Thomas Jefferson: Notes on the State of Virginia

Audience

Barbé-Marbois, for whom Jefferson initially compiled what would become Notes on the State of Virginia, can be considered Jefferson’s primary audience. Jefferson sought initially to answer queries about the various American colonies. Virginia was not the only new American state to whom Marbois’s questions were addressed, but it was the Virginian Jefferson who gave the most extensive answers. Indeed, he was widely recognized as a careful, dedicated student who sought to accumulate knowledge throughout his life, and he corresponded widely with people on both sides of the Atlantic. He thus shared his Notes on Virginia with a variety of highly educated personages, Americans and Europeans alike, who formed a second audience. Jefferson suspected that some of his thoughts, particularly those in Query XIV (“Manners”), would incite controversy, and so he originally intended the Notes to remain private. The work was greeted with such enthusiasm by acquaintances on both sides of the Atlantic, however, that Jefferson was eventually persuaded to allow copies to be distributed publicly, including at his alma mater—the College of William and Mary. As word of Jefferson’s work spread and more people requested copies, Jefferson eventually decided to publish, first in Europe and later in the United States. Given Jefferson’s interest in the natural sciences, scientists, too, could be considered a separate audience, for Notes contains extensive observations on the flora, fauna, and geography of Virginia.