Jeffersonian moment: feudalism and reform in Virginia, 1774‐1786
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Date
26/11/2013Author
Clinkman, Daniel Edward
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Abstract
In his autobiography, Thomas Jefferson argued that his goal in the American Revolution had been
to eliminate “feudal and unnatural distinctions” in colonial American society as part of the struggle
for independence. This thesis focuses on Jefferson’s years as a revolutionary legislator in the new
state of Virginia, and argues that while he was correct in labelling Virginia a feudal society, his
reforms were insufficient to the scale of social reformation that he identified. Material addressed
includes Jefferson’s synthesis of British feudal and mercantile history that he constructed during
the early years of the revolution, his proposed constitution for the state of Virginia, and his
legislative reforms to the judiciary, landownership, the established church, education, citizenship,
and slavery.