Jefferson’s Uneasy Relationship with Slavery

The image is a painting of Thomas Jefferson. He is looking directly at the artist for this portrait and is wearing clothing and a hairstyle of the time. This is the official presidential portrait.Painting of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale. Examine the institution of slavery in the Revolutionary era and apply primary sources from Thomas Jefferson to understand its acceptance in Revolutionary America (CO1, CO2, CO5). It may strike you as surprising and contradictory that the man who penned the Declaration of Independence, with its ringing endorsement of the equality of all men simultaneously owned slaves, fathered mixed-race children, and defended the institution of slavery. Jefferson was not alone in this contradiction; very few of the founders advocated for the liberation of black slaves during the revolutionary era. In this discussion thread, we are going to take a closer look at these contradictions. Rather than immediately moralizing about Jefferson’s failures, I would urge you to examine the readings closely and attempt a true understanding of the context of Jefferson’s thoughts and actions. • Was Thomas Jefferson’s view of slavery and African Americans progressive or reactionary for his time period? • What distinction was there between Jefferson’s view of slavery as an institution and his view of African Americans themselves? • If you only read Jefferson’s letter to Banneker, what would you think about Jefferