The Selected Religious Letters and Papers of Thomas Jefferson
Description:
This edited volume of over 400 documents dealing with religion includes over 50 letters written by Jefferson but printed here for the first time in history from the 15 years that the official Papers of Thomas Jefferson, published by Princeton University Press, have yet to publish. This volume publishes far more of Jefferson's religious correspondence and documented religious actions than have ever been collected anywhere else. Furthermore, entries from Jefferson's Memorandum Books and other documents provide additional context to the correspondence. The work is valuable for scholars but also interesting to many readers interested in Jefferson and America's founding era. Indeed, the core evidence found here was analyzed by the late Harvard professor Alan Heimert and he urged its publication saying that it adds "immeasurably to Thomas Jefferson's own intellectual biography."Mark Beliles, editor, also has a companion volume that analyzes these documents that is entitled Doubting Thomas? The Religious Life and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson.