Thomas Jefferson's interest in parliamentary practice

It is difficult to know just when and how Jefferson's interest in parliamentary practice was first aroused, but he himself indicates that at an early period of his life he read “a good deal” and took copious notes on the subject. These notes were his “pillar” until he had compiled his own Manual, published first in 1801. During his experience in legislative bodies he had of necessity both to learn and to use the rules and procedures governing such assemblies. This article attempts to give a brief account of his early interest, and to give appropriate credit to those whom Jefferson himself acknowledged as having contributed most substantially to his own understanding of parliamentary practice.