Enlightened Republicanism: A Study of Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia

by David Tucker Naval Postgraduate School

Overview

Enlightened Republicanism is the first book-length study of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, which has often been used as a treasury of quotations from which historians, political scientists, and literary scholars have borrowed in order to prove one point or another about America or Jefferson himself. David Tucker examines Jefferson's work as a whole, arguing that the it was carefully structured. He proceeds to demonstrate that only a deeper understanding of this structure as an integral part of Jefferson's argument can give the reader a true comprehension of Notes on the State of Virginia. Enlightened republicanism, as Jefferson defined it, was revolutionary, as it fundamentally changed the goals of government and the practice of politics to bring them into accord as much as possible with the complex and varied demands of nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739117927
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	04/28/2008
Pages:	174
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

David Tucker is associate professor in the department of defense analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Acknowledgements
Chapter 2 Epigraph
Chapter 3 Table of Contents
Chapter 4 Introduction
Chapter 5 1 The Structure of Notes on the State of Virginia
Chapter 6 2 The Natural Order
Chapter 7 3 Human Nature
Chapter 8 4 Nature and Law
Chapter 9 5 The Origin and Object of Government
Chapter 10 6 Constitution and Laws
Chapter 11 7 Manners and Manufactures
Chapter 12 Conclusion
Chapter 13 Endnotes
Chapter 14 Bibliography
Chapter 15 Index

Editorial Reviews

Combines impressive scholarship with wise judgments...

Claremont Review of Books

Thomas Jefferson was the preeminent penman of the American Revolution and the early American republic. He drafted the Declaration of Independence; he composed the Virginia Statue of Religion Freedom; and he penned many an unforgettable letter. But he wrote only one book—his Notes on the State of Virginia—and until now it has not been the subject of a full-length commentary. David Tucker is to be praised for closely interrogating that work and for drawing attention to a neglected question on which it throws considerable light: the philosophical foundations of Jefferson's republicanism.

Paul A. Rahe

Combines impressive scholarship with wise judgments...

Claremont Review Of Books