At first glance, I was curious of the need for languages that only a minority of people spoke, but upon further reading I was surprised by the extent that the sciences meant to the men of that day; seeing that a full understanding of these ancient languages was needed to fully understand the level of science being taught.

According to Census of 1820 and the website Virginia Places, Rockbridge County had a total population of 11,945 and of those 9,333 were white; Albemarle County had a population of 19,750 and of those 9,089 were white; and Augusta County had a population of 16,742 and of those 13,230 were white. I suppose that even though Albemarle did not have the largest population of whites living in the county, it was better accessible for whites to flock to.

I find it interesting that students would have to find a boarding house of their choice to dine. I always thought that was the purpose of the Hotels on the Range. Maybe the inefficiency of the Boarding House system led to the Hotels, which were to my knowledge were built much later than the lawn rooms and the pavilions.

I believe this is one of the best qualities of an informed individual. A person must reflect on the information presented to him to truly understand it. He must sit on it, be critical of it, and create his own interpretation of it. Throughout high school, we were constantly forced to write reflections, which I always thought was some new age, irrelevant thing to keep us busy. But as I began to understand the benefits of reflecting and allowing myself to be introspective and the thoughts that come from this process, it now makes complete sense why we were forced to make reflections and why Thomas Jefferson would want the students in his university to be reflective. It causes critical thought, a quality process that every person should use. I relish in the fact that being reflective is not some new age teaching philosophy; that even in the early 19th century, people were pushing for critical thought.