diff --git a/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/codecell.js b/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/codecell.js
index 7577c366b0..ea70a47d54 100644
--- a/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/codecell.js
+++ b/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/codecell.js
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ define([
         var that = this;
         return view_promise.then(function(view) {
             that.widget_area.show();
-            dummy.replaceWith(view.$el);
+            dummy.replaceWith(view.el);
             that.widget_views.push(view);
 
             // Check the live state of the view's model.
diff --git a/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/keyboardmanager.js b/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/keyboardmanager.js
index 883c5f308e..be2171b272 100644
--- a/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/keyboardmanager.js
+++ b/jupyter_notebook/static/notebook/js/keyboardmanager.js
@@ -188,6 +188,7 @@ define([
     };
 
     KeyboardManager.prototype.register_events = function (e) {
+        e = $(e);
         var that = this;
         var handle_focus = function () {
             that.disable();
diff --git a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/manager.js b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/manager.js
index ee927cb82e..a5425c9879 100644
--- a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/manager.js
+++ b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/manager.js
@@ -4,11 +4,10 @@
 define([
     "underscore",
     "backbone",
-    "jquery",
     "base/js/utils",
     "base/js/namespace",
     "services/kernels/comm"
-], function (_, Backbone, $, utils, IPython, comm) {
+], function (_, Backbone, utils, IPython, comm) {
     "use strict";
     //--------------------------------------------------------------------
     // WidgetManager class
@@ -27,7 +26,7 @@ define([
         this._models = {}; /* Dictionary of model ids and model instance promises */
 
         // Register with the comm manager.
-        this.comm_manager.register_target(this.comm_target_name, $.proxy(this._handle_comm_open, this));
+        this.comm_manager.register_target(this.comm_target_name, _.bind(this._handle_comm_open, this));
 
         // Load the initial state of the widget manager if a load callback was
         // registered.
@@ -163,7 +162,7 @@ define([
          * Note, this is only done on the outer most widgets.
          */
         if (this.keyboard_manager) {
-            this.keyboard_manager.register_events(view.$el);
+            this.keyboard_manager.register_events(view.el);
         
             if (view.additional_elements) {
                 for (var i = 0; i < view.additional_elements.length; i++) {
@@ -247,8 +246,8 @@ define([
             var handle_output = null;
             var handle_clear_output = null;
             if (cell.output_area) {
-                handle_output = $.proxy(cell.output_area.handle_output, cell.output_area);
-                handle_clear_output = $.proxy(cell.output_area.handle_clear_output, cell.output_area);
+                handle_output = _.bind(cell.output_area.handle_output, cell.output_area);
+                handle_clear_output = _.bind(cell.output_area.handle_clear_output, cell.output_area);
             }
 
             // Create callback dictionary using what is known
@@ -301,7 +300,7 @@ define([
          *      model_name: 'WidgetModel', 
          *      widget_class: 'jupyter_notebook.widgets.widget_int.IntSlider'})
          *      .then(function(model) { console.log('Create success!', model); },
-         *      $.proxy(console.error, console));
+         *      _.bind(console.error, console));
          *
          * Parameters
          * ----------
diff --git a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget.js b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget.js
index 2481fe89b9..ad563a6cef 100644
--- a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget.js
+++ b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget.js
@@ -4,10 +4,9 @@
 define(["widgets/js/manager",
         "underscore",
         "backbone",
-        "jquery",
         "base/js/utils",
         "base/js/namespace",
-], function(widgetmanager, _, Backbone, $, utils, IPython){
+], function(widgetmanager, _, Backbone, utils, IPython){
     "use strict";
 
     var unpack_models = function unpack_models(value, model) {
@@ -15,7 +14,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
          * Replace model ids with models recursively.
          */
         var unpacked;
-        if ($.isArray(value)) {
+        if (_.isArray(value)) {
             unpacked = [];
             _.each(value, function(sub_value, key) {
                 unpacked.push(unpack_models(sub_value, model));
@@ -65,8 +64,8 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
                 comm.model = this;
 
                 // Hook comm messages up to model.
-                comm.on_close($.proxy(this._handle_comm_closed, this));
-                comm.on_msg($.proxy(this._handle_comm_msg, this));
+                comm.on_close(_.bind(this._handle_comm_closed, this));
+                comm.on_msg(_.bind(this._handle_comm_msg, this));
 
