160. Thomas Jefferson and Asian Dry Rice

Dr. Dave Wang surprised us with another good research paper on the influence of Chinese civilization on the life of Americans and their Presidents.

Thomas Jefferson pointed out, "The Greatest service which can be rendered any country is, to add a useful plant to its [Agri]culture, especially a bread grain."

While summarizing what he considered to be his greatest contribution to the world, Jefferson ranked his effort to introduce dry rice from East Asia into South Carolina in as high regard as his drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Why did he regard his effort to transplant the dry rice to the United State so high? You can find the answer from Dr. Wang's paper, Asian Dry Rice and the Slaves’ Living Environment: Thomas Jefferson’s Effort to Transplant the Rice to the United States His paper is available from this link.