Thomas Jefferson - The Man The Myth and The Morality




Thomas Jefferson was a man of the greatest moral character who has been
excoriated routinely over the last 30 years by historical revisionists
and presentists. His commitment to America and his vast contributions to
the framing of society as it is today are overlooked in favor of base
analysis of his character that, while not flawless, is that of a morally
upright person who has deeply held convictions and lives by them.
Jefferson was born to a prominent family of Virginia tobacco growers.
Plantation life is based largely around the work of slaves, so Jefferson
was surrounded by them from the time of his birth in 1743 until the day
he died. One of the harshest criticisms of Jefferson comes from the fact
that, while he vehemently opposed slavery, was indeed a slave owner
himself. As historian Douglas L. Wilson points out in his Atlantic
Monthly article ?Thomas Jefferson and the Character Issue?, the question
should be reversed:
??[T]his was of asking the question? is essentially backward, and
reflects the pervasive presentism of our time. Consider, for example,
how different the question appears when inverted and framed in more
historical terms: How did a man who was born into a slave holding
society, whose family and admired friends owned slaves, who inherited a
fortune that was dependent on slaves and slave labor, decide at an early
age that slavery was morally wrong and forcefully declare that it ought
to be abolished?? (Wilson 66).
Wilson also argues that Jefferson knew that his slaves would be better
off working for him than freed in a world where they would be treated
with contempt and not given any real freedoms.
Another way that Thomas Jefferson shows his moral character is in his
most famous achievement, the drafting of the Declaration of
Independence. This document is probably the most important document in
the history of the United States, and one of the most important in the
history of the world. Jefferson writes that ?all men are created equal?
and argues that every man has the right to ?life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.? Jefferson's document shows not only his strongly
held beliefs in freedom, ...