                 // Assume the comm is alive.
                 this.set_comm_live(true);
@@ -274,7 +273,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
             // Backbone only remembers the diff of the most recent set()
             // operation.  Calling set multiple times in a row results in a 
             // loss of diff information.  Here we keep our own running diff.
-            this._buffered_state_diff = $.extend(this._buffered_state_diff, this.changedAttributes() || {});
+            this._buffered_state_diff = _.extend(this._buffered_state_diff, this.changedAttributes() || {});
             return return_value;
         },
 
@@ -336,7 +335,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
                     // Combine updates if it is a 'patch' sync, otherwise replace updates
                     switch (method) {
                         case 'patch':
-                            this.msg_buffer = $.extend(this.msg_buffer || {}, attrs);
+                            this.msg_buffer = _.extend(this.msg_buffer || {}, attrs);
                             break;
                         case 'update':
                         case 'create':
@@ -355,7 +354,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
                     this.pending_msgs++;
                 }
             }
-            // Since the comm is a one-way communication, assume the message
+            // Since the comm is a one-way communication, assume the message 
             // arrived.  Don't call success since we don't have a model back from the server
             // this means we miss out on the 'sync' event.
             this._buffered_state_diff = {};
@@ -369,7 +368,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
             // being the value or the promise of the serialized value
             var serializers = this.constructor.serializers;
             if (serializers) {
-                for (var k in attrs) {
+                for (k in attrs) {
                     if (serializers[k] && serializers[k].serialize) {
                         attrs[k] = (serializers[k].serialize)(attrs[k], this);
                     }
@@ -383,13 +382,11 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
                 for (var i=0; i<keys.length; i++) {
                     var key = keys[i];
                     var value = state[key];
-                    if (value) {
-                        if (value.buffer instanceof ArrayBuffer
-                            || value instanceof ArrayBuffer) {
-                            buffers.push(value);
-                            buffer_keys.push(key);
-                            delete state[key];
-                        }
+                    if (value.buffer instanceof ArrayBuffer
+                        || value instanceof ArrayBuffer) {
+                        buffers.push(value);
+                        buffer_keys.push(key);
+                        delete state[key];
                     }
                 }
                 that.comm.send({method: 'backbone', sync_data: state, buffer_keys: buffer_keys}, callbacks, {}, buffers);
@@ -398,7 +395,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
                 return (utils.reject("Couldn't send widget sync message", true))(error);
             });
         },
-
+        
         save_changes: function(callbacks) {
             /**
              * Push this model's state to the back-end
@@ -412,7 +409,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
             /**
              * on_some_change(["key1", "key2"], foo, context) differs from
              * on("change:key1 change:key2", foo, context).
-             * If the widget attributes key1 and key2 are both modified,
+             * If the widget attributes key1 and key2 are both modified, 
              * the second form will result in foo being called twice
              * while the first will call foo only once.
              */
@@ -435,7 +432,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
     widgetmanager.WidgetManager.register_widget_model('WidgetModel', WidgetModel);
 
 
-    var WidgetView = Backbone.View.extend({
+    var WidgetInterface = {
         initialize: function(parameters) {
             /**
              * Public constructor.
@@ -469,7 +466,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
              * Create and promise that resolves to a child view of a given model
              */
             var that = this;
-            options = $.extend({ parent: this }, options || {});
+            options = _.extend({ parent: this }, options || {});
             return this.model.widget_manager.create_view(child_model, options).catch(utils.reject("Couldn't create child view", true));
         },
 
@@ -516,10 +513,9 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
             WidgetView.__super__.remove.apply(this, arguments);
             this.trigger('remove');
         }
-    });
-
+    };
 
-    var DOMWidgetView = WidgetView.extend({
+    var DOMWidgetInterface = {
         initialize: function (parameters) {
             /**
              * Public constructor
@@ -612,7 +608,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
             /**
              * Set a css attr of the widget view.
              */
-            this.$el.css(name, value);
+            this.el.style[name] = value;
         },
 
         update_visible: function(model, value) {
@@ -621,11 +617,13 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
              */
             switch(value) {
                 case null: // python None
-                    this.$el.show().css('visibility', 'hidden'); break;
+                    this.el.style.display = '';
+                    this.el.style.visibility = 'hidden'; break;
                 case false:
-                    this.$el.hide(); break;
+                    this.el.style.display = 'none'; break;
                 case true:
-                    this.$el.show().css('visibility', ''); break;
+                    this.el.style.display = '';
+                    this.el.style.visibility = ''; break;
             }
          },
 
@@ -641,23 +639,25 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
                 if (elements.length > 0) {
                     var trait_key = css[i][1];
                     var trait_value = css[i][2];
-                    elements.css(trait_key ,trait_value);
+                    _.each(elements, function(e) {
+                        e.style[trait_key] = trait_value;
+                    });
                 }
             }
         },
 
