Notes on the State of Virginia (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Thomas Jefferson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1440099804 ISBN 13: 9781440099809

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2019

Synopsis

Excerpt from Notes on the State of Virginia

The following Notes were written in Virginia, in the year 1781, and somewhat corrected and enlarged in the winter of 1782, in answer to Queries proposed to the author, by a foreigner of distinction, then residing amongst us. The subjects are all treated imperfectly; some scarcely touched on. To apologise for this by developing the circumstances of the time and place of their composition, would be to open wounds which have already bled enough. To these circumstances some of their imperfections may with truth be ascribed; the great mass to the want of information and want of talents in the writer. He had a few copies printed, which he gave among his friends: and a translation of them has been lately published in France, but with such alterations as the laws of the press in that country rendered necessary. They are now offered to the public in their original form and language.

About the Publisher

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

About this title

Review

"This is a Bedford book that is long overdue, and David Waldstreicher is a superb choice as editor. This new edition of Notes on the State of Virginia is informed by the more recent scholarship on Jefferson, which the editor knows cold, and it will attract a substantial audience among college teachers, yours truly included."

From the Back Cover

A request in 1780 by the French legation to the United States to learn more about the newly formed thirteen states of America stimulated in Jefferson, as he later described it, a "mysterious obligation for making me much better acquainted with my own country than I ever was before". Written during his first term as governor of Virginia, Notes on the State of Virginia is at once a scientific discourse, an attempt to define America, and an examination of the idea of freedom. With the same genius and clear, flexible prose style that informs the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson chronicles Virginia's natural, social, and political history. In his introduction to this annotated edition, which discusses the work's origins and composition, Frank Shuffelton focuses particularly on Jefferson's response to contemporary scientific writings on "New World degeneracy", his differing treatment of blacks and Native Americans, and his influential role in creating a mythicized American self-image.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1440099804
• ISBN 13: 9781440099809
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 538