"Query XIX: The present state of manufactures, commerce, interior and exterior trade?" Excerpt from Notes on the State of Virginia

First written in 1780 as a set of responses to questions from French diplomat François de Barbé Marbois. Published in book form in 1785

Reprinted in The Life and Writings of Thomas Jefferson

Published in 1944

American statesman Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was one of the founding fathers of the United States. The founding fathers are the members of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution in 1787. A man of many interests, Jefferson played a central role in shaping the new nation. He strongly supported the movement toward republicanism, or rule by an elected government that represented a population of citizens all seen as fairly equal in the eyes of the law. (This equality, however, was limited to white males). His...