-        update_classes: function (old_classes, new_classes, $el) {
+        update_classes: function (old_classes, new_classes, el) {
             /**
-             * Update the DOM classes applied to an element, default to this.$el.
+             * Update the DOM classes applied to an element, default to this.el.
              */
-            if ($el===undefined) {
-                $el = this.$el;
+            if (el===undefined) {
+                el = this.el;
             }
-            _.difference(old_classes, new_classes).map(function(c) {$el.removeClass(c);})
-            _.difference(new_classes, old_classes).map(function(c) {$el.addClass(c);})
+            _.difference(old_classes, new_classes).map(function(c) { el.classList.remove(c); });
+            _.difference(new_classes, old_classes).map(function(c) { el.classList.add(c); });
         },
 
-        update_mapped_classes: function(class_map, trait_name, previous_trait_value, $el) {
+        update_mapped_classes: function(class_map, trait_name, previous_trait_value, el) {
             /**
              * Update the DOM classes applied to the widget based on a single
              * trait's value.
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
              *  Name of the trait to check the value of.
              * previous_trait_value: optional string, default ''
              *  Last trait value
-             * $el: optional jQuery element handle, defaults to this.$el
+             * el: optional DOM element, defaults to this.el
              *  Element that the classes are applied to.
              */
             var key = previous_trait_value;
@@ -692,7 +692,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
             key = this.model.get(trait_name);
             var new_classes = class_map[key] ? class_map[key] : [];
 
-            this.update_classes(old_classes, new_classes, $el || this.$el);
+            this.update_classes(old_classes, new_classes, el || this.el);
         },
         
         _get_selector_element: function (selector) {
@@ -701,9 +701,9 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
              */
             var elements;
             if (!selector) {
-                elements = this.$el;
+                elements = [this.el];
             } else {
-                elements = this.$el.find(selector).addBack(selector);
+                elements = this.el.querySelectorAll(selector);
             }
             return elements;
         },
@@ -711,7 +711,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
         typeset: function(element, text){
             utils.typeset.apply(null, arguments);
         },
-    });
+    };
 
 
     var ViewList = function(create_view, remove_view, context) {
@@ -793,6 +793,9 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
         },
     });
 
+    var WidgetView = Backbone.View.extend(WidgetInterface);
+    var DOMWidgetView = WidgetView.extend(DOMWidgetInterface);
+
     var widget = {
         'unpack_models': unpack_models,
         'WidgetModel': WidgetModel,
@@ -802,7 +805,7 @@ define(["widgets/js/manager",
     };
 
     // For backwards compatability.
-    $.extend(IPython, widget);
+    _.extend(IPython, widget);
 
     return widget;
 });
diff --git a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_box.js b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_box.js
index 0a374add26..d31501e5af 100644
--- a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_box.js
+++ b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_box.js
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ define([
                 warning: ['alert', 'alert-warning'],
                 danger: ['alert', 'alert-danger']
             };
-            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'box_style', previous_trait_value, this.$box);
+            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'box_style', previous_trait_value, this.$box[0]);
         },
         
         add_child_model: function(model) {
diff --git a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_int.js b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_int.js
index b693c42e2e..c76d7ce6dc 100644
--- a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_int.js
+++ b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_int.js
@@ -461,7 +461,7 @@ define([
                 warning: ['progress-bar-warning'],
                 danger: ['progress-bar-danger']
             };
-            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'bar_style', previous_trait_value, this.$bar);
+            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'bar_style', previous_trait_value, this.$bar[0]);
         },
 
         update_attr: function(name, value) {
diff --git a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_selection.js b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_selection.js
index 3077d4aa6d..a4220031e1 100644
--- a/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_selection.js
+++ b/jupyter_notebook/static/widgets/js/widget_selection.js
@@ -113,8 +113,8 @@ define([
                 warning: ['btn-warning'],
                 danger: ['btn-danger']
             };
-            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'button_style', previous_trait_value, this.$droplabel);
-            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'button_style', previous_trait_value, this.$dropbutton);
+            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'button_style', previous_trait_value, this.$droplabel[0]);
+            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'button_style', previous_trait_value, this.$dropbutton[0]);
         },
 
         update_attr: function(name, value) {
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ define([
                 warning: ['btn-warning'],
                 danger: ['btn-danger']
             };
-            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'button_style', previous_trait_value, this.$buttongroup.find('button'));
+            this.update_mapped_classes(class_map, 'button_style', previous_trait_value, this.$buttongroup.find('button')[0]);
         },
 
         handle_click: function (e) {