Thomas jefferson the man the myth and the

ityThomas Jefferson was a gentleman of the very best moral character who has recently been

excoriated consistently over the last 3 decades by traditional revisionists

and presentists. His commitment to America wonderful vast efforts to

the framing of society as it is today are overlooked in favour of base

research of his character that, while not perfect, is that of a morally

upright person who provides deeply organised convictions and lives simply by them.

Jefferson was born to a prominent family of Virginia cigarette growers.

Plantation life is centered largely about the work of slaves, thus Jefferson

was surrounded by all of them from the time of his delivery in 1743 until the working day

he died. One of the harshest criticisms of Jefferson originates from the fact

that, while this individual vehemently compared with slavery, was indeed a slave owner

himself. As historian Douglas L. Wilson points out in the Atlantic

Month to month article Thomas Jefferson plus the Character Concern, the question

needs to be reversed:

This was of asking fit essentially in reverse, and

reflects the pervasive presentism of the time. Consider, for example

just how different the question appears the moment inverted and framed much more

historical terms: How would a man who was born in a slave keeping

society, in whose family and popular friends possessed slaves, who have inherited a

fortune that was dependent upon slaves and slave labor, decide at an early

era that captivity was morally wrong and forcefully declare that it should

to be abolished? (Wilson 66).

Wilson as well argues that Jefferson recognized that his slaves would be better

away working for him than liberated in a world where they can be cured

with contempt and not offered any real freedoms.

One other way that Jones Jefferson shows his meaningful character is within his

most well-known achievement, the drafting with the Declaration of

Independence. This document is probably the most important record in

a history of the United States, and one of the most important in the

good the world. Jefferson writes that most men are created equal

and argues that many man has got the right to your life, liberty, plus the

pursuit of joy. Jeffersons document shows not simply his highly

held morals in freedom, but his acceptance of and belief in the landscapes

of the Regarding Reason. He believed him self to be a one who was performing

what was morally right, not for the fame that would ultimately accompany

that. In fact , he didnt need to write the Declaration in the first place. In

1776, the song Not Me, John reveals how Jefferson was pressed into undertaking

it, while he would have actually alternatively gone home to see

his wife. Once nobody different would undertake it, he acquiesced and opted for

write that. His quote, What will great grandchildren think we were demigods?

Were men no longer, no less (1776), shows how as a modern-day of

this kind of philosophical greats as Voltaire and Mill, he do what this individual did

because it was what needed to happen not by any means, shape, or perhaps form

as they wanted to become remembered as a demigod, a standing he actually

had in any case, according to Wilson, before the 1960s.

Something else that Jeffersons character is definitely criticized for and broken

out of proportion is usually his liaison with a servant, Sally Hemings. Historian

Fawn Brodie states that it was certainly not scandalous naughtiness with a great

innocent slave victim, but rather a serious passion that helped bring

Jefferson as well as the slave woman much happiness over a period lasting

thirty-eight years. Accurate, their affair started the moment she was only 13

years old, but to criticize this is terribly presentistic. In impérialiste

times, especially in the middle and southern groupe, girls had been

married off between the ages of 13 and 18, it was certainly not considered

defilement and abuse like it is usually today. Actually his romantic relationship with

Hemings could actually be regarded as a positive thing for him on

two fronts: Since she was 52 when he died, Jefferson obviously would not

lust following her solely on a physical basis, also, he promised his partner

when the girl died that he would not remarry. He fulfilled his promise simply

because he discovered a woman to love whom he was not really expected, indeed not

allowed, to marry. This is a weak front side on which to criticize Jefferson.

Given Jeffersons contributions to American society, it is practically

impossible to find him to get morally poor and rough. Those who do are

presentists, cynics, and nay-sayers whom are simply looking for a way to

criticize

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