University of Virginia Library

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PLAN OF THE WORK AND EXPLANATION OF ABBREVIATIONS

Two editions of  Jefferson's  Writings have been utilized in the preparation of this volume. One of them is
The Writings of Thomas  Jefferson , edited by H. A. Washington and printed by the United States Congress in
1853-54. The other edition is
The Writings of Thomas  Jefferson , collected
and edited by Paul Leicester Ford, and published by G. P. Putnam's Sons,
1892-99. The Ford Edition contains a large number of valuable letters and papers which are not printed in the
Washington Edition, while the latter gives many letters that are not included by Mr. Ford in his volumes.

The quotations in
The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia are credited to both works if they contain them. Quotations with a single credit are printed only in the edition indicated.

There are, in addition, some quotations from the
Domestic Life of  Jefferson . These are marked D. L. J.

The name of the person written to is given after the extract as,
under
Abuse, “To Edward Rutledge,” then
the volume and edition where found are given, as “iv, 151,” refers to the
Washington Edition, while
“Ford ed., viii, 93,” is self-explanatory;
next the place and date are given, as (M., Dec. 1796) = Monticello, Dec. 1796.

The names of places from which  Jefferson  wrote are abbreviated as follows:

In the quotations the mark * * * indicates an omission in the text.

Words not in the text, but supplied by the Editor are, in all cases,
enclosed within brackets.