Topic: Education

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Jefferson to Destutt de Tracy

Jefferson’s university, as this letter shows, would spread Enlightenment ideas and values. The Treatise on Political Economy written by his correspondent—translated by Jefferson in 1817—and Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws...
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Jefferson to George Wythe

In this letter, Jefferson blamed the suffering of Europeans on “kings, nobles, and priests” who, he believed, kept the masses ignorant in order to preserve their own wealth and power....
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Jefferson to James Madison (Audio)

This is a dramatic reading of a letter from Jefferson explaining to his friend James Madison why he supports the addition of a bill of rights to the U.S. Constitution....
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Jefferson to John Adams

As Jefferson explained to John Adams, the Statute for Religious Freedom weakened the clergy’s influence over the people’s minds. For Jefferson, that was a good thing because he believed that...
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Jefferson to John Banister

Jefferson wrote this letter from France, to advise a Virginia friend about how to educate his son. He recommended modern subjects, such as foreign languages and the sciences. He also...
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Jefferson to Marc-Antoine Jullien

Jefferson wrote this letter in 1818, amid his effort to found a public university for Virginia. Here, he voiced the central ideal of the Enlightenment: the improvement of humanity through...
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Jefferson to Martha Jefferson

Jefferson wrote this letter to establish his daughter’s study schedule during her stay in Philadelphia. Eleven-year-old Patsy Jefferson learned French, music, drawing, and dancing from tutors. She practiced reading and...
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Jefferson to Nathaniel Burwell

In this letter to a fellow Virginian, Jefferson conceded that educating females could be useful. Educated mothers could teach their daughters. If her husband had no money to pay for...
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Jefferson to Richard Price

Jefferson wrote this letter shortly after his return home after spending nearly five years in Europe . He observed that the recent adoption of the new federal Constitution—which he approved—was...
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Jefferson to Robert Pleasants

Jefferson wrote this letter to Robert Pleasants, a Virginia Quaker and anti-slavery leader, in August 1796. Months earlier, another Virginian, St. George Tucker, had published a plan for the gradual...