Thomas Jefferson is best remembered as the author of the American Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. These documents remain the foundation of our great nation that continues to be a true land of opportunity and freedom for all.

Jefferson is appropriately lauded for his role in the founding of the "land of the free". However, to many, this is a misnomer as they believe that Jefferson was a hypocrite and a racist. Many people question Jefferson's support for emancipation and the abolition of slavery while he retained ownership of over 170 slaves.

What were his true beliefs as he penned those now famous words "all men are created equal" (1)? Did he consider blacks to be equal or did he consider them an inferior species as when he wrote, "that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind. (2)"

At first glance, Jefferson does seem to be a hypocrite in regards to the equality of men and the institution of slavery. However, stepping back and looking at Jefferson through the prism of his time period, it becomes obvious that he truly found the institution of slavery to be abominable.

Even before the founding of our nation, slavery was one of the most divisive issues our forefathers faced. Jefferson recognized the political and economic reality that slavery was an evil institution that could not be eliminated in his lifetime. Jefferson's desire to forge a single nation overrode his personal abhorrence of slavery.

Jefferson's thoughts on the institution of slavery in America were summarized best when he said, "we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go." His recognition that an abomination had already been committed against blacks, but that any attempt to right the wrong would be dangerous to the country as a whole was proven when the issue of slavery was the key factor in the fighting of the American Civil War.

Though Jefferson could not rid our country of slavery, he did believe in treating slaves as men and women rather than as property. He vowed, both in word and deed, that:

"until more can be done for them, we should endeavor, with those whom fortune has thrown on our hands, to feed and clothe them well, protect them from ill usage, require such reasonable labor only as is performed voluntarily by freemen, and be led by no repugnancies to abdicate them, and our duties to them." (Thomas Jefferson, 1814) (3)

What were Thomas Jefferson's views on slavery? He abhorred slavery as an institution, and lived his life attempting to rid our nation of this abomination. He treated his slaves with dignity and respect, and tried to ensure they were treated as equally as the political realities permitted. In effect, Jefferson treated his slaves as his children, never forgetting his duty and responsibility to them as men and women living in a free country.

Jefferson may not have been successful in freeing the slaves, however, he laid the groundwork so that a few decades later, President Abraham Lincoln could.

References:

(1) American Declaration of Independence

(2) Thomas Jefferson, "Notes on the State of Virginia"

(3) http://www.monticello.org/jeff erson/dayinlife/plantation/dig .html

Learn more about this author, Alan Fernald.
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