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Did Thomas Jefferson Deserve A F?

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In my opinion, Thomas Jefferson deserves an F. Mainly because he couldn’t keep his word. Thomas Jefferson was very wishy-washy. He would say one thing and do another. He was the type of guy who couldn’t keep a promises no matter how hard he tried. He wasn’t friends with John Adams either even though he served as John’s Vice President. When he said “all men are created equal” he didn’t really mean all men. To him, the poor people were not created equally. They weren’t treated equally either. Only the rich people and the landowners were created equal in Thomas Jefferson eyes. Poor people were usually slaves. Plantation owners including Thomas Jefferson had slaves. Thomas Jefferson had over 200 slaves. I gave him a bad grave because he had slaves,
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Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency Grade When Thomas Jefferson won the election and became president, the main party of the government changed to Democratic-Republican. During his presidency, he did a lot of things that were great, but some were very questionable. Thomas Jefferson’s grade for his presidency should be a B+.

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One of the historical references he makes is quoting a section from the Declaration of Independence. He quotes the beginning of the Declaration of Independence when it mentions that “All men are created equal” and that men have unalienable rights, which are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” He tells Jefferson that the black men and women of America are not given these rights. They are not given the right to life because they are slaves. They are not given the right to liberty because they are slaves.

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William Cohen, “Jefferson and the Problem of Slavery,” Journal of American History 56, no 3 (1969): 503-526 Thomas Jefferson is one of the pioneers who laid the foundation for what is now The United States of America. Jefferson is also reflected to be one of the most controversial because of his juxtaposing political posture of race and slavery compared to his personal beliefs on this same matter. He, along with other “Founding Fathers,” owned slaves but also believed that all men are equal and are to be treated equally. William Cohen in his article, “Jefferson and the Problem of Slavery,” talks about the complexity and contradictions of Thomas Jefferson through his political actions as compared to his personal practices. Jefferson was complex

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Of the many great presidents, Thomas Jefferson was the strongest. Not only was he a great president, but he also was able to be so involved with teh New American Union even after his time in office. He was on eof the first philosophical thinkers that helped for the foundations of the country, he launched the library of congress, and was the one to provide the inspiration and the funding for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, all of which are important factors to every day life even today. Both Linocln and Washington were among the great presidents as well. Lincoln for example "made a stand against the popular opinion of the time, a decision that would divide the nation" (Emily Stone) about slavery that did significantly impact America.

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Benjamin Banneker in his letter to Thomas Jefferson pitches a series of arguments against the institution of slavery through a series of rhetorical devices. Banneker’s respectful tone shows his maturity and sincerity for the subject at hand. Banneker manipulated Jefferson’s own words against him. In the Declaration, Jefferson stipulated that “all men are created equal” which Banneker then turned against him by hinting that slaves were not given the same freedoms that white men had. While Banneker attempted to degrade Jefferson, he remained respectful throughout the letter.

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However, he was a slave owner at the same time. Throughout his life time, he owned hundreds of African American slaves. Even after the death of his wife, Jefferson had a long-term relationship with one of his slave’s, Sally Hemings. On the other hand, as a young politician, he argued for the prohibition of slavery in new American territories, but yet he never freed his own slaves. How could a man responsible for writing the sacred words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" have been a slave owner?

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Thomas Jefferson, strict constructionist? One of our most contributing founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, once stated that “A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on interference.” This clearly implies that he’s a man of the people. Although he thought a “president above parties” was the way to go or that “we are all republicans--- we are all federalists” he was sure enough an Anti-Federalist, by far, between the mid 1700s.

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Thomas Jefferson was a hypocrite by owning 100 and over slaves and was an active member of slave trading. He would buy, sell, or trade over a hundred people. He made love to one of his slaves and promised to set his baby

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All of his actions match his beliefs. Thomas Jefferson believed that “all men are created equal.” He believed that it was important that he was not viewed as being above the common man. Jefferson wore simple clothing, and even went out without his wig. He would walk distances instead of going by horse.

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Jefferson also insincerely stated that “Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God,” however the hundreds of slaves under Jefferson’s supremacy certainly were not treated that way (QUERY XIX). Should a virtuous Yeoman own slaves? Slave-ownership would go against the tenement

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Today as high school students, we must know our presidents. While studying all our presidents, there is always one president that sticks out to a student. The president that I think was the wisest and overall best president is Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States of America and he was one of our founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia and was a Christian deist.

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Thomas Jefferson was a man of contradictions whose biggest one was his attitude towards slavery. He was one of the loudest abolitionists yet he never freed his own slaves. The reasoning behind this was that he was deeply in debt and could never seem to get ahead of his payments. He had plans to have his slaves freed after his death but his debts made that financial feasible for his heir (Johnson, 248).

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He fights for laws to abolish slavery in the North, yet wants it to continue in the South, he writes letters to his friends lamenting the institution of slavery, yet publicly agrees that there is indeed a need for slavery in America. Early in his life, when he practiced law, Jefferson fought the famous case where he defended a slave, and when his client lost the case, he offered him money, which presumably helped him escape. Jefferson may have advocated strongly for the freedom of slaves in his early years, and he may have written the famous line, ‘all men are created equal’ but that does not mean that he believed that African Americans were equal to the white Americans. His proclamation only stands for European and American people. He believed that African Americans were inferior to the Europeans and they could not be freed, otherwise they would create havoc that would be impossible to solve.

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Like women, Jefferson claimed Africans to have hearts but no brain, in fact they weren’t even viewed as men based on their skin color. This claim justified Jefferson’s use of slaves because Jefferson claimed he was being a “father to the slaves.” Since Africans were not seen as men, they lacked protection of the doctrine that “all men are created equal”. Another example given by Professor Ormsbee was his perspective of slaves versus his the doctrine. He was the only individual to vote to not free the slaves.

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Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson to argue against slavery. Banneker was an educated man, he was an astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, author, and farmer, yet, Jefferson had not known this information. Banneker makes his argument through the use of allusion, diction, and repetition, which causes Banneker to seem reliable and have intelligence. To remind Jefferson of his own subjugation, Banneker alludes to the British Crown. “..British Crown were exerted with every powerful effort in order to reduce you to a State of Servitude.”

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