Read Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America

Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America

Lee Alan Dugatkin

4.9/5 (11982 ratings)

Description:In the years after the Revolutionary War, the fledgling republic of America was viewed by many Europeans as a degenerate backwater, populated by subspecies weak and feeble. Chief among these naysayers was the French Count and world-renowned naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, who wrote that the flora and fauna of America (humans included) were inferior to European specimens. Thomas Jefferson—author of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. president, and ardent naturalist—spent years countering the French conception of American degeneracy. His Notes on Virginia systematically and scientifically dismantled Buffon’s case through a series of tables and equally compelling writing on the nature of his home state. But the book did little to counter the arrogance of the French and hardly satisfied Jefferson’s quest to demonstrate that his young nation was every bit the equal of a well-established Europe. Enter the giant moose. The American moose, which Jefferson claimed was so enormous a European reindeer could walk under it, became the cornerstone of his defense. Convinced that the sight of such a magnificent beast would cause Buffon to revise his claims, Jefferson had the remains of a seven-foot ungulate shipped first class from New Hampshire to Paris. Unfortunately, Buffon died before he could make any revisions to his Histoire Naturelle, but the legend of the moose makes for a fascinating tale about Jefferson’s passion to prove that American nature deserved prestige. In Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose, Lee Alan Dugatkin vividly recreates the origin and evolution of the debates about natural history in America and, in so doing, returns the prize moose to its rightful place in American history.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America. To get started finding Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: —

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: —

Release: —

ISBN: 0226169146

Description: In the years after the Revolutionary War, the fledgling republic of America was viewed by many Europeans as a degenerate backwater, populated by subspecies weak and feeble. Chief among these naysayers was the French Count and world-renowned naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, who wrote that the flora and fauna of America (humans included) were inferior to European specimens. Thomas Jefferson—author of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. president, and ardent naturalist—spent years countering the French conception of American degeneracy. His Notes on Virginia systematically and scientifically dismantled Buffon’s case through a series of tables and equally compelling writing on the nature of his home state. But the book did little to counter the arrogance of the French and hardly satisfied Jefferson’s quest to demonstrate that his young nation was every bit the equal of a well-established Europe. Enter the giant moose. The American moose, which Jefferson claimed was so enormous a European reindeer could walk under it, became the cornerstone of his defense. Convinced that the sight of such a magnificent beast would cause Buffon to revise his claims, Jefferson had the remains of a seven-foot ungulate shipped first class from New Hampshire to Paris. Unfortunately, Buffon died before he could make any revisions to his Histoire Naturelle, but the legend of the moose makes for a fascinating tale about Jefferson’s passion to prove that American nature deserved prestige. In Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose, Lee Alan Dugatkin vividly recreates the origin and evolution of the debates about natural history in America and, in so doing, returns the prize moose to its rightful place in American history.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America. To get started finding Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Special Offer | $0.00

Special Offer! | $0.00

Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America

Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: Natural History in Early America

More Books

How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution

How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution

The Altruism Equation: Seven Scientists Search for the Origins of Goodness

The Altruism Equation: Seven Scientists Search for the Origins of Goodness

The Prince of Evolution: Peter Kropotkin's Adventures in Science and Politics

The Prince of Evolution: Peter Kropotkin's Adventures in Science and Politics

Outlines & Highlights for Principles of Animal Behavior by Lee Alan Dugatkin, ISBN: 9780393931693 (Paperback) - Common

Outlines & Highlights for Principles of Animal Behavior by Lee Alan Dugatkin, ISBN: 9780393931693 (Paperback) - Common

Cooperation among Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution)

Cooperation among Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution)

Principles of Animal Behavior

Principles of Animal Behavior

Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others

Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others

Dr. Calhoun's Mousery: The Strange Tale of a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity

Dr. Calhoun's Mousery: The Strange Tale of a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity

The Well-Connected Animal: Social Networks and the Wondrous Complexity of Animal Societies

The Well-Connected Animal: Social Networks and the Wondrous Complexity of Animal Societies