America's New Garden

“This celebration of the American wilderness was entirely different from the roots of European patriotism, where buildings, ancient writings and art played the elemental roles” (Wulf, 170).  

         The two term President Thomas Jefferson was an avid gardener and Enlightenment enthusiast who pounced on his chance to discover the west and the magnificent items that would come along with the ongoing discovery. Following his purchase of Louisiana territory that covered a whole of today's Midwest. Jefferson would be forever enticed with the opportunity to explore the new territory that extended to the pacific. Andrea Wulf does take the readers through the initial struggles of conjuring up a plan to explore the west and the sources to supply and make it happen. She explains the two opposing sides of the political spectrum with the Republicans in support of Jefferson’s efforts at an expedition in the name of science but according to Wulf would also be the beginning of a distinctly American glorification of the wilderness. (Wulf, 157) The Federalists were on the other end of the spectrum as they made statements that bashed the expedition and in a way, and down played Jefferson and Republicans to a level of overly excited kids. The federalist argument was that the United States already had too much land. Jefferson’s response was to ensure that the larger the country the more security if something goes wrong in dealing with specific issues. He seemed to share the viewpoint much like a farmer or gardener would feel about his crops/garden except on a grander scale with America being that garden or farm. (Wulf, 160-161)

Jefferson would end up getting his expedition and hired Meriwether Lewis to carry out a very detailed mission that Jefferson had in mind. Jefferson Davis being an active gardener used his obsession over his hobby in his politics through the discovery of the west. When tasking Lewis with the mission he saw the importance in the details, Wulf makes the connection of the expedition goals between Jefferson and his background obvious to the reader when she states, “… including the suggestion that Lewis be told to look out for ‘signs of the soil’ and trees indicating ‘fertility’” (Wulf, 156). He is constantly thinking in the gardener/farmer mindset and it effects his thoughts for the western frontier.

At the same time he was to observe the climate, animals (including those “deemed rare or extinct”), minerals and ‘the soil & face of the country, it’s growth & vegetable productions.’ These instructions had been shaped by Jefferson’s own experiences: a lifelong study of natural history books and botanical inquiry, surveying, compiling records of Native American vocabulary, and his meticulous meteorological diary. (Wulf, 156)

Wulf believes that Lewis was able to pick up on one particular goal of Jefferson’s dealing with his passion for botanical inquiry along with gardening in general and would therefore seem to make special attempts to go above and beyond in his discoveries in these areas. He even chooses Lewis based upon these instincts and will use him as his own personal gardener, while he dreams over the thought of America’s new garden. Jefferson choose the best gardener to discover and record America’s new garden as Lewis had the incredible knowledge of the three kingdoms of plants, animals and minerals. (Wulf, 158)

Washington had hoped that the United States could become the storehouse and granary for the world, according to Wulf, and Jefferson hoped the West could be the answer to this achievement. Jefferson believed the West would assure the agricultural future for the United States. (Wulf, 160). The west would be the new farmland ready to be plowed by the United States. Wulf goes on to explain Lewis and Clark's exhibition detailing there reactions to America's landscape and the animals, plants, etc. collected and sent back to Jefferson. According to Wulf, "The horticultural world was electrified. The plants that Lewis and Clark discovered would line fields as hedges, add fruits to the American orchards and bring new shapes and color to flowerbeds" (Wulf, 169). This chapter seems to highlight the importance of Jefferson’s passion for gardens and how that correlated into his efforts to expand west. Jefferson used these newly discovered plants in his own garden as America seemed to have just started unraveling it's own garden in the great wilderness to the west, that would define America's patriotism.