Sensibleofthisdilemma，fromthemomentofcomingintoofficeI
laiditdownasaruletoleavetheapplicantstocollecttheiranswerfromthefacts。Toentitlemyselftothebenefitoftheruleinanycaseitmustbeobservedineveryone：andIneverhavedepartedfromitinasinglecase，notevenformybosomfriends。
Youobservethatyouare，orprobablywillbeappointedanelector。
Ihavenodoubtyouwilldoyourdutywithaconscientiousregardtothepublicgood&tothatonly。Yourdecisioninfavorofanotherwouldnotexciteinmymindtheslightestdissatisfactiontowardsyou。OnthecontraryIshouldhonortheintegrityofyourchoice。
InthenominationsIhavetomake，dothesamejusticetomymotives。
Hadyouhundredstonominate，insteadofone，beassuredtheywouldnotcomposeforyouabedofroses。Youwouldfindyourselfinmostcaseswithoneloafandtenwantingbread。Ninemustbedisappointed，perhapsbecomesecret，ifnotopenenemies。Thetransactionofthegreatinterestsofourcountrycostsuslittletroubleordifficulty。Therethelineisplaintomenofsomeexperience。Butthetaskofappointmentisaheavyoneindeed。HeonwhomitfallsmayenvythelotofaSisyphusorIxion。Theiragonieswereofthebody：thisofthemind。Yet，liketheofficeofhangmanitmustbeexecutedbysomeone。Ithasbeenassignedtomeandmademyduty。Imakeupmymindtoittherefore，&abandonallregardtoconsequences。Acceptmysalutations&assurancesofrespect。
BLUEPRINTOFTHEUNIVERSITY
_ToLittletonWallerTazewell_
_Washington，Jan。5，1805_
DEARSIR，——YourfavorofDecember24nevercametomyhandstilllastnight。It’simportanceinducesmetohastentheanswer。
NoonecanbemorerejoicedattheinformationthatthelegislatureofVirginiaarelikelyatlengthtoinstituteanUniversityonaliberalplan。Convincedthatthepeoplearetheonlysafedepositoriesoftheirownliberty，&thattheyarenotsafeunlessenlightenedtoacertaindegree，Ihavelookedonourpresentstateoflibertyasashort-livedpossessionunlessthemassofthepeoplecouldbeinformedtoacertaindegree。Thisrequirestwogradesofeducation。Firstsomeinstitutionwherescienceinallit’sbranchesistaught，andinthehighestdegreetowhichthehumanmindhascarriedit。ThiswouldprepareafewsubjectsineveryState，towhomnaturehasgivenmindsofthefirstorder。Secondlysuchadegreeoflearninggiventoeverymemberofthesocietyaswillenablehimtoread，tojudge&tovoteunderstandinglyonwhatispassing。Thiswouldbetheobjectofthetownshipschools。I
understandfromyourletterthatthefirstoftheseonlyisunderpresentcontemplation。Letusreceivewithcontentmentwhatthelegislatureisnowreadytogive。Theotherbranchwillbeincorporatedintothesystematsomemorefavorablemoment。
Thefirststepinthisbusinesswillbeforthelegislaturetopassanactofestablishmentequivalenttoacharter。Thisshoulddealingeneralsonly。It’sprovisionsshouldgo1。totheobjectoftheinstitution。2。it’slocation。3。it’sendowment。4。it’sDirection。OneachoftheseheadsIwillhazardafirstthoughtortwo。1。It’sobjectshouldbedefinedonlygenerallyforteachingtheusefulbranchesofscience，leavingtheparticularstothedirectionoftheday。Scienceisprogressive。Whatwasusefultwocenturiesagoisnowbecomeuseless，e。g。onehalftheprofessorshipsofWm&Mary。Whatisnowdeemedusefulwillinsomeofit’spartsbecomeuselessinanothercentury。Thevisitorswillbethebestqualifiedtokeeptheirinstitutionupinevenpacewiththescienceofthetimes。EveryoneknowsthatOxford，Cambridge，theSorbonne，etc。arenowacenturyortwobehindthescienceoftheage。2。Thelocation。Thelegislatureistheproperjudgesofageneralposition，withincertainlimits，asforinstancethecountyinwhichitshallbe。Tofixonthespotidenticallytheywouldnotbesocompetentaspersonsparticularlyappointedtoexaminethegrounds。
