Did Thomas Jefferson Believe In Equality Essay

Did Thomas Jefferson Really Believe in Equality?

Thomas Jefferson, America’s 3rd president, vice president, Secretary of State, founder of Virginia University, and holder of many more titles, including the author of the Declaration of Independence, was a very intelligent man who had profound beliefs and thoughts. However, those beliefs and thoughts were contradictory and hypocritical compared to his actions and behavior, especially his views on slavery. The man who wrote, “That all men are created equal” (U.S. Constitution, Preamble), yet owned slaves, causes me to question whether Jefferson really believed that all men were equal. Though Jefferson was an intelligent man who achieved many things, he could not rise above the racist thoughts

He did not think that African Americans as a people were equal to whites. In fact, he deduced that blacks “are inferior to the whites in the endowments of both body and mind.” (Magnis) He came to this conclusion because as a scientist, Jefferson speculated that blackness might have come from the color of the blood, suggesting that there was something genetically wrong with African Americans. He also felt that blacks could not reason as rationally as whites did, and that “in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous.” (Finkelman, par.12) What Jefferson failed to realize is that these people that he believed were dull, tasteless, and anomalous in imagination, were from a completely different culture, lifestyle, and way of thinking, which they were forcefully stripped off when they were brought to America. African-American slaves were not allowed to read, indulge in the arts, think freely, or expand and share their insightful thoughts the way white people did unless they gained permission from their master. This left them shortsighted in their thinking, which spread to each generation of African American slaves. Jefferson thought that blacks, especially free blacks were “pests in society who were as incapable children of taking care of themselves.”( Finkelman, par. 10). This racist view of African Americans is how Jefferson justified slavery in his mind, even though he knew

This made him the second largest slaveholder in Albemarle County, Virginia at the time. The number of slaves that he owned increased through the natural population growth of slave families on the plantation, which he encouraged because it meant increased productivity, which meant more money for Jefferson since he owned an extremely profitable nail making workshop at Monticello along with his plantation. Which is another reason why Jefferson did not want to end slavery or free his slaves because he was profiting directly from them. He was a benevolent slave owner who treated his slaves with sympathy and compassion because it benefitted him and his nail workshop. He only sold or purchased slaves to unite couples and families because he figured out that when slave families are together, they perform more efficiently which increased their productivity, compared to slave couples and families that were separated, “He could foster family ties through benevolent intercession, he could exploit them to control behavior…”(Stanton par. 6). Jefferson realized that slaves’ well-being played a role in how well they worked, which he used to his advantage. His benevolent behavior towards the slaves proved to be more profitable for him than if he were violent and cruel. Though he was considerate of the slaves, Jefferson still was