Thomas Jefferson: Hypocritical Genius

Britton Stokes

Section 13

Thomas Jefferson's Enigmatic Philosophies

Thomas Jefferson was a man of remarkable success. His resume is one that still holds weight in today's market, with his occupations as a Founding Father, U.S. President, Diplomat, Lawyer, Philosopher, Librarian, and a plethora of other revered titles. Despite all of these accomplishments, he died leaving behind a trail of hypocritical philosophical doctrines that are, to this day, leaving historians scratching their heads at Jefferson's motives and mentality through the duration of his life. His perspective on Locke and Hobbes' theories on Natural Rights proves he was a man who was purely ahead of his time. The Natural Rights being every individual's entitlement to life, liberty, and property. Jefferson was the drafter of the Declaration of Independence, which continues to be one of the most important documents in human history. Within the aforementioned political treatise, Jefferson 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".

This raises the question on the elephant in the room at the time, what was Jefferson's opinion on abolitionism if he indeed held the value of Natural Rights so dear? He was adamantly supportive of the notion, saying that the slave trade was a "hideous blot" on the fabric of America. As Governor of Virginia, Jefferson even moved to abolish the slave trade only to have the legislation shot down in the State Legislature. In the first draft of the Declaration, Jefferson wrote a clause decrying King George III's support of slavery, 

"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.  This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the Christian King of Great Britain".

This clause was eventually struck down in the final draft at the behest of delegates from the southern colonies within the Continental Congress. Despite this, Jefferson himself utilized slave labor on the construction of the University of Virginia and his homestead, Monticello. A man as intelligent as he was, how did Jefferson not see as to acknowledge and address this grave hypocrisy in his principles? The fact of the matter is that it was beneficial to his toiling finances to utilize slavery for his personal aspirations, such as the establishment of the aforementioned University of Virginia and Monticello. Jefferson died with over $30,000 in debt above his head, which is equivalent to $700,000 today. Revered biographer Merril Peterson aptly notes Jefferson's unsung internal struggle with slavery, 

"All his adult life has placed him at odds with his moral and political principles. Yet there can be no question of his genuine hatred of slavery or, indeed, of the efforts he made to curb and eliminate it."

In the end, Thomas Jefferson, while being an undeniable trailblazer in the realm of human progress, remains a flawed individual with righteous principles for his time. Whether or not his philosophy is in conflict with the "practice what you preach" line of thinking is up to any individual's subjective interpretation. His ill-fated attempts to limit and abolish indentured servitude within the fledgling United States of America, and the man's contributions to establishing a country in which popular sentiments of the enlightened electorate may, through time, dispell injustice in any sense of the term, should never go unnoted or forgotten with the ebbs and flows of human history.


Quiz Questions:

1.) Who were the main individuals in developing the Natural Rights Theory?
2.) What rights did Jefferson note all people are entitled to within the Declaration of Independence?
3.) Why was Jefferson's slavery clause in the Declaration of Independence omitted in the final draft?
4.) What two powerful words did Jefferson use to describe the slave trade in America?

Discussion Questions:

1.) Do you believe Jefferson should be celebrated or decried? Why?

2.) What would you say if you could speak with Jefferson about this issue face-to-face?

3.) Did Jefferson do everything he could to resist and undermine slavery during his time?



Sources:

https://www.nlnrac.org/earlymodern/locke

https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-slavery/jefferson-s-attitudes-toward-slavery/

https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/notes-state-virginia