The Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson: A Norton Critical Edition

by Wayne Franklin (Editor), Wayne Franklin (Editor)

The first book to include Thomas Jefferson’s writings and writings about him―from his era and ours. This Norton Critical Edition seeks to give readers a full understanding of Thomas Jefferson’s importance to the intellectual development of the United States, particularly in political theory and scientific learning; of Jefferson’s role in the expansion of the territory and sovereignty of the United States; and of Jefferson’s controversial relation to slavery and race as key issues in American history.

The editor has selected Jefferson’s most important published texts― A Summary View of the Rights of British America , the Declaration of Independence , and Notes on the State of Virginia ―along with An Appendix to the Notes on Virginia Relative to the Murder of Logan’s Family and his Message to Congress on the Lewis and Clark Expedition . In addition, more than one hundred of Jefferson’s letters (1760–1826) have been judiciously selected from his rich body of correspondence, allowing readers to see Jefferson as a person as well as a public figure. All texts are accompanied by detailed explanatory annotations.

“Contexts” reprints contemporary documents that place Jefferson and his writings within the early American Republic, including works by Thomas Paine, John Adams, François-Jean de Beauvoir, and Luther Martin. Also included are diverse and early responses to Jefferson and his writings by, among others, John Quincy Adams, William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

"Criticism" provides representative works of modern interpretation and analysis that confirm Jefferson's continuing relevance. Included are twelve thought-provoking assessments from several disciplinary perspectives by, among others, Annette Gordon Reed, Peter Onuf, and Douglas L. Wilson.

A Selected Bibliography is also included.

Genres: History, Philosophy, Politics, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Reference, Essays

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Erik Dabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many collections out there of our Founding Fathers' writings, especially Thomas Jefferson. I'm glad I did some research and found this one. It is an amazing collection of ideas, concepts, and messages from the pen of Jefferson himself. No middle man, no talking heads, no one interjecting their opinion on what he may have meant. Just the writings themselves. Brilliant. This is one I will come back to time and time again.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty tightly-edited, shows a well-rounded picture of Jefferson as a polemicist, political theorist, scientific tinkerer, statesman, diplomat, ultra-racist, etc. etc. I don’t understand why colonial-period writers thought it sounded good to write sentences that could take over a minute to read or speak aloud, though.

[Elizabeth Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent introduction which illuminates some of the background and helps clarify the meanings of the selected pieces