Notes on the State of Virginia

work by Jefferson

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July 1, 2026

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Notes on the State of Virginia was the only book published by Thomas Jefferson. Written in 1781, it served as a travel guide, scientific treatise, and philosophical reflection on Virginia. The work critically examined slavery, highlighting its detrimental effects on both Black and white individuals and asserting that it contradicted the principles of the American Revolution. Jefferson also included his views on perceived biological differences between races, reflecting the prevalent racism of his time.1

Despite his eloquent arguments against slavery, Jefferson himself was a slave owner, holding approximately 200 enslaved people on average throughout his life. He freed only a small number, primarily members of the Hemings family. His writings reveal a deep contradiction between his advocacy for freedom and his participation in the institution of slavery.12

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agrarianism
Agrarianism in the 18th and 19th centuries
In Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), the American statesman Thomas Jefferson, who later served as the country’s third president (1801–09), maintained that farming, rather than urban manufacture, would more likely ensure the independence and strength of character necessary for the free citizens of a…
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In Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), the American statesman Thomas Jefferson, who later served as the country’s third president (1801–09), maintained that farming, rather than urban manufacture, would more likely ensure the independence and strength of character necessary for the free citizens of a…
Read More

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Slavery and racism of Thomas Jefferson
…had overseen the publication of Notes on the State of Virginia. This book, the only one Jefferson ever published, was part travel guide, part scientific treatise, and part philosophical meditation. Jefferson had written it in the fall of 1781 and had agreed to a French edition only after learning that…
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…had overseen the publication of Notes on the State of Virginia. This book, the only one Jefferson ever published, was part travel guide, part scientific treatise, and part philosophical meditation. Jefferson had written it in the fall of 1781 and had agreed to a French edition only after learning that…
Read More