A Perspective on Thomas Jefferson’s Life Thomas Jefferson was an author of the Declaration of Independence , the third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia. As a public official, historian, Philosopher, and plantation owner, he served his country for over five decades (monticello.org). Jefferson is seen as a very honorable man by most people because of the positions he has taken and for all he has done for the nation. On the surface, only positive information about Thomas Jefferson is commonly discussed, but after some research his dark side came to light. Even though Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of the Declaration of independence, he shouldn’t be glorified as a saint because he was
In the Declaration of independence he states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…,”. Here he states that all people have the these “unalienable rights” and that they are all equal, but this doesn’t go with the fact that at this time he had about 200 human beings enslaved. According to Michael Coard Jefferson described slavery as a “cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of distant people who never offended … “he also described it as “this execrable commerce” and “assemblage of horrors.” And in 1781, he called it “… this great political and moral evil …”. (Coard) In his writings one would have thought that he did not own any slaves because he stood for equality and saw it as a wrong. However, Richard Stockton states otherwise that the truth is that he did own slaves on his property in the Monticello Plantation and that it was more than just a farm; it was a miniature town where forced labor made all the wheels turn. At the heart of the enterprise was the nail factory. In letter after letter Jefferson talked a lot about how profitable the place was. The shop thrived because it it was run by child labor. The nailery, as it was
When the American Revolution was taking place a Polish freedom fighter and engineer Tadeusz Kosciuszko, came to America in 1798 to receive back pay for his military service. He then wrote a will directing Jefferson to use all of Kosciuszko’s money and land in the U.S. to “free and educate slaves.” as much as the money would allow and Jefferson agreed to do so. When Kosciuszko passed, Jefferson declined to free or educate any of them (history.com). It was said to be believed that Jefferson was a man of his word but this shows how he lied about the promise he made and that he didn’t care about the slave’s freedom.
In conclusion, yes Thomas Jefferson might have been portrayed as a great leader that helped America in various ways such as being the third president of the United States and being one of the authors to write the declaration of independence. However, in reality he did have a dark side based of all the actions he has made in the past starting with not expressing the real way he felt about slaves, to lying and making false promises, and lastly having had sexually violated an underage girl many times. All of this factual evidence has helped prove that Thomas Jefferson was indeed a person with many
In the article “Hope and Heritage: Myth and Thomas Jefferson” (Hope & Heritage pages 133-137) by Gordon S. Wood do not show the good man Jefferson is made out to be in present days. In his time Thomas Jefferson was sought as a bad man whose views towards slavery were for it to never abolish it “Jefferson could never truly imagine a negro being free in a white man’s world” but throughout the article you quickly notice Jefferson’s views on slaves seems to change whether from misinterpretation of the people or his unfortunate but very predictable tragedy of becoming in debt “he knew slavery was evil but believed his generation couldn’t do much about it” he in terms came to hate slavery and all it was, but knew people were too dependent on negro slaves to completely abolish them.
In his book, An Imperfect God, Henry Wiencek argues in favor of Washington being the first true president to set the precedent for the emancipation of African-American slaves. Wiencek delves into the evil paradox of how a nation conceived on the principles of liberty and dedicated to the statement that all men are created equal was in a state that still preserved slavery for over seven decades following the construction of the nation. Washington’s grandeur estate at Mount Vernon at its peak had the upkeep of over 300 slaves 126 of which were owned by Washington. First, it must be understood that Washington was raised on slavery receiving ownership of 10 slaves at the age of 11 years old and that Washington was a man of his time. However, it must also be understood that Washington’s business with slavery was in the context of a constrained social and political environment. Weincek maintains that this does not exonerate the fact that Washington maintained slavery however; it does help to quantify the moral shortcoming by which Washington carried until his last year of life.
