Thomas Jefferson - Essay Example

THOMAS JEFFERSON- CONTROVERSIAL STAND ON SLAVERY d THOMAS JEFFERSON- CONTROVERSIAL STAND ON SLAVERY INTRODUCTION One of the founders of American democracy, Thomas Jefferson’s name in history is known for its various facets of association. Thomas Jefferson’s efforts played an instrumental role in shaping the political system of America and laid the foundation stone for the democratic visionary the country is said to be today1. Through his ideas and able decision making, Jefferson was able to breathe new life into the governance and laws of the state that are still intact. The aim of this paper is to shed some light onto the life of Thomas Jefferson and one leading controversy that he is often associated with, slavery. An understanding of his upbringing and lifestyle will help in gaining perspective regarding his stand on the subject of slavery. BRIEF BIOGRAPHY Thomas Jefferson was born in a wealthy family in Virginia2, which had a significant impact on his aristocratic upbringing. His father was a well-established surveyor by profession and his mother belonged to one of the most distinguished families in the state as well. He led an extravagant lifestyle due to his family fortunes and father’s professional establishment. Upon his father’s death he inherited a significant amount of estate and other fortune as theheir.at the age of 26he started building the Monticello, his residential home for life. The place is still seen as a true depiction of the lifestyle and values of one of the greatest revolutionary personalities in the United States which was initially a plantation house and later took on the looks and attributes of a villa. Spread over some 5000 acres, the house boats of exquisite Italian designs and architectural taste of Thomas Jefferson. The large plains of green land were once cultivations of tobacco and other crop s that made use of the inherited manpower in the form of slaves. He married Martha Skelton and had 6 children out of whom only two could live into their adulthood. He went to the college of William and Mary and pursued law as his professional studies. He then served as a magistrate for the local government in his early professional life. This was followed by his assignment to the position of county lieutenant and a member of the House of Burgesses. In 1776, he was approached for the drafting and formulation of the declaration of independence, which regarded as an authentic charter of American liberties till this date. This document was the key to the foundation stone of democracy in America as it stated that all men are equal regardless of their color, race, status etc. and most importantly that the government was the servant of the people and not the master. This document is regarded as a true depiction of the purpose and state of affairs of America. He left the congress to serve the legislature in 1776 and was subsequently elected as governor for the period of 1779-17813. His actions were subjected to investigative probe in the later part of his tenure which had a severe impact on his personality and actions for life. After the end of his governorship period he penned down the famous ‘notes on the state of Virginia’ which highlighted facts and his thoughts on the state affairs that he developed during his period as a congressman and governor. In 1784 he decided to enter the public service profession again as a trade commissioner in France and later succeeded Benjamin franklin as the minister. He used his stay in Europe to understand the culture, architecture, drawings and knowledge etc. and made it a point to send mementos back to his home, the Monticello. To this day, one can observe the artifacts and impressive articles that are housed in Monticello form his days in France to understand his keen eye for exquisite and lavish goods. He was appointed the secretary of state in 1790 under George Washington’s presidency. In 1796 he lost the presidential election to john Adams by three electoral votes to become vice president. However, after four years his fate turned and he succeeded in beating john Adams to become the third president of the United States. His acquisition of Louisiana territory and support for Lewis and Clark expedition are regarded as the some of his major accomplishments as president. He was replaced by James madison in 1809 and he spent the rest of his life in Monticello. His service to the masses did not end at his presidency and he founded the University of Virginia at the age of seventy six. His dedication can be evaluated from his participation in the curriculum design to the campus architecture at the time of its inception. SLAVERY Thomas Jefferson is known for his strong opposition for the practice of slavery4. He vocally opposed slavery and called it the moral depravity of people that was absolutely contrary to his proposition in the declaration of independence that deemed all men as equal no matter what religion, color race or ethnicity they belonged to. During the American Revolution, Jefferson supported the legislation that proposed the abolition of slavery. He also designed laws in Virginia against the import of African slaves. He strongly believed that putting a stop to slavery is one of the key steps of accomplishing true democracy. However, the practice could only be ruled out if the