Thissmalldegreeoflibertyinlocationwouldplacethelandholdersinthepowerofthepurchasers：tofixthespotwouldplacethepurchaserinthepowerofthelandholder。3。It’sendowment。Bankstock，orpublicstockofanykindshouldbeimmediatelyconvertedintorealestate。Intheformofstockitisadeadfund，it’sdepreciationbeingequaltoit’sinterest。Everyonemustseethatmoneyputintoourfundswhenfirstestablishedin1791withallitsinterestfromthatdaywouldnotbuymorenowthantheprincipalwouldthenhavedone。Mr。PittstatestoparliamentthattheexpensesoflivinginEnglandhave，inthelast20years，increased50。percent：thatisthatmoneyhasdepreciatedthatmuch。Eventhepreciousmetalsdepreciateslowlysothatinperpetualinstitutions，ascolleges，thatoughttobeguardedagainst。Butincountriesadmittingpaper，theabusiveemissionsofthatproducestwo，threeorfourcoursesofdepreciation&annihilationinacentury。Landswillkeep_advancing_nominallysoastokeep_even_really。Canalsharesareasgoodaslands，perhapsbetter：butthewholefundsshouldnotberiskedinanyoneform。Theyshouldbevestedinthevisitors，withoutanypowergiventhemtolessentheircapital，orevento_change_whatisreal。4。TheDirection。ThiswouldofcoursebeinthehandsofVisitors。Thelegislaturewouldnamethefirstset，&
laydownthelawsoftheirsuccession。OndeathorresignationthelegislatureortheChancellormightnamethreepersonsofwhomthevisitorsshouldchuseone。Thevisitorsshouldbefew。Ifmany，thosehalfqualifiedwouldbytheirnumbersbringeverythingdowntotheleveloftheirowncapacities，byout-votingthefewofrealscience。Idoubtiftheyshouldexceedfive。Forthisisanofficeforwhichgoodsensealonedoesnotqualifyaman。Toanalysescienceintoit’sdifferentbranches，todistributetheseintoprofessorships，tosuperintendthecoursepracticedbyeachprofessor，hemustknowwhatthesesciencesareandpossesstheiroutlinesatleast。Cananystateintheunionfurnishmorethan5。
mensoqualifiedastothewholefieldofthesciences。TheVisitorsshouldreceivenopay。Suchqualificationsareproperlyrewardedbyhonor，notbymoney。
Thecharterbeinggranted&theVisitorsnamed，thesebecomethentheagentsastoeverythingelse。Theirfirstobjectswillbe1。thespeciallocation。2。theinstitutionofprofessorships。3。
theemploymentoftheircapital。4。thenecessarybuildings。Awordoneach。1。Speciallocationneedsnoexplanation。2。
Professorships。Theywouldhavetoselectallthebranchesofsciencedeemedusefulatthisday，&inthiscountry：togroupeasmanyofthesetogetherascouldbetaughtbyoneprofessorandthusreducethenumberofprofessorstotheminimumconsistentwiththeessentialobject。Havingforsomeyearsentertainedthehopethatourcountrywouldsomedayestablishaninstitutiononaliberalscale，Ihavebeentakingmeasurestohaveinreadinesssuchmaterialsaswouldrequiretimetocollect。IhavefromDr。
