Essay on Thomas Jefferson A Man of Two Faces - 680 Words

Thomas Jefferson: A Man of Two Faces THESIS: Thomas Jefferson was a wealthy plantation owner and politician that would speak out about slavery on a regular basis but would still employ slaves for his own use. We are told by his biographers, and apologists, that he hated slavery with a passion. But since he participated fully in the plantation slavery system, buying and selling slaves on occasion, and because he could not bring himself to free his own slaves, who often numbered upward of 200-250 on his plantations, one has to either question the verity of this passion or speculate that it was merely the abstract idea of slavery that he hated. (Smedley 189) Thomas Jefferson was always aware of the fact that slavery would soon one†¦show more content†¦Many people believed saw slaves as just property even though they talk, walk, breathe, and carry out all other essential human functions. Slaves are no different than Thomas Jefferson and the other plantation owners, their skin may be an altered color than theirs, but that does not allow a person to be treated in the matter slaves were. Jefferson owned 15,000 acres of prosperous plantations and hundreds of slaves to work his land every single day and night. Like all plantation workers Jefferson, housed both white and black workers. He seemed to have more exclusive relations with the slaves that tended to his personal needs such as those who cooked, waited on tables, washed, wove the cloth, and made the clothing for the house. Including these slaves was a young woman who shared the same bed as Jefferson, known as Dusky Sally who some believe was pregnant with his baby. Jeffersons legal grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, many years later admitted in an interview that either Madison or Eston, a slave resembled Jefferson that at certain times it was difficult to determine if that was Jefferson or not. Even though Jefferson thought that slaves were not equal he seemed to have relations over a period of years with Sally Hemmings, a slave at his plantation. Jefferson was viewed as one of the most brilliant men in the American colonies, he wrote on slavery up until the Revolutionary War,Show MoreRelatedA Brief Biography on Thomas Jefferson Essay1487 Words   |  6 PagesSynthesis Essay - Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson The Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy defines a leader as â€Å"†¦someone who influences others to achieve a goal.† (CF02, FRLD, p. 9, 2012) Thomas Jefferson was a visionary and ethical leader that fought for and ensured that a group of colonies in a new land achieved the ultimate goal of creating the United States of America. While he was the third President of our nation, one could argue that his most influential work came yearsRead More Joseph J. 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