Jefferson’s False Ideal of Freedom

Many influential leaders throughout history are remembered for both their positive and negative contributions to society; however, Thomas Jefferson seems to be the exception.  A new exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has been built to exhibit Thomas Jefferson’s life-long contradiction of freedom ideals and slavery, as opposed to his many achievements.  As the author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson stated that, “all men are created equal,” yet he owned hundreds of slaves himself, and was even rumored to have enslaved his own children.  Jefferson’s hypocritical, inconsistent actions toward the principles of freedom and slavery prove that in reality, he was a racist.

How could the author of, “all men are created equal” continue to enslave hundreds of innocent people?  Jefferson saw slaves as no more than dependent children.  He believed that slaves needed to be cared for, and could not rely on themselves to live independently.  Jefferson’s degrading beliefs kept him from questioning whether slavery was immoral and instead, led him to justify himself that slaves were not entitled to the freedom given to white Americans.  Though he is considered immoral, Jefferson was fortunately never known to be abusive toward his slaves.  In fact, Jefferson’s slaves did not want to leave Monticello, Jefferson’s home, because they knew that no one would treat them as well as he did.  As an iconic figure in American history, Jefferson should have encouraged equality by practicing it himself.  If Jefferson would have freed his slaves, those who admired him would have been more inspired to spread equality as well.  Jefferson’s choice to focus less on ending slavery is disappointing to many that admire Jefferson’s work.

As Jefferson spoke out against slavery, many were unaware of the relationships he held with his slaves.  Jefferson was even believed to have had children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemmings.  Although it would be expected for Jefferson to free Sally and start a family after his wife’s death, he chose to enslave the children instead.  Despite the fact that they were his own children, Jefferson saw them as nothing but slaves and chose to never acknowledge them as his own.  How could Jefferson truly believe in equality if he was not even willing to free his own children because of their race?  Jefferson’s inability to break racial barriers held the United States from progressing out of the horrible concept of enslavement.  As a leader, Jefferson should have been the first to follow his word of eliminating the cruel practice of owning innocent human beings.  Sally and their children lived as slaves until the day Jefferson died.  She and the children were the only slaves he freed; the others were sold off to pay his debts.  Families were torn and many children were sold to abusive households across the country.  The families had little hope of ever seeing each other again.

                Jefferson was a master of inconsistency and hypocrisy.  Jefferson stressed the importance of equality, yet he chose to ignore the importance of a large portion of the population.  Jefferson said himself that, “the policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits,” while at the same time taking the basic human rights from his slaves and restraining them from entering or progressing into society. Jefferson is glorified for his accomplishments while his choices regarding slavery are always overlooked.  He is most commonly known as founder of the University of Virginia and author of the Declaration of Independence, yet he spent a substantial amount of his lifetime acting against his words.  Jefferson’s brilliance took the United States one step forward; however, his prejudices led the country several steps back.   If Jefferson had used his respectable position in society to inspire people to change, perhaps the issues of segregation and racism would have been less traumatic and more of a welcoming change in American history.

                The introduction of the exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum will provide a new insight to the life of Thomas Jefferson.   For many Americans, this will be an entirely new concept of the third president’s contradiction of freedom ideals and slavery, and for others, a reminder of how far the country has progressed over time.  The goal of the exhibit is not to overshadow Jefferson’s many achievements, but to provide insight to what he considered freedom and who he believed it was entitled to.  The exhibit will not highlight his achievements, but will instead focus on his controversial racial views and positions.

Works Cited:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/history/american/8612-new-smithsonian-qraceq-exhibit-smears-columbus-thomas-jefferson
http://jpetrie.myweb.uga.edu/TJ.html
http://www.virginia-beach-family-fun.com/sally-hemmings.html
http://sc94.ameslab.gov/tour/tjefferson.html