ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Thomas Jefferson's interest in Madoc serves a dual purpose: Although his interest in Welsh origins infuses the Corps of Discovery mission, the final traces of Madoc, which first arise out of William Penn's push to create the beginning of a new Welsh territory in North America, ultimately dissolve with Jefferson. His eventual use and abrupt dismissal of the ideology forever ends its power in American Anglo-Saxonism. The chapter examines Jefferson's path to Madoc in the Northwest Territory by tracing his complex relationship with Anglo-Saxon texts, history, and the Old English language, and his pronounced and lasting impact on American Anglo-Saxonism. Venerable Bede's unification developed a European consciousness and united one people into "English" and inserted them into the historical narrative; Jefferson advances the emergence of the American Saxon and its movement westward, a process that rightfully assumes its reentrance into history.
