If someone were to walk down the bustling streets of Times Square in New York City, they’d likely see a large variety of people coming from different ethnicities and cultures. The diversity of this country is why America is referred to as a “melting pot”, and why this country is one of the greatest in the world. Several blocks away in Times Square, there stands a lady in the harbor with open arms, who once welcomed immigrants from various walks of life into the country. Despite this, history reminds us that America wasn’t always such a welcoming place. Those who were different were looked down upon and labeled as pariahs, savages, or animals. In From Query XIV Laws written by Thomas Jefferson, an ignorant attempt to discuss the topic of slavery and diversity is made. In what at first appears to be a hopeful approach to condemning slavery and racism, Thomas Jefferson only reveals his ignorant prejudiced attitude that he holds towards blacks. At the start of his essay, Jefferson gives his audience a false sense of hope that he will denounce slavery as he discusses a proposition that would emancipate those born into slavery. Jefferson begins to discuss a biased divide among society in what he calls, “deep …show more content…
His argument begins in a very general sense, but soon transitions to the specifics. He deduces that blacks sweat more than whites and that their sweat “gives them a very strong disagreeable odor” (712). Jefferson goes on to state that blacks do not need as much sleep as whites do because “after hard labor through the day [they] will be induced by the slightest amusements to sit up till midnight, or later though knowing he must be out with the first dawn of morning (713). The fact did not cross Jefferson’s mind that perhaps staying up late at night to converse with friends and family was the only chance of relaxation a slave