Computers and Composition

That Thomas Jefferson was a prolific writer is generally recognized. Less well known are his contributions to the history of writing technology. Jefferson invented or improved devices for composing, copying, and encrypting. When the devices Jefferson developed are considered together, they demonstrate a virtual “computer.” As a writer, Jefferson used his improvised “computer” to draft the American Declaration of Independence and, as an officeholder, to create a public record of government. This essay links Jefferson's development of writing technology to his democratic political philosophy. The link should interest writing teachers. Those concerned about oppressive social effects of computers can gain perspective from Jefferson's principled practice. From the Jeffersonian principle of selfgoverning democracy, it follows that user communities, not devices, determine what technology can do. Jefferson's mechanization of copying exemplifies the use of information technology to support democratic governance. Applied to a question troubling the teaching profession, whether information networks might help or hinder democracy in education, Jeffersonian optimism effectively counters Foucauldian pessimism.