The Plan Is The Program: Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the Rectilinear Survey Of 1784
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Issue Date
1996Author
Rashid, Mahbub
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
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This paper studies the plan for the rectilinear survey of 1784 for the Northwest Territory of the United States contained in the Land Ordinance of 1784 authored by Thomas Jefferson in association with Hugh Williamson and others. Scholars have generally criticized the 1784 Plan for using "mathematical space" as opposed to "physical space" to facilitate land speculation. This paper suggests, however, that the plan for rectilinear survey offered a unique way to resolve the ideological tensions between the New Englanders and the Southerners for it incorporated elements of each one's survey system into it. The paper suggests that the 1784 Plan was a result of Jefferson's critical understanding of a great tradition of rectilinear land division system perfected by the Romans. Most importantly, this paper suggests that, in this 1784 Plan, Jefferson wanted to achieve a balance between classical ideals and the utilitarian attitudes of "scientific progressivism". Thus, it is quite plausible that Thomas Jefferson conceived the 1784 Plan for the rectilinear survey as a program to accommodate the unpredictable future of an emerging nation whose nature was yet to be defined.
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Citation
Rashid, M. (1996). The Plan is the Program: Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the Rectilinear Survey of 1784. In Proceedings of the 84th ACSA Annual Meeting and Technology Conference. Boston.
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