Priestleyadesignationofthebranchesofsciencegroupedintoprofessorshipswhichhefurnishedatmyrequest。Hewasanexcellentjudgeofwhatmaybecalledtheoldstudies，ofthoseusefulandthoseuseless。IhavethesamethingfromMr。Dupont，agoodjudgeofthenewbranches。Hislettertomeisquiteatreatise。IhavetheplanoftheinstitutionsofEdinburgh，&thoseoftheNationalinstituteofFrance；andIexpectfromMr。Pictet，oneofthemostcelebratedprofessorsofGeneva，theirplan，inanswertoaletterwrittensometimeago。FromthesetheVisitorscouldselectthebranchesusefulforthecountry&howtogroupethem。Ahastyviewofthesubjectonaformeroccasionledmetobelieve10。
professorshipswouldbenecessary，butnotallimmediately。Halfadozenofthemosturgentwouldmakeagoodbeginning。Thesalariesofthefirstprofessorsshouldbeveryliberal，thatwemightdrawthefirstnamesofEuropetoourinstitutioninordertogiveitacelebrityintheoutset，whichwilldrawtoittheyouthofallthestates，andmakeVirginiatheircherished&belovedAlmamater。I
havegoodreasonstobelievewecancommandtheservicesofsomeofthefirstmenofEurope。3。Theemploimentoftheircapital。OnthissubjectothersaresomuchbetterjudgesthanmyselfthatI
shallsaynothing。4。Buildings。Thegreatestdangerwillbetheirover-buildingthemselves，byattemptingalargehouseinthebeginning，sufficienttocontainthewholeinstitution。Largehousesarealwaysugly，inconvenient，exposedtotheaccidentoffire，andbadincasesofinfection。Aplainsmallhousefortheschool&
lodgingofeachprofessorisbest。Theseconnectedbycoveredwaysoutofwhichtheroomsofthestudentsshouldopenwouldbebest。
Thesemaythenbebuiltonlyastheyshallbewanting。InfactanUniversityshouldnotbeanhousebutavillage。Thiswillmuchlessentheirfirstexpenses。
Nothavingwrittenanythreelinesofthiswithoutinterruptionithasbeenimpossibletokeepmyideasralliedtothesubject。I
mustletthesehastyoutlinesgothereforeastheyare。Somearepremature，someprobablyimmature：butmakewhatuseyoupleaseofthemexceptlettingthemgetintoprint。Shouldthisestablishmenttakeplaceonaplanworthyofapprobation，Ishallhaveavaluablelegacytoleaveit，towit，mylibrary，whichcertainlyhasnotcostlessthan15，000Dollars。Butit’svalueismoreintheselection，apartofwhich，thatwhichrespectsAmerica，istheresultofmyownpersonalsearchesinParisfor6。or7。years，&ofpersonsemployedbymeinEngland，Holland，GermanyandSpaintomakesimilarsearches。Suchacollectiononthatsubjectcanneveragainbemade。
Withmysincerewishesforthesuccessofthismeasureacceptmysalutations&assurancesofgreatesteem&respect。
THETWO-TERMPRECEDENT
_ToJohnTaylor_
_Washington，Jan。6，1805_
DEARSIR，——YourfavorofDec。26thhasbeendulyreceived，andwasreceivedasaproofofyourfriendlypartialitiestome，ofwhichIhavesooftenhadreasontobesensible。MyopinionoriginallywasthatthePresidentoftheU。S。shouldhavebeenelectedfor7。years，&foreverineligibleafterwards。Ihavesincebecomesensiblethat7。yearsistoolongtobeirremovable，andthatthereshouldbeapeaceablewayofwithdrawingamaninmidwaywhoisdoingwrong。Theservicefor8。yearswithapowertoremoveattheendofthefirstfour，comesnearlytomyprincipleascorrectedbyexperience。AnditisinadherencetothatthatIdeterminedtowithdrawattheendofmysecondterm。Thedangeristhattheindulgence&attachmentsofthepeoplewillkeepamaninthechairafterhebecomesadotard，thatreelectionthroughlifeshallbecomehabitual，&electionforlifefollowthat。Genl。Washingtonsettheexampleofvoluntaryretirementafter8。years。Ishallfollowit，andafewmoreprecedentswillopposetheobstacleofhabittoanyoneafterawhilewhoshallendeavortoextendhisterm。Perhapsitmaybegetadispositiontoestablishitbyanamendmentoftheconstitution。