The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 50

A definitive scholarly edition of the correspondence and papers of Thomas Jefferson

This volume covers Jefferson’s residence in Virginia in the summer of 1806 and an intense period of work after he returns to the capital in the fall. The summer is marked by a prolonged lack of rainfall in Virginia and other parts of the country. Jefferson goes home to Monticello in July, and in August makes a brief trip to Bedford County to arrange for the shipment to market of tobacco from his Poplar Forest plantation. At Monticello, Edmund Bacon takes on the position of overseer. Jefferson’s detailed instructions for Bacon outline work to be completed and include information about the enslaved laborers. James and Dolley Madison and Henry and Dorcas Dearborn visit in September. Back in Washington in October, Jefferson argues with Benjamin Henry Latrobe about the installation of skylights in the roof of the Capitol and receives Meriwether Lewis’s letter announcing that his expedition safely reached the Pacific and has returned to St. Louis. Reports from the lower Mississippi Valley indicate that friction in the Orleans Territory boundary zone could tip Spain and the United States into war. Unverified intelligence warns that Aaron Burr may be planning to raise an armed force of several thousand volunteers for an unknown purpose. In addition, questions have been raised about the loyalty of General James Wilkinson. Jefferson consults with the cabinet five times in October and November. After a confidential dispatch from Wilkinson alleges that Burr’s objective is Vera Cruz, Jefferson issues a proclamation prohibiting expeditions “against the dominions of Spain.”