The beliefs and values embraced by Thomas Jefferson in his Letter to James Madison can be seen by some as archaic and insensible to a growing society. Although America’s values on the basis of economy and society have shifted somewhat, a few of his ideas can still be interwoven into how America regards itself. Another writing of Jefferson’s will be referenced in the course of this essay, since it has a clearer sense of why Jefferson felt the way he did about agrarian societies. This writing is Query XIX from his Notes on the State of Virginia, the final edition published in 1785. The points maintained in this writing support those contained within his Letter to James Madison, even if he is speaking specifically of the state of Virginia instead of the country as a whole. His main points are such: that the limited land and resources of England forced corruption to spawn, America has great potential to make the most of the land that is accessible
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There is land set aside for reasons other than agriculture, such as wildlife preserves and national parks. Regarding that, does Jefferson mean that every available plot of land, whether park or backyard, should be used for agriculture? One may deduce that from this writing that he does. But in the grand scheme of things, he is chiefly concerned with Americans providing for themselves instead of being reliant on the craftsmanship and trade of other countries: In this respect, he denigrates the corruption of cities, but does not vilify the creation of culture or lifestyle, as in his letter To Benjamin Rush, This can be expanded to suggest that if he lived through the expansion west and the destruction of many lands from that development, that he may have acknowledged the designation of untouchable lands as
There is land set aside for reasons other than agriculture, such as wildlife preserves and national parks. Regarding that, does Jefferson mean that every available plot of land, whether park or backyard, should be used for agriculture? One may deduce that from this writing that he does. But in the grand scheme of things, he is chiefly concerned with Americans providing for themselves instead of being reliant on the craftsmanship and trade of other countries: In this respect, he denigrates the corruption of cities, but does not vilify the creation of culture or lifestyle, as in his letter To Benjamin Rush, This can be expanded to suggest that if he lived through the expansion west and the destruction of many lands from that development, that he may have acknowledged the designation of untouchable lands as