Thomas Jefferson was a slave holder and the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence. Many will assume he was a racist and pro-slavery, but unless one were to look deeper into why Jefferson would even own slaves, this assumption is very believable. I would say Thomas Jefferson was a hypocrite, but he was justified hypocrite. As I think about why would Jefferson would want the abolishing of slaves, but on the other hand own slaves, it seems a bit hypocritical, but we must take a moment and really think was his hypocrisy justifiable? During this era nearly every successful white man owned slaves, so why would Jefferson not own them himself? Slaves were not just considered property, but they had valuable characteristics about them. They
Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner himself, originally wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all slaves should coexist with society, but he ended up revoking his opinions. Notes on the State of Virginia, written by Thomas Jefferson was a story that had conflicting ideas about African Americans and their role in society. During Jefferson’s time period, whites often regarded African Americans simply as slaves, or even a different species altogether. Slaves were regarded as culturally, physically, and mentally different from their white counterparts. Americans started to become dependent on their slaves, which made them want to keep their dominant relationship even more than before. Jefferson believed
Thomas Jefferson has an amazing role in our lives today from the hard work and time he spent to make an easier future for all of us. There are days that some of us could not thrive as the people we are without the appliances he made to make challenging tasks easier for us. Some people look up to him because he never stopped doing great things and never stopped showing unselfishness. Thomas Jefferson revolutionized the world of the 18th century and centuries to come. Thomas Jefferson was one of the most influential people of the 18th century because he was one of the founding fathers of America, he was the founder of the University of Virginia, and he was the creator of many life changing inventions, which drastically changed the world.
His writings show how he truly views slavery. In the first document, found in the Declaration of Independence, he claims that King George III is violating the rights of Africans by taking them and selling them into slavery elsewhere in the world. In the last document, written to Holmes regarding the Missouri Compromise, he states how people would be happier having a greater surface for the slave trade. This is a perfect example of how Jefferson was hypocritical; he simply contradicted himself. Although these documents were written forty years or so apart, I believe that it is still important to note his hypocrisy. This is mainly because Jefferson owned slaves throughout this entire time
Thomas Jefferson designates a listing of a lot of rivers. However, the major rivers are important is Kaskaskia and Vincennes this is recovered in the revolution for America. An individual that helped get this territory is a Virginian named George Rogers Clark, Jefferson mentions this to shed light on how Virginia had an important role in discovering the territory (Shuffelton Xxi appendix). Jefferson grew up in Virginia. Like several Virginians if someone is from that state they want to show how much Virginia means to them. It shows how people in Virginia lived. Like with how Jefferson mentions cotton trade in query XIX. The identity of southern farmers is highly incorporated in this query. Jefferson states, “those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen people, whose breasts he has made his peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue ( Shuffelton 268).” He even goes on to describe that many manufacturing should remain in Europe. Jefferson wants the idea of cultivation to be protected. The colonies are founded on farming from land. Americans, especially in the south are known for farming. Jamestown began to boom by tobacco. Jefferson in his career tried to always protect farmers. Farming is what helped sustain the economy. Since America is founded on farming it should be protected. Many people wanted to leave manufacturing, which Britain established. This did not last.
Thomas Jefferson, an educated, well respected career man, served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and president of the United States. The Revolutionary era, during the 1770's, proved to be one of America's most victorious times. Despite the casualties the American colonies suffered, they proved to be stronger than their ruling land, Britain, and won the right to be a free land, becoming the United States of America. Living through this difficult turning point in history inspired Jefferson to write "The Declaration of Independence." Once again, nearly two hundred years later, America faced yet another turning point in history.
There were many men involved in the establishment of the government, the laws regulating states and people, and individual rights in the construction of the United States of America. Two men stand out as instrumental to our founding principles: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson was an educated, articulate and accomplished man from a well-respected family. He had a great understanding of farming and of the relationship between man and his environment, working diligently to balance the two for the best interest of each. He “considered himself first and always a man of the land” (Jewett, 2005).
Thomas Jefferson's Presidential Legacy Thomas Jefferson, our third president, was born in 1743 in Virginia. He studied at William and Mary and then read the law. In 1772, he married a widow lady, Martha Skelton and he took her to live at his partially completed home at Monticello, the plantation consisting of approximately 5,000 acres that he inherited from his father. Mr. Jefferson was considered to be a gifted writer, but he was not a public speaker. He wrote his support for the patriotic cause in the House of Burgesses and the Continental congresses but he did not give any speeches.