IbelieveIamdoingright，therefore，inpursuingmyprinciple。Ihaddeterminedtodeclaremyintention，butIhaveconsentedtobesilentontheopinionoffriends，whothinkitbestnottoputacontinuanceoutofmypowerindefianceofallcircumstances。Thereis，however，butonecircumstancewhichcouldengagemyacquiescenceinanotherelection，towit，suchadivisionaboutasuccessorasmightbringinaMonarchist。Butthiscircumstanceisimpossible。While，therefore，Ishallmakenoformaldeclarationstothepublicofmypurpose，Ihavefreelyletitbeunderstoodinprivateconversation。InthisIampersuadedyourself&myfriendsgenerallywillapproveofmyviews：andshouldIattheendofa2dtermcarryintoretirementallthefavorwhichthe1sthasacquired，Ishallfeeltheconsolationofhavingdoneallthegoodinmypower，andexpectwithmorethancomposuretheterminationofalifenolongervaluabletoothersorofim-portancetomyself。
Acceptmyaffectionatesalutations&assurancesofgreatesteem&
respect。
CLIMATE，FEVERS，ANDTHEPOLYGRAPH
_ToC。F。deC。Volney_
_Washington，February8，1805_
DEARSIR，——YourletterofNovemberthe26thcametohandMaythe14th；thebookssometimeafter，whichwerealldistributedaccordingtodirection。ThecopyfortheEastIndieswentimmediatelybyasafeconveyance。TheletterofAprilthe28th，andthecopyofyourworkaccompanyingthat，didnotcometohandtillAugust。ThatcopywasdepositedintheCongressionallibrary。ItwasnottillmyreturnherefrommyautumnalvisittoMonticello，thatIhadanopportunityofreadingyourwork。Ihavereadit，andwithgreatsatisfaction。OfthefirstpartIamlessajudgethanmostpeople，havingnevertravelledwestwardofStaunton，soastoknowanythingofthefaceofthecountry；normuchindulgedmyselfingeologicalinquiries，fromabeliefthattheskin-deepscratcheswhichwecanmakeorfindonthesurfaceoftheearth，donotrepayourtimewithascertainandusefuldeductions，asourpursuitsinsomeotherbranches。Thesubjectofourwindsismorefamiliartome。Onthat，theviewsyouhavetakenarealwaysgreat，supportedintheiroutlinesbyyourfacts；andthoughmoreextensiveobservations，andlongercontinued，mayproducesomeanomalies，yettheywillprobablytaketheirplaceinthisfirstgreatcanvasswhichyouhavesketched。Innocase，perhaps，doeshabitattachourchoiceorjudgmentmorethaninclimate。TheCanadianglowswithdelightinhissleighandsnow，theveryideaofwhichgivesmetheshivers。
ThecomparisonofclimatebetweenEuropeandNorthAmerica，takingtogetheritscorrespondingparts，hangschieflyonthreegreatpoints。1。ThechangesbetweenheatandcoldinAmerica，aregreaterandmorefrequent，andtheextremescomprehendagreaterscaleonthethermometerinAmericathaninEurope。Habit，however，preventsthesefromaffectingusmorethanthesmallerchangesofEuropeaffecttheEuropean。Butheisgreatlyaffectedbyours。2。Ourskyisalwaysclear；thatofEuropealwayscloudy。Henceagreateraccumulationofheatherethanthere，inthesameparallel。3。ThechangesbetweenwetanddryaremuchmorefrequentandsuddeninEuropethaninAmerica。Thoughwehavedoubletherain，itfallsinhalfthetime。Takingallthesetogether，IprefermuchtheclimateoftheUnitedStatestothatofEurope。Ithinkitamorecheerfulone。Itisourcloudlessskywhichhaseradicatedfromourconstitutionsalldispositiontohangourselves，whichwemightotherwisehaveinheritedfromourEnglishancestors。