slave-owners voluntarily agreed to free their slaves as emancipative action. The effectiveness of his measures to put an end to slavery was criticized greatly in history as his tenure saw a rise in the number of slaves in Virginia. It became a flourishing business and spread reasonably wide even though abolition of slave trade had been imposed. As desperate measures to control slavery he banned the cultivation of labor intensive crops in Virginia and proposed gradual emancipation as the only solution to drive out the practice of slavery. He made it mandatory for slave-owners to provide proper living conditions to slaves in order to naturalize the brutality of the practice and support the slow eradication of the practice in the state. The museum of black American history and culture houses a section that sheds light on the slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello calling it a paradox of liberty. According to the associate director of the museum Jefferson enslaved about 607 men women and children during his lifetime 5. He was known to have been surrounded by slaves from his very birth at the Monticello and the paradox lies in his opposing the practice when he hardly took any steps to start with freeing his own slaves. The museum houses many artifacts and tools that had been crafted by the hands of these slaves and a video playing in the background shows the living conditions and the day-long endurance of these black slaves to hone the land for cultivation and serve the masters of the Monticello. The Smithsonian magazine also criticizes Jefferson’s dual stand on the subject of slavery and how the genuine intentions cannot be judged because he was a true depiction of a hypocritical elite. The magazine states his lavish villa and stories of slavery are enough to prove the point. His contemporaries like George Washington were inspired by the declaration of independence and freed their slaves eventually but Jefferson’s reluctance to do so have been a question of controversy for long. He was also criticized for his racial statements that said that the color of the skin of the blacks came from their dark blood and that they lacked sentiments and basic human abilities of sensation 6. These statements colored a different picture of him as compared to the ones created when he drafted the independence declaration. That being said, Jefferson was greatly criticized for his racial discriminatory beliefs that considered that black slaves cannot live peacefully with the white Americans as they were two separate nations that could not coexist. His use of words to describe his take on the situation also depicted his strong sense of negativity towards racial equality and co-existence of all men. He stated that slavery was like holding a wolf by its ears as it is hard to keep holding on and letting go can be dangerous. He is also criticized in history for his personal hypocrisy. This is because he had inherited 200 slaves from his father and ancestors out of whom he did not free more than 5 out of which had run away and Jefferson had decided not to pursue their retrieval. Thus, he has gone down in many historical literatures as a flawed human being who was not what he claimed to be which has tainted his otherwise spotless character. CONCLUSION Thomas Jefferson’s efforts to abolish the practice of slavery cannot be denied. His contradictory acts in his personal life leave a question mark regarding the authenticity of his intention but the fact remains that as a part of the legislation and governor, he formulated and implemented laws that did support the abolition of the practice all together. Keeping his personal actions aside one cannot argue that his proposed ideals in the declaration of independence are the pillar of the current American governance7. His efforts demand that he be held at a higher standard for the positives as the negatives cannot be questioned after he is no more in this world. His gift to the American nation was his commitment to service the masses and creation a true democratic state. REFERENCES: Monticello.org,. Thomas Jefferson, A Brief Biography « Thomas Jefferson’S Monticello. Last modified 2014. Accessed July 7, 2014. http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/thomas-jefferson-brief-biography. Bernstein, Richard B. Thomas Jefferson. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Finkelman, Paul. Slavery And The Founders. 1st ed. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2001. Loc.gov,. Declaration Of Independence: Right To Institute New Government | Exhibitions - Library Of Congress. Last modified 2014. Accessed July 7, 2014. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffdec.html. Landsurveyorsunited.com,. Thomas Jefferson Land Surveyor. Last modified 2014. Accessed July 7, 2014. http://landsurveyorsunited.com/group/historyandsurveyingusa/forum/topics/thomas-jefferson-land-surveyor?overrideMobileRedirect=1. FINKELMAN, PAUL. Log In - The New York Times. Nytimes.Com. Last modified 2012. Accessed July 8, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/opinion/the-real-thomas-jefferson.html?_r=0. GrigsBates, Karen. Life At Jeffersons Monticello, As His Slaves Saw It. NPR.Org. Last modified 2012. Accessed July 8, 2014. http://www.npr.org/2012/03/11/148305319/life-at-jeffersons-monticello-as-his-slaves-saw-it. Read More