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

180 Pages·2009·2.36 MB·English

by  Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, Jefferson, Thomas, Dugatkin, Lee Alan, Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, Jefferson, Thomas

Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose

lee alan dUGatkin is professor of biology at the
University of Louisville. His books include The Altruism
Equation and Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees: The
Nature of Cooperation in Animals and Humans.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2009 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5
isBn-13: 978-0-226-16914-9 (cloth)
isBn-10: 0-226-16914-6 (cloth)
Dugatkin, Lee Alan, 1962–
Mr. Jefferson and the giant moose : natural history in early
America / Lee Alan Dugatkin.
p. cm.
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.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-16914-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-16914-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Degeneration—Environmental aspects—America—
Historiography—18th century. 2. Human beings—Effect of
environment on—America. 3. Life sciences—History—18th century.
4. Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826—Knowledge and learning.
5. Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de, 1707–1788—Attitudes.
I. Title.
QH528.D843 2009
[B885.Z7]
508.097'09033—dc22
2009013816
F∞ The paper used in this publication meets the mini-
mum requirements of the American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ansi Z39.48-1992.
For Aaron D., Fred C., and Lena P.

Contents
Preface: “A Moose More Precious Than You Can Imagine” ix
1. “Dictatorial Powers of the Botanical Gentlemen of Europe” 1
2. The Count’s Degenerate America 10
3. “Noxious Vapors and Corrupt Juices” 31
4. “Not a Sprig of Grass That Shoots Uninteresting” 47
5. “Geniuses Which Adorn the Present Age” 62
6. Enter the Moose 81
7. Thirty-Seven-Pound Frogs and Patagonian Giants 101
8. Extracting the “Tapeworm of Europe” from Our Brain 117
Acknowledgments 131
Notes 133
Reference List 153
Index 159

PrefaCe
A Moose More Precious Than
You Can Imagine
Americans of the Revolutionary War era were understandably touchy
about their standing compared with that of Europeans. It was one thing
for the Europeans, particularly the French, to refer to Americans as up-
starts, malcontents, and threats to the monarchy—in a sense many of
them were all that. It was another matter entirely to suggest that all life
forms in America were degenerate compared to those of the Old World.
Yet that is precisely what Count Georges-Louis Leclerc Buffon, one of
France’s most distinguished Enlightenment thinkers, and one of the best-
known names in Europe at the time, claimed.
In his massive encyclopedia of natural history, Histoire Naturelle, Buffon
laid out what came to be called the theory of degeneracy. He argued that,
as a result of living in a cold and wet climate, all species found in America
were weak and feeble. What’s more, any species imported into America
for economic reasons would soon succumb to its new environment and
produce lines of puny, feeble offspring. America, Buffon told his readers,
is a land of swamps, where life putrefies and rots. And all of this from the
pen of the preeminent natural historian of his century.
There was no escaping the pernicious effects of the American envi-
ronment—not even for Native Americans. They too were degenerate.
For Buffon, Indians were stupid, lazy savages. In a particularly emasculat-
ing swipe, he suggested that the genitalia of Indian males were small and
withered—degenerate—for the very same reason that the people were
stupid and lazy.
ix