Notes on the State of Virginia: An Annotated Edition

by Thomas Jefferson, Robert Pierce Forbes (Editor)

Overview

The first edition of Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia to be based on both the 1785 first edition and the original manuscript
 
“Forbes provides excellent context for Jefferson’s writing of the Notes, exploring in depth the most controversial passages concerning race and slavery. This, along with careful editing of the text, allows scholars to appreciate and engage with the Notes in new ways.”—Frank Cogliano, University of Edinburgh
 
Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia has been called the most important book written in America before 1800. In the first edition to be based on both the 1785 first edition and the original manuscript, Robert Pierce Forbes uncovers Jefferson’s extensive revisions, situating the work in the context of transatlantic debates over slavery and shedding new light on Jefferson’s shocking disparagement of African Americans. This comprehensive annotated edition is a rich and valuable study of the work that catapulted the once little-known former governor and diplomat to international fame.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300226874
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Edition description:	Annotated Edition
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Robert Pierce Forbes taught U.S. history at the University of Connecticut and was the founding associate director of Yale’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition. He is the author of The Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath: Slavery and the Meaning of America. He lives in New Haven, CT.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations xi

Editorial Note xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xix

Notes on the State of Virginia

A Transcription of the 1785 Edition

Query I Its Boundaries

An exact description of the limits and boundaries of the state of Virginia 5

Query II Rivers

A notice of its rivers, rivulets, and how far they are navigable 10

Query III Sea Ports

A notice of the best sea-ports of the state, and how big are the vessels they can receive 33

Query IV Mountains

A notice of its mountains 35

Query V Cascades and Caverns

Its cascades and caverns 40

Query VI Productions Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal

A notice of the mines and other subterraneous riches; its trees, plants, fruits, &c. 49

Query VII Climate

A notice of all what can increase the progress of human knowledge 123

Query VIII Population

The number of its inhabitants 136

Query IX Military Force

The number and condition of the militia and regular troops, and their pay 146

Query X Marine Force

The Marine 149

Query XI Aborigines

A description of the Indians established in that state 151

Query XII Counties and Towns

A notice of the counties, cities, townships, and villages 172

Query XIII Constitution

The constitution of the state, and its several charters 175

Query XIV Laws

The administration of justice and description of the laws 200

Query XV Colleges, Buildings, and Roads

The colleges and public establishments, the roads, buildings, &c. 231

Query XVI Proceedings as to Tories

The measures taken with regard of the estates and possessions of the rebels commonly called Tories 238

Query XVII Religion

The different religions received into that state 240

Query XVIII Manners

The particular customs and manners that may happen to be received in that state 248

Query XIX Manufactures

The present state of manufactures, commerce, interior and exterior trade 251

Query XX Subjects of Commerce

A notice of the commercial productions particular to the state, and of those objects which the inhabitants are obliged to get from Europe and from other parts of the world 254

Query XXI Weights, Measures, and Money

The weights, measures, and the currency of the hard money. Some details relating to the exchange with Europe 260

Query XXII Public Revenue and Expences

The public income and expences 264

Query XXIII Histories, Memorials, and State-Papers

The histories of the state, the memorials published in its name in the time of its being a colony, and the pamphlets relating to its interior or exterior affairs present or antient 270

Jefferson's Appendix: Charles Thomson's Observations 298

Appendix A "Advertisement" to the 1787 Edition 311

Appendix B Comparison of Marbois's and Jefferson's Queries 312

Bibliography 315

Index 331

Editorial Reviews

The new standard edition of Jefferson’s Notes. Forbes’s careful reproduction of textual alterations provides a unique window into the meticulous composition of Notes and thereby into the mind of its author.”—Philipp Ziesche, Papers of Benjamin Franklin at Yale University

“Forbes provides excellent context for Jefferson’s writing of the Notes, exploring in depth the most controversial passages concerning race and slavery. This, along with careful editing of the text, allows scholars to appreciate and engage with the Notes in new ways.”—Frank Cogliano, University of Edinburgh

“A tour de force. To paraphrase Chief Justice John Marshall’s description of the Constitution in McCulloch v. Maryland, ‘This [book is]. . . intended to endure for ages to come.’”—Paul Finkelman, Gratz College

“Comprehensive, exhaustive, astounding in its depth and understanding of the man and his times, this annotated edition is essential reading for anyone interested in Jefferson and his Notes.”—Lucian K. Truscott IV, journalist and Jefferson descendant

From the Publisher