Question

Got a Problem? Mail a Moose
Creating Connections Social Studies: US History I



When a man spread rumors about the U.S., American statesman Thomas Jefferson wanted to teach him a lesson. He did it with a moose.

The man criticizing Jefferson's homeland was Count Georges-Louis Leclerc Buffon. He was a natural historian from France. Jefferson and Buffon weren't strangers. Jefferson was the U.S. minister to France. They'd hung out some. But Buffon didn't really know anything about America. He'd never even set foot on American soil! And yet, Buffon was telling everyone that America was a cold, wet place. He said it produced only small animals and not-too-smart people. He even wrote about it in his encyclopedias. Buffon called his claim "the theory of degeneracy."

Buffon's rumor spread fast. And it grew. Other people read Buffon's stuff and decided anyone who moved to America would become weak. Everyone on the continent would just wither away.

More books were written about it. Newspapers wrote about it too. Buffon's theory even wound up in European schoolbooks.

Jefferson was upset by this. He had a lot going on with all the American Revolutionary War (1765–1783) business. But he wasn't too busy to respond in a grand way to Buffon and his buddies. Jefferson knew that the false information Buffon was spreading was bad for the new nation. It could scare people away. Jefferson was ready to set things straight.

Jefferson started by putting together a book. It was the only book he ever wrote. Jefferson's book debunked every one of Buffon's claims with hard facts.

Jefferson thought his book would change Buffon's mind. He also thought Buffon needed something big to wrap his head and hands around. Something that would show him America's greatness firsthand. He tried to wow Buffon with proof of how big and strong American beasts could be by sending Buffon the skin of an extra-large panther. Buffon was not convinced. Then, Jefferson gave him some huge mastodon bones. Buffon didn't budge.

Then, Jefferson got an idea. A moose! What could be better than a moose? A giant, stuffed moose. Jefferson would present it in all its glory and say, "Look at the SIZE of this thing!"

Jefferson was set on scoring a moose. He started writing letters begging someone—anyone!—to bag a beast for Buffon.

The moose mission was on. After the governor of New Hampshire hunted one down, teams of 20 men hauled its hulking body through slushy snow. As the 14-day adventure wore on, the moose's antlers fell off. By the time it got to Jefferson, the beast was more mess than magnificent.

Hope wasn't lost. Antlers from other animals were gathered to replace the lost ones. The 7-foot-tall moose was patched and stuffed, then shipped to Buffon's door.

Buffon promised to set the story straight. He'd fix it when he wrote another encyclopedia. But he died before that happened.

Jefferson's moose quest had plenty of supporters. At his funeral, Jefferson was praised for squashing Buffon's rumors and defending America's honor. The first U.S. textbooks even included all the details of Jefferson's moose madness.

Question 1


1 / 8

What is this Article mainly about?

Thomas Jefferson's only book
Count Buffon's work as a natural historian in France
Count Buffon's theory of degeneracy
Thomas Jefferson's plan to prove a rumor wrong

Answer 1

Thomas Jefferson's plan to prove a rumor wrong

The article focuses on how Jefferson responded to Buffon's claims about America—especially his effort to prove Buffon wrong by sending oversized animals, culminating in the stuffed moose.