What do Thomas Jefferson, a moose, and French naturalistshave to do with each other? Well, it involves the term American Degeneracy, a popular theory in the 1700s, popularized by French natural scientists, that basically said everything in the Americas or New World were smaller in size & lesser in intelligence. And boy did Jefferson have beef with thosescientists & he made it his mission to prove them wrong! And one of the ways he did that? By sending a moose carcass over to France for the scientists to see how big a New World animal could be.CONNECT:

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SOURCES:

-Jefferson's Moose and the Case against American Degeneracy:https://tinyurl.com/3799s673

-Jefferson & the Theory of Degeneracy: https://tinyurl.com/3992j245

-Thomas Jefferson and the Mastodon: https://tinyurl.com/yw5fppe3

-Jefferson, Buffon & the Moose: https://tinyurl.com/4nep4887

-Thomas Jefferson Needs a Dead Moose Right Now to Defend America:https://tinyurl.com/48ccnb86