LITR 4326 Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Melissa Holesovsky

5 April 2016

Jefferson’s Notes: A Legacy

          In my initial research post, I examined aspects of the life of Thomas Jefferson outside of his presidency, specifically his archaeological contributions and his attention to records. It was in this research that I first learned of Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, the only book published by our third president. Building on this first post, I wanted to use my second post to examine the legacy of Jefferson’s scientific studies seen today, and all attempts kept leading me back to Jefferson’s Notes. It was at this point that I realized much of Jefferson’s legacy is inside his Notes on the State of Virginia, so with new interest, my focus shifted there.

          Robert Bidinotto writing for The Atlas Society notes that Thomas Jefferson was a man who had many talents and accomplished much in his lifetime, but devoted much of his time to science. What Bidinotto calls Jefferson’s “omnivorous appetite for the facts of nature” was typical of Enlightenment thinkers and led to Jefferson’s very practical quest to understand his environment. Jefferson’s Monticello estate was full of mechanical inventions and the grounds were populated with large varieties of plant species. It is this devotion to science that allowed for Jefferson’s great success with his Notes on the State of Virginia when the time and the need came. Because he was a person already so interested in the natural world, his recordings in the Notes were written in a way no one else could duplicate.

          EncyclopediaVirginia.org’s section on the Notes on the State of Virginia is a very thorough source explaining Jefferson’s book from inception to editing and publication. The page’s contributor, Robert Forbes, divides the page into digestible sections: Composition of Notes, Revision and Expansion, Printing History, Structure and Content, Slavery, Reception and Significance, Time Line, and Further Reading. There is a wealth of interesting information in each section, but my focus stayed on Jefferson’s drive to create such a book. As the governor of Virginia, Jefferson had been given a query to answer in October 1780. In response to this query, Forbes says, “Jefferson returned to his study of Virginia” and sent off his response once he felt the query answered. Though over time revisions were made, comments were added, and the volume was published, Jefferson’s notes submitted in response to the initial query were well received and admired for their detailed observations and explanations.

          Andrea Wulf’s article in The Atlantic, a source from Dr. White, provided additional insight into Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia and his passion for America’s natural resources. Having been angered by a Frenchman’s allegation that plants and animals in the New World were a degenerative form of those in the Old, he set out, armed with his diligent work in his Notes, to not only prove this statement false, but prove it was the opposite that was true. Travelling to France, Jefferson ordered specimens of his choosing, such as a moose, be sent over as proof of “America’s Natural Superiority” (Wulf). Though the Frenchman who offended Jefferson so greatly agreed to retract his statement, it never happened, as the man died before he could (or would) do so. In reading Wulf’s article, it was clear that Jefferson was so passionate about the flora and fauna of America that he was willing to dispute the words of those an ocean away with physical proof.

          Very interesting information about the reception of Jefferson’s Notes was found at Monticello.org. Here, again, I found a source full of information about the Notes, but most valuable was the information about the reception of the work once published. While most saw Jefferson’s work as a wonderful compilation of measurements and observations of Virginia’s natural environment, some topics produced negative feedback. Jefferson was criticized for his views on slavery, government, and even class structure; all things that were common in the time if the writing. Though not all were pleased with Jefferson’s Notes, James Madison’s comment about the publication seemed to describe how most people felt about the work: “opinions will displease their respective abettors,” but on the whole the work was “too valuable not to be made known” (Zechmeister, quoting Madison). Given that Notes on the State of Virginia was written in response to queries about the area, Jefferson worked to give accurate information and left nothing out, good or bad, a sentiment summed up by Madison’s defense of the work.

          Though my first research post only briefly mentioned Jefferson’s Notes, they kept creeping back into my research. Allowing for this shift, I began to see that this was a work too important to be ignored. Because my initial interest was in Jefferson’s contributions to science, inclusion of his Notes to my research proved critical. This is the one work where all of Jefferson’s work and interest can be found with greatly accuracy as they were all written by the man himself. Though this may not be a work that pleased everyone at the time, the Notes had a level of importance that couldn’t be denied at the time and still make such an impact. For this reason, I believe Thomas Jefferson’s legacy is strongly tied to his Notes on the State of Virginia.

Works Cited

Bidinotto, Robert James. "The Life-Centered Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson ." 1 April 2003. The Atlas Society. 5 April 2016.

         Forbes, Robert P. "Notes on the State of Virginia (1785)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

         Wulf, Andrea. Thomas Jefferson's Quest to Prove America's Natural Superiority. Washington, D.C., 7 March 2016.

         Zechmeister, Gene. "Notes on the State of Virginia." 20 December 2013. Monticello.org. 5 April 2016.