Although living in a place where slavery was accepted, he called it "moral depravity" and believed that slavery presented the greatest threat to the survival of the new American nation. Jefferson wrote letters to his peers admitting that slavery is wrong and the he has a plan for emancipation.B In 1778, Jefferson drafted a Virginia law that prohibited the importation of enslaved Africans. In 1784, he proposed an ordinance that would ban slavery in the Northwest territories.2 Thomas Jefferson owned over 200 slaves and only freed few slaves upon his death. Jefferson treated his slaves well.3 Jefferson hardly ever allowed his slaves to be overworked or whipped. His slaves worked on his large plantation, he needed the slaves to raise his livestock and cash crops. Jefferson, although treating his slaves well, considered his slaves property.4 When he needed to he sold and bought them, he also punished the slaves that disobeyed him. Even though Jefferson opposed slavery, he still owned them at the same time making him a hypocrite.
Thomas Jefferson was born in what is now Albermarle County, Virginia on April 13, 1743. Jefferson was educated at the College of William and Mary and then went on to study law with George Wythe. Thomas Jefferson is most well known for his part in writing the Declaration of Independence and for being our third president. Thomas Jefferson has contributed greatly to the building of our government. He was a truly remarkable man who set forth the basic ideals and beliefs in government that have stayed the same for over two hundred years. In researching Thomas Jefferson I see a man who poetically expressed the fundamental purpose behind government that is, I feel, sometimes overlooked in today's political government and by the media.
“All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights,” (Thomas Jefferson) This is the famous statement made by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. He is being extremely hypocritical here considering he himself owned a near two hundred slaves. The slaves are still owned and treated as ‘property’. Thomas Jefferson did not have care for the slaves. The equalities discussed in the Declaration were not aimed to all men, they were aimed at specific white men. Frederick Douglass a former slave excellently asks in reaction to Jefferson; “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” What he means by “Us” is African American, it could also mean slave considering he was one. It is just so perfectly put because it is obvious the beliefs of Jefferson were not extended to African American’s or slaves. He continues on rather sarcastically “confess the benefits”, this is important because there was very little benefits. (Frederick Douglass, 1852,
Jefferson came into office on March 4, 1801 and left office on March 4, 1809. His first term’s vice president was Aaron Burr, and his second term’s vice president was George Clinton. He ran with the Democratic-Republican Party and heavily opposed the Federalist Party. Prior to his election, he had already held many positions in public office; vice president and secretary of state . Because he was preceded only by John Adams and George Washington, Jefferson played a large role in the formation of the character of the American President. For his first inaugural address, according to a reporter, “His dress was, as usual, that of a plain citizen without any distinctive badge of office.” This casual nature showed the American public that he was not a king, but a normal citizen who was there for the people, he was even known as the “Man of the People”. Many other American Presidents used that same style in order to appeal to the public.
A man who no one could truly describe his character. A man who spoke regarding freedom, yet had many slaves. As per Ellis, Thomas Jefferson was a man with many personalities and characteristics. The points which I found interesting from Joe Ellis Interview are how Thomas Jefferson had a mysterious hue type of personality. He was very quiet and kept a lot to himself. A perfect example would Monticello, how its build in a private area on top of mountains in a quiet area, looking at the rest of the world. When an individual is quiet it?s really hard to understand their thoughts, personality and characteristics. He was a man as explained by Ellis ,who said one thing, but did the opposite, such as keeping slaves. Even though Jefferson said to be all for freedom, he kept slaves and gave the reasoning if freed would not be able to survive in the white society. Almost portraying like a protector, to keep the African Americans from harm and off the hands of Whites. Ellis believes one of the main reason why Thomas Jefferson became an icon for us is the fact that he created the Declaration of Independence. Joe Ellis also mentions how Thomas Jefferson needed slaves to do many things he needed to get done, such as building the Monticello, looking after his household, even using the slave women for sexual pleasures. He was a man who took full advantage of the slaves he had. Monticello was always a place which was unfinished; it had continuous work done to it, just like so Joe Ellis describes Thomas Jefferson character to be. Thomas Jefferson was a man of different personalities and one could not finish exploring of his personality and