DuringaresidenceofbetweensixandsevenyearsinParis，Inever，butonce，sawthesunshinethroughawholeday，withoutbeingobscuredbyacloudinanypartofit：andIneversawthemoment，inwhich，viewingtheskythroughitswholehemisphere，Icouldsaytherewasnotthesmallestspeckofacloudinit。IarrivedatMonticello，onmyreturnfromFrance，inJanuary，andduringonlytwomonths’staythere，Iobservedtomydaughters，whohadbeenwithmetoFrance，thattwentyoddtimeswithinthatterm，therewasnotaspeckofacloudinthewholehemisphere。StillIdonotwonderthatanEuropeanshouldpreferhisgreytoourazuresky。Habitdecidesourtasteinthis，asinmostothercases。
Theaccountyougiveoftheyellowfever，isentirelyagreeabletowhatwethenknewofit。Furtherexperiencehasdevelopedmoreandmoreitspeculiarcharacter。Factsappeartohaveestablishedthatitisoriginatedherebyalocalatmosphere，whichisnevergeneratedbutinthelower，closer，anddirtierpartsofourlargecities，intheneighborhoodofthewater；andthat，tocatchthedisease，youmustenterthelocalatmosphere。Personshavingtakenthediseaseintheinfectedquarter，andgoingintothecountry，arenursedandburiedbytheirfriends，withoutanexampleofcommunicatingit。Avesselgoingfromtheinfectedquarter，andcarryingitsatmosphereinitsholdintoanotherState，hasgiventhediseasetoeverypersonwhothereenteredher。Thesehavediedinthearmsoftheirfamilieswithoutasinglecommunicationofthedisease。Itiscertainly，therefore，anepidemic，notacontagiousdisease；andcallsonthechemistsforsomemodeofpurifyingthevesselbyadecompositionofitsatmosphere，ifventilationbefoundinsufficient。Inthelongscaleofbiliousfevers，graduatedbymanyshades，thisisprobablythelastandmostmortalterm。Itseizesthenativeoftheplaceequallywithstrangers。IthasnotbeenlongknowninanypartoftheUnitedStates。Theshadenextaboveit，calledthestranger’sfever，hasbeencoevalwiththesettlementofthelargercitiesinthesouthernparts，towit，Norfolk，Charleston，NewOrleans。StrangersgoingtotheseplacesinthemonthsofJuly，AugustorSeptember，findthisfeverasmortalasthegenuineyellowfever。Butitrarelyattacksthosewhohaveresidedinthemsometime。Sincewehaveknownthatkindofyellowfeverwhichisnorespecterofpersons，itsnamehasbeenextendedtothestranger’sfever，andeveryspeciesofbiliousfeverwhichproducesablackvomit，thatistosay，adischargeofverydarkbile。HencewehearofyellowfeverontheAlleganeymountains，inKentucky，&c。Thisisamatterofdefinitiononly：butitleadsintoerrorthosewhodonotknowhowlooselyandhowinterestedlysomephysiciansthinkandspeak。Sofaraswehaveyetseen，Ithinkwearecorrectinsaying，thattheyellowfeverwhichseizesonallindiscriminately，isanultimatedegreeofbiliousfeverneverknownintheUnitedStatestilllately，norfarthersouth，asyet，thanAlexandria，andthatwhattheyhaverecentlycalledtheyellowfeverinNewOrleans，CharlestonandNorfolk，iswhathasalwaysbeenknowninthoseplacesasconfinedchieflytostrangers，andnearlyasmortal_tothem_，astheotheristo_all_itssubjects。Butbothgradesarelocal：thestranger’sfeverlessso，asitsometimesextendsalittleintotheneighborhood；buttheyellowfeverrigorouslyso，confinedwithinnarrowandwelldefinedlimits，andnotcommunicableoutofthoselimits。Suchaconstitutionofatmospherebeingrequisitetooriginatethisdiseaseasisgeneratedonlyinlow，close，andill-cleansedpartsofatown，Ihavesupposeditpracticabletopreventitsgenerationbybuildingourcitiesonamoreopenplan。