Notes on the State of Virginia
Encyclopedia
Notes on the State of Virginia was a book
written by Thomas Jefferson
. He completed the first edition in 1781, and updated and enlarged the book in 1782 and 1783. Notes on the State of Virginia collects the answers which Jefferson prepared for questions posed to him about Virginia
by François Barbé-Marbois
, then Secretary of the French delegation in Philadelphia, the temporary capital. Often dubbed the most important American book published before 1800, Notes on the State of Virginia is both a compilation of data and a vigorous and often eloquent argument about the nature of the good society, which Jefferson saw incarnated by Virginia.
in a limited, private edition of a few hundred copies in 1784. Its first public English-language edition, issued by John Stockdale in London, appeared in 1787. It was the only full-length book by Jefferson published during his lifetime, though he did issue a Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States, generally known as Jefferson's Manual
, in 1801.
Notes includes some of Jefferson's most memorable statements of belief in such political, legal, and constitutional principles as the separation of church and state, constitutional government, checks and balances, and individual liberty. Jefferson refutes the argument that nature, plant life, animal life, and human life all degenerate in the New World by contrast with their state in the Old World. He countered the propositions of the French naturalist
Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his authoritative Histoire Naturelle.
In two chapters, called "Queries," Jefferson expressed his hostility to slavery (Query XVIII, "Manners") and his attempt to explain and justify it, by reference to what he called "the real distinctions which nature has made" between people of European descent and people of African descent (Query XIV, "Laws"). According to Laws, Jefferson held contemporary beliefs that Blacks were inferior to Whites in terms of potential citizenship, and he wanted them deported. Jefferson's solution to racial issues entailed gauging what he perceived to be the common good for both Whites and Blacks. He proposed a three-fold process of education, emancipation, and colonization of free blacks to locations in Africa.
Some slave-owners feared race wars could ensue upon emancipation, due not least to natural retaliation for the injustices of prolonged oppression. Jefferson may have thought his fears justified in the wake of revolution in Haiti
, marked by widespread violence in the mass uprising of slaves against white colonists and free people of color
in their fight for independence. Thousands of refugees came to the United States. In addition, uprisings such as that of Gabriel
in Richmond, VA, occurred, were often led by literate blacks. Some slaveholders embraced the idea of "colonization": arranging for transportation of free blacks to Africa, regardless of where they were born.
In 1816 the American Colonization Society
was founded in a collaboration by abolitionists and slaveholders. David Walker
makes clear in Article IV of his Appeal (1830), however, that from the point of view of free blacks, the colonization movement was motivated by a desire to remove free blacks
Jefferson's passages about slavery and the black race in Notes are referenced and disputed by Walker in the Appeal. He considered Jefferson, "one of as great characters as ever lived among the whites," which increased his vehemence in rebutting them: "Do you believe that the assertions of such a man, will pass away into oblivion unobserved by this people and the world?...I say, that unless we try to refute Mr. Jefferson's arguments respecting us, we will only establish them." Walker writes further:
Jefferson said he thought Blacks were inferior to Whites in terms of beauty
and reasoning intelligence
. According to Manners, Jefferson's beliefs include the ideas that slavery is demoralizing to both White and Black society and that man is an "imitative animal."
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
written by Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. He completed the first edition in 1781, and updated and enlarged the book in 1782 and 1783. Notes on the State of Virginia collects the answers which Jefferson prepared for questions posed to him about Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
by François Barbé-Marbois
François Barbé-Marbois
François Barbé-Marbois, marquis de Barbé-Marbois was a French politician.-Early career:Born in Metz, where his father was director of the local mint, Barbé-Marbois tutored the children of the Marquis de Castries. In 1779 he was made secretary of the French legation to the United States...
, then Secretary of the French delegation in Philadelphia, the temporary capital. Often dubbed the most important American book published before 1800, Notes on the State of Virginia is both a compilation of data and a vigorous and often eloquent argument about the nature of the good society, which Jefferson saw incarnated by Virginia.
Publication and contents
Notes was anonymously published in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in a limited, private edition of a few hundred copies in 1784. Its first public English-language edition, issued by John Stockdale in London, appeared in 1787. It was the only full-length book by Jefferson published during his lifetime, though he did issue a Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States, generally known as Jefferson's Manual
Jefferson's Manual
Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1801, is the first American book on parliamentary procedure. As vice-president of the United States, Jefferson served as the Senate's presiding officer from 1797 to 1801...
, in 1801.
Notes includes some of Jefferson's most memorable statements of belief in such political, legal, and constitutional principles as the separation of church and state, constitutional government, checks and balances, and individual liberty. Jefferson refutes the argument that nature, plant life, animal life, and human life all degenerate in the New World by contrast with their state in the Old World. He countered the propositions of the French naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his authoritative Histoire Naturelle.
