Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0140436677, Paperback)
Available for the first time in Penguin Classics, Notes on the State of Virginia is at once a scientific discourse, an attempt to define America, and an examination of the idea of freedom. With the same genius and clear, flexible prose style that informs the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson chronicles Virginia's natural, social, and political history.
Frank Shuffleton includes in this edition with selections from relevant correspondence and discusses the work's origins, composition, and initial reception. He focuses particularly on Jefferson's response to contemporary scientific writings on "New World degeneracy"; his differing treatment of Blacks and Native Americans; and his influential (and problematic) role in creating a mythicized American self-image.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:34:32 -0500)
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Wikipedia in English (3)
What really struck me was Jefferson rampant racism. Admirers point to Jefferson's desire to end slavery, but it was from less than humanitarian and egalitarian motives. He simply believed that blacks, whites and Indians could not and should not live together. Absent that alternative, slavery was the only way to control blacks. Jefferson was nothing but a pig-headed racist.
On top that he was a hypocrite. (