Thomas Jefferson traveled abroad only once, from 1784 to 1789, and during his lifetime he never published any of the voluminous letters, papers, and notes he compiled while abroad. If he had, they would have rivaled the best travel literature of the day for both their wealth of information and perceptiveness. Jefferson went to Europe on government business, but at that he was only modestly successful. His travels, though, provided him with knowledge of France and other European countries second to none among his American contemporaries; lent substance to his already pronounced affection for France; positioned him for a much valued perspective on the two key historical events of the decade, the American Constitutional Convention and the French Revolution; and underscored his conviction that the future of the world belonged to the United States, not Europe.

Jefferson was born in what is now Albemarle County, Virginia, on 13 April 1743. He was...