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Mr. Jefferson and the giant moose : natural history in early America /

Capturing the essence of the origin and evolution of the so-called "degeneracy debates," over whether the flora and fauna of America (including Native Americans) were naturally weaker and feebler than species elsewhere in the world, this book chronicles Thomas Jefferson's efforts to c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dugatkin, Lee Alan, 1962-
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2009.
Subjects:
Degeneration > Environmental aspects > America > Historiography > 18th century.
Human beings > Effect of environment on > America.
Life sciences > History > 18th century.
Jefferson, Thomas, > 1743-1826 > Knowledge and learning.
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, > comte de, > 1707-1788 > Attitudes.
Jefferson, Thomas, > 1743-1826.
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, > comte de, > 1707-1788.
Natural History > history > United States.
Ecology > history > United States.
Biological Evolution > United States.
History, 18th Century > United States.
Description
Summary:Capturing the essence of the origin and evolution of the so-called "degeneracy debates," over whether the flora and fauna of America (including Native Americans) were naturally weaker and feebler than species elsewhere in the world, this book chronicles Thomas Jefferson's efforts to counter French conceptions of American degeneracy, culminating in his sending of a stuffed moose to Buffon.
Physical Description:xii, 166 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9780226169149 (cloth : alk. paper)
0226169146 (cloth : alk. paper)