In two chapters, called "Queries," Jefferson expressed his hostility to slavery (Query XVIII, "Manners") and his attempt to explain and justify it, by reference to what he called "the real distinctions which nature has made" between people of European descent and people of African descent (Query XIV, "Laws"). According to Laws, Jefferson held contemporary beliefs that Blacks were inferior to Whites in terms of potential citizenship, and he wanted them deported. Jefferson's solution to racial issues entailed gauging what he perceived to be the common good for both Whites and Blacks. He proposed a three-fold process of education, emancipation, and colonization of free blacks to locations in Africa.
Jefferson and slavery
Jefferson's notes on resettling freed blacks elsewhere provide a glimpse into the mentality and anxieties of some American slave-owners after the Revolution. He reasons:"It will probably be asked, Why not retain and incorporate the blacks into the state, and thus save the expense of supplying, by importation of white settlers, the vacancies they will leave? Deep rooted prejudices entertained by the whites; ten thousand recollections, by the blacks, of the injuries they have sustained; new provocations; the real distinctions which nature has made; and many other circumstances, will divide us into parties, and produce convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of the one or the other race."
Some slave-owners feared race wars could ensue upon emancipation, due not least to natural retaliation for the injustices of prolonged oppression. Jefferson may have thought his fears justified in the wake of revolution in Haiti
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
, marked by widespread violence in the mass uprising of slaves against white colonists and free people of color
Free people of color
A free person of color in the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, is a person of full or partial African descent who was not enslaved...
in their fight for independence. Thousands of refugees came to the United States. In addition, uprisings such as that of Gabriel
Gabriel Prosser
Gabriel , today commonly – if incorrectly – known as Gabriel Prosser, was a literate enslaved blacksmith who planned to lead a large slave rebellion in the Richmond area in the summer of 1800. However, information regarding the revolt was leaked prior to its execution, thus Gabriel's plans were...
in Richmond, VA, occurred, were often led by literate blacks. Some slaveholders embraced the idea of "colonization": arranging for transportation of free blacks to Africa, regardless of where they were born.
In 1816 the American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
was founded in a collaboration by abolitionists and slaveholders. David Walker
David Walker (abolitionist)
David Walker was an outspoken African American activist who demanded the immediate end of slavery in the new nation...
makes clear in Article IV of his Appeal (1830), however, that from the point of view of free blacks, the colonization movement was motivated by a desire to remove free blacks
"from among those of our brethren whom they unjustly hold in bondage, so that they may be enabled to keep them the more secure in ignorance and wretchedness, to support them and their children, and consequently they would have the more obedient slave. For if the free are allowed to stay among the slave, they will have intercourse together, and, of course, the free will learn the slaves bad habits, by teaching them that they are MEN, as well as other people, and certainly ought and must be FREE."
Jefferson's passages about slavery and the black race in Notes are referenced and disputed by Walker in the Appeal. He considered Jefferson, "one of as great characters as ever lived among the whites," which increased his vehemence in rebutting them: "Do you believe that the assertions of such a man, will pass away into oblivion unobserved by this people and the world?...I say, that unless we try to refute Mr. Jefferson's arguments respecting us, we will only establish them." Walker writes further:
"Mr. Jefferson's very severe remarks on us have been so extensively argued upon by men whose attainments in literature, I shall never be able to reach, that I would not have meddled with it, were it not to solicit each of my brethren, who has the spirit of a man, to buy a copy of Mr. Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia," and put it in the hand of his son. For let no one of us suppose that the refutations which have been written by our white friends are enough—they are whites—we are blacks. We, and the world wish to see the charges of Mr. Jefferson refuted by the blacks themselves, according to their chance; for we must remember that what the whites have written respecting this subject, is other men's labours, and did not emanate from the blacks."
Jefferson said he thought Blacks were inferior to Whites in terms of beauty
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
and reasoning intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
. According to Manners, Jefferson's beliefs include the ideas that slavery is demoralizing to both White and Black society and that man is an "imitative animal."
Outline
The text is divided into 23 chapters, known as "Queries," each describing a different aspect of the state of Virginia.- Boundaries of Virginia
- Rivers
- Sea Ports
- Mountains
- Cascades
- Productions mineral, vegetable and animal
- Climate
- Population
- Military force
- Marine force
- Aborigines
- Counties and towns
- Constitution
- Laws
- Colleges, buildings, and roads
- Proceedings as to Tories
- Religion
- Manners
- Manufactures
- Subjects of commerce
- Weights, Measures and Money
- Public revenue and expenses
- Histories, memorials, and state-papers
External links
- Notes on the State of Virginia Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.
- PDF version at The Online Library of Liberty.
- Notes on the State of Virginia Digital facsimile of the manuscript copy Jefferson loaned to the printer of the 1785 edition; manuscript owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society.