The Papers of Thomas Jefferson

[3] This enabled work to progress simultaneously on two different periods of Jefferson's life and thereby doubled the production of volumes without compromising the high standards set for the project.

[3] The project grew out of a plan developed in 1943 by Julian P. Boyd, the chief librarian of Princeton University, a scholar of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and the historian of the Thomas Jefferson Bicentennial Commission.

Although the United States government, which was in the midst of World War II, could not fund the early phases of the project's work, both President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his successor Harry S. Truman were enthusiastic supporters.

During his lifetime of working on The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Boyd created new, higher ideals for historical editing, which his successors Cullen and Catanzariti continued after his death.

The Foundation assumed responsibility for Jefferson's papers composed between the end of his presidency on 4 March 1809 and his death on 4 July 1826.

[3] Aided by a start-up grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, work began in 1999 at Monticello under the editorial leadership of historian J. Jefferson Looney.

[14] Ranging beyond Jefferson's life as far as the family's American Civil War experience, this material had not been part of the core Papers volumes and most of it had never been published elsewhere.

[15] Volumes published thus far are as follows: The project's goal is to create as comprehensive a collection of Jefferson's personal and public papers as possible.

[13][16] Material collected for the project includes papers and letters written by Jefferson throughout the course of his life, both personal and professional.

Collected as photocopies or digital scans, they are then carefully transcribed, verified, annotated, and indexed in order to provide as much context and accessibility as possible.

Although there had been earlier compilations of the papers of famous Americans, his carefully prepared texts of Jefferson's letters and other writings, "warts and all," set a new standard for accuracy and reliability.