Notes on the State of Virginia

A detailed Summary of Notes on the State of Virginia

Any study of the United States should include Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia. Not only does he meticulously gather information, categorize and document the natural resources, but also discusses Virginia's constitution and laws, which he uses as a microcosm for the United States' government. Jefferson's celebration of the national bureaucracy is not without the various problems that existed in the United States during his lifetime. The most problematic issues were the institution of slavery and the extermination of America's indigenous people. Jefferson attempts to come to terms with both issues, but ultimately is unsure how to handle them. He is arguably one of the most important men in American history, and to appreciate Thomas Jefferson, the man, one must understand the fruits of his labor: The United States of America. In short, it is impossible to completely comprehend the atmosphere of the colonial era without touching upon the words and wisdom of Thomas Jefferson.

In his contemplation of what the United States truly represents, Jefferson takes time to validate America's break from England. He is writing to a European audience and, being the statesman and politi

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 distinction 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. (138)

Any offense against these is punished by contempt, by exclusion from society, or, where the case is serious, as that of murder, by the individuals whom it concerns. Imperfect as this species of coercion may seem, crimes are very rare among them: insomuch that were it made a question, whether no law, as among the savage Americans, or too much law, as among the civilized Europeans, submits man to the greatest evil, one who has seen both conditions of existence would pronounce it to be the last: and that the sheep are happier of themselves, than under care of the wolves. (93)

He recognized in order for every American to be free of this racial burden attitudes and perceptions had to be undone and relearned.

Jefferson is not only impressed with American Indian culture, government and law, but the eloquence of its leaders. He attempted to debunk the stereotype of the "mindless savage" by acknowledging Native American intellect and emotion. He was quite moved by a malicious chain of events that destroyed an American Indian chief's family. Jefferson did the utmost research in order to validate the events and the speech. Once he confirmed both, he confidently stated that "the speech of Logan, an Indian chief, delivered to lord Dunmore in 1774, was produced, as a specimen of the talents of the aboriginal of this country, and particularly of their eloquence; and it was believed that Europe had never produced any thing superior to this morsel of eloquence"(230). Jefferson may have not intentionally helped to perpetuate the myth of the noble savage, but it seems more likely he attempted to raise the level of Native Americans from mindless wilderness savages to men. Who one day he hoped would prove productive to American society.

Jefferson displays some cultural se

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Approximate Word count = 1553
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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