I’m wrapping up a chapter on what the term “civilization” meant during the Revolutionary Era and in the Early Republic. My primary sources are not multitudinous, but they’re representative:  Voltaire, Gibbon, Jefferson, Adams, Equiano, Washington, various appearances of the concept/term in the Gazette of the United States.  (Suggestions for additional sources welcome!) This chapter goes from the mid-18th century to the founding of the University of Virginia, which is a nice place to leave things: Thomas Jefferson wanted all the students to learn Old English and study Anglo-Saxon civilization.  (I have a piece about “Anglo-Saxonism” that should be coming out Read more