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Abolishment Of Thomas Jefferson Essay

288 Words2 Pages

Thomas Jefferson always viewed slavery as a “moral depravity and a hideous blot.”(5) Jefferson felt it also was a great threat to the nation 's survival and opposing the laws of nature, which every person had the right liberty. When the American Revolution was taking place, Jefferson was connected with the legislation in hopes it result in abolishment of slavery. In his attempts to abolish slavery Jefferson drafted the Virginia law in 1778 “that prohibited the importation of enslaved Africans.”(6) In 1784 he also “proposed in an ordinance that would ban slavery in the Northwest territories.”(7) These were steps towards the abolishment of slavery, but for it to be successful it had to part of a democratic process Jefferson believed. It would take something like the Emancipation Proclamation to make his beliefs come true. …show more content…

This was not the case because slaves were the most valuable export and commodity in Virginia. It wasn’t until June 1776, that Jefferson’s views on slavery could finally become a reality when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. “Jefferson drafted one of the most beautiful and powerful testaments to liberty and equality in world history.”(6) The most powerful statement from the Declaration was "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."(7) Jefferson always believed slavery took away the natural rights of all men. His work in Virginia and the Declaration of Independence had a powerful stance on American freedom and American

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Thomas Jefferson, the man that once stated, “...all men are created equal...”, still owned slaves and didn’t treat them equal. This is hypocrisy at the highest level, whether or not one only believes in the good of Thomas Jefferson. One could say that Jefferson stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” could be more important than his personal use of slaves since it was used to unite the country against the prominent nation of Great Britain. His writing in the Declaration of Independence is all about bringing the country together whilst stating certain rights that beings have, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He states that the citizens are able to get rid of or alter the government

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