Notes on the State of Virginia

In his Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson discusses religion extensively. Jefferson defines freedom as allowing citizens to express themselves without fear of government or church persecution. He firmly believed in separation of church and state. Jefferson then goes on to use his religious beliefs to show that he prefers rural life to the urban life. Jefferson writes that, “Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen people, whose breasts he has made his peculiar for substantial and genuine virtue” (165). Today, modern Americans see freedom the same as Jefferson did. All of the freedoms expressed in the First Amendment, which was heavily influenced by Jefferson’s beliefs, are still exercised…

The “primary focus” for the University’s curriculum was “scientific knowledge.” Once again, this was a reflection of both the time period and Jefferson as a person. Jefferson was particularly fond of questioning why things happened, and researching to find concreate, technical proof. For example, in his “Notes on Virginia,” Jefferson attempted a scientific explanation to find evidence for Noah’s flood instead of relying on the stories in the Bible. On March 7, 1825, when the University…

American Literature. He was the third president of the United States and also produced monumental literary works such as the Declaration of Independence, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Jefferson served in the Virginia legislature and the Continental Congress and was governor of Virginia. He later served as U.S. minister to France and U.S. secretary of state, and also served as vice president under John Adams (“Thomas Jefferson”). Jefferson was elected in 1800 and during his…

Few figures in American history appear as hypocritical as Thomas Jefferson. At once the author of the Declaration of Independence and a prominent Virginia slave owner, Edmund S. Morgan refers to Jefferson as the “slaveholding spokesman of freedom.” It is because of the obvious contradictions between Jefferson’s belief in freedom and his embrace of slavery that many have seen him as an equivocal thinker caught up in a deep personal dilemma over the prevalence of slavery in American society.…

Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of our Nation, he helped drafted the Declaration of Independence, and eventually became the 3rd president of the United States. However, Jefferson was a contradiction in every sense of the word; despite the fact, he promoted individual liberties such as the freedoms of religion, conscience and most illogicality the freedom of personal liberty, he owned slaves and viewed Africans as inferior. His views on slavery and race are most prevalent in an…

He used his scientific background in an attempt to rationalize his bias towards those of African-descent. He began with an investigation on their anatomical differences. However, these rationalizations are the myths commonly associated with Blacks at the time. They bring no new light to the discussion, nor do they contain any actual scientific information to back it up. Jefferson writes that “They [Blacks] secrete more by the glands of the skin and less by the kidneys which gives them a strong…

The historical images of “Virginia and Luxuries” and “The Philosophic Cock” presents the ideas of the role of free white men as a figure of dominion in society, women who are submissive and African slaves as an object of lust. During the era of slavery in America, one subject remained the oppressed without reservation. Women, then, carried no rights, but to be tied down to her husband. If she were to marry, she forsakes her independence as a woman. Consequently, this did not change with slaves…

maintenance of government and politics. Ever since the beginning, when the Native Americans arrived in the Americas, there has been a government. It may have not been as complex as it is today, but there were still laws and rules in place that helped the continuation of the states to grow. A few years after the first Native American Indian settlers, a more rigid government was put in charge, thus the formation of the Iroquois Confederation. The Iroquois Confederation started a government that…

Reflective Essay I. Introduction “Geography is the study of Earth’s landscapes, people, places, and environments” (“What is Geography,” n.d.). There are five main themes that can be referred to when discussing geography. The themes help answer specific questions, such as “Where is it?”, “Why is it there?” and “What are the consequences of its being there?” (“The Five Themes,” n.d., p. 1). These five themes are all relevant to the region, location, place, movement, and human-environment…

The Physician’s Tale is a moral allegory centered around a knight named Virginius, his daughter Virginia, and a powerful judge named Appius. The tale starts with a detailed analysis on the beauty of Virginia, describing has as fair and in “excellent beauty”, as well as claiming that Nature had “Moulded her to so great an excellence”. Her beauty is put into perspective when several allusions to the great ancient artists of Pygmalion, Apelles, and Zeuxis are made: “Behold now, I, Nature,/Thus can…