THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to the mayor of Washington, June 24, 1826, declining an invitation to the 4th of July celebration in Washington - (Jefferson died 10 days later):
May it be to the world, what I believe it will be (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government … All eyes are opened or opening to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God. These are the grounds of hope for others; for ourselves, let the annual return to this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.Posted by sheila
jeez man
how is it this guy was a slave owner
its like he had a split personality
And why is he arousing men?
Posted by: sid at February 16, 2004 11:36 PMRossi -
The thing that is so fascinating about this man is that he was BOTH a slave owner and one of the most brilliant men this country has ever produced.
Both of these things must be acknowledged, and I don't believe we can throw the baby out with the bathwater.
This country was tormented about slavery long before the Civil War and Thomas Jefferson was also tormented by the institution (I put another quote about that below.) The issue of slavery was debated openly at the Continental Congress - and Jefferson had written a denunciation of slavery into the Declaration of Independence - But because of the delegates from the Southern states, who would not sign if that denunciation remained, the Congress decided to strike it out - knowing that the issue would rise up again, ten-fold. But for them, in that moment, gaining independence and being unanimous was more important - They chose it, knowing that it was less than perfect. They chose that route knowing that there was a stain on their intentions.
All of this is true, as contradictory as it sounds.
We MUST NOT toss Thomas Jefferson onto a trash heap because he had this ultimate contradiction. He is too great a man.
Posted by: red at February 17, 2004 10:16 AMIMO the point is not just to note his hypocrisy, but to understand Jefferson fully and hopefully to understand history more completely. You note his hypocrisy, which hopefully leads you to seek out more knowledge about slavery. Questions beget more questions?
Americans make icons of our leaders and forget to acknowledge and respect the memory of the people who were not leaders, who were not great, but who, with their sweat and lives, helped create the nation we all live in today.
We have to look beyond the first blush of history and really dig into the good parts.
Posted by: j Swift at February 17, 2004 2:26 PMSwift:
Unfortunately digging into the good parts leads people to judge the man of the 18th century by the standards of the 21st Century with regretable consequences. Context is omitted or ignored and the social mores of the time swept away. Fortunately great men (and women) will always be great no matter where they come from, nationality or race they are or time they exist in.
Posted by: Richard Cook at February 18, 2004 11:05 AMJ Swift:
First of all, absolutely love your chosen moniker. Very good stuff.
Additionally, you say: "Americans make icons of our leaders and forget to acknowledge and respect the memory of the people who were not leaders, who were not great, but who, with their sweat and lives, helped create the nation we all live in today."
This is, indeed, true - but, in my opinion, you cannot compare the two. There are those who fought and struggled and went years away from their families, fighting in the American Revolution - men whose names we do not know. We do owe a huge debt to these men.
But there is a difference between those who fight and those who envision the WHYS of the fight - those who, like Abraham Lincoln said of Jefferson's writing of the Declaration, are able to put "abstract truth" into terms meaningful for the rest of us.
Jefferson's contribution, not just to the American Revolution, but to humanity, cannot be measured. if all he ever did in his life was write the Declaration of Independence, that would be enough.
Red, I was not making a comparison or judging one view over the other, both have merits.
It should not be the sole purpose of a historian to write the "truth" about one of our great thinkers to tear down the icon. If you are going to write a political polemic, you should state so up front.
It should not be the purpose of a historian to ignore the negative or hypocritical aspects of the same. Nor, for that matter, the negative or out right heinous aspects of our history. As far as I am concerned "revisionism" starts with the axiom that the "winners write history".
And that being said, I admire TJ over any other the country's founding fathers. So much so that I only have grudging respect for Hamilton's accomplishments.
"It should not be the purpose of a historian to ignore the negative or hypocritical aspects of the same.".
What an absolutely refreshing thought. I totally agree.
Posted by: red at February 18, 2004 1:53 PMJefferson was NOT a great man. You can dress a person up, compliment him on his accomplishments and brains, but at the end of the day, if people are being held against their will, forced to work with no pay, the man forcing them to do this is a monster. Wise up and stop making excuses for him.
Posted by: Lee at March 30, 2004 7:21 PMLee:
God, I envy you. To live in a black-and-white morally clear universe must be so comforting.
Posted by: red at March 31, 2004 10:16 AM