Creed Taylor was a lawyer and judge who helped establish Virginia's first proprietary law school in Cumberland, Virginia. From this, we can ascertain that he was interested in education, so it would make sense that he is one of the people responsible for helping create the University of Virginia.Some of his papers can be found in the UVA Special Collections Library. https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=uva-sc/viu00025.xml

This is interesting because these lines make the establishment of the university flexible and up for interpretation, much like the later written Constitution. This shows Jefferson understood the need to make clear that things can change. This also reminds me of the discussion we had in our engagement discussion about how you cannot tell for sure if you are advancing in art or science. I do appreciate Jefferson's optimism regarding the future of society.

In this sentence, the writers of the report argue in support of a university. They characterize learned men as God-like, writing that they "rendered the elements themselves subservient to... man" and "extending the comforts of life to... those who had before knows it's necessaries only." With this, they associate education with great power, making it seem a necessity for a flourishing culture. Although his diction is a bit dramatic, it is nonetheless a compelling argument in favor of the school.

It makes sense that botany was one of the original "branches of learning" offered at UVA, as it reflects the state's history as a primarily agricultural society. Thomas Jefferson is quoted as having told George Washington, "Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness." . Jefferson held strong beliefs in the importance of an agrarian economy. UVA now offers biology and environmental science classes in the place of botany, which reflects Virginia's evolution to an industrialized state.