Requests for Information Related to Thomas Jefferson

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JEFFERSON'S INTEREST IN NATURAL HISTORY

>I am doing a report on Charles Darwin. He and >Thomas Jefferson(opposing view), Karl Marx(supporter) and Plato >will be discussing Darwin's theory of evolution among other things. >I would appreciate any help at all on ANY VIEWPOINTS. Creationism >vs. Evolutionism, as well as other topics relating to Darwin's views >vs. Relgious ones. If you know of any good sites on this topic -please >drop me a message too. Also if you know the views of (esp.)Jefferson, Marx, >or Plato on things relating to this (i.e. nature, etc.) please don't >hesitate to write. Sounds like a very interesting topic. Jefferson, as you probably know, was *very* interested in natural history, and did quite a bit of collecting of the bones of extinct animals, as well as research on the origins of the Indians, etc. He would have been fascinated by Darwin's theories. My attention to Jefferson's writings has focused on those related to politics and government, and I can only suggest some areas you might look into. In the course of my readings, I have run across quite a bit of what he had to say on natural history. He was in communication with von Humboldt and Buffon, and, of course, he promoted the Lewis & Clarke expedition, one purpose of which was to collect new animal and plant specimens. I would suggest that you visit a large public or university library and look at vol. 20 of the Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Lipscomb and Boyd, editors), which is the Index volume. Under "Natural History" you will find about a dozen references that will provide sources for Jefferson's own researches, and I'm sure those will lead you to other references. I seem to recall Jefferson ridiculing the idea that the earth could have been created in six days in the year 4004 B.C. Sorry I can't be of more help. Best wishes, Eyler Coates

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