicher has taught at Bennington College and Yale University and is now associate professor at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of In the Midst of Perpetual Fetes: The Making of American Nationalism, 1776–1820 (1997), which won the Jamestown Prize of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, and most recently has published The Struggle Against Slavery, 1619-–1863: A History in Documents (2001). A fellow at the New York Public Library's Center for Scholars and Writers in 2001–2002, he is writing Runaway America: Benjamin Franklin, Slavery, and the American Revolution.

Table of Contents

Foreword	iii
Preface	iv
PART ONE Introduction: Nature, Race, and Revolution in Jefferson's America	1	(40)
Thomas Jefferson's Virginia	3	(3)
Virginia's Jefferson	6	(4)
Virginia's Revolution	10	(4)
Law and War	14	(3)
The French Alternative	17	(1)
Notes on the State of Virginia	18	(16)
The Strange History of a Book	34	(2)
Hemingses, Jeffersons, and History	36	(3)
A Note about the Texts	39	(2)
PART TWO The Documents	41	(179)
Resolutions of the Freeholders of Albemarle County, July 26, 1774	43	(2)
Thomas Jefferson
Proclamation of Freedom to Slaves and Servants, November 1775	45	(2)
Lord Dunmore
The Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson's Draft with Congress's Changes, July 4, 1776	47	(6)
Queries Concerning Virginia, November 1780	53	(2)
Francois Marbois
Letter to Jean Baptiste DuCoigne, Kaskaskia Chief, June 1781	55	(4)
Thomas Jefferson
Letter to James Monroe, May 20, 1782	59	(4)
Thomas Jefferson
An Anonymous Letter for the European Newspapers, November 1784	63	(4)
Thomas Jefferson
Letter to the Marquis de Chastellux, June 7, 1785	67	(3)
Thomas Jefferson
Letter to Richard Price, August 7, 1785	70	(2)
Thomas Jefferson
Letter to the Marquis de Chastellux, September 2, 1785	72	(3)
Thomas Jefferson
Letter to Archibald Stuart, January 25, 1786	75	(4)
Thomas Jefferson
Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781--1787	79	(129)
Thomas Jefferson
Boundaries of Virginia	80	(1)
Rivers	81	(11)
Sea Ports	92	(1)
Mountains	92	(2)
Cascades	94	(3)
Productions Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal	97	(32)
Climate	129	(7)
Population	136	(5)
Military Force	141	(1)
Marine Force	142	(1)
Aborigines	142	(10)
Counties and Towns	152	(1)
Constitution	153	(15)
Laws	168	(17)
Colleges, Buildings, and Roads	185	(4)
Proceedings as to Tories	189	(1)
Religion	190	(5)
Manners	195	(1)
Manufactures	196	(1)
Subjects of Commerce	197	(4)
Weights, Measures, and Money	201	(1)
Public Revenue and Expenses	202	(4)
Histories, Memorials, and State-papers	206	(2)
Letters, August 19, 1791, and August 30, 1791	208	(12)
Benjamin Banneker
Thomas Jefferson
APPENDIXES
A Thomas Jefferson Chronology (1743--1826)	214	(3)
Questions for Consideration	217	(1)
Selected Bibliography	218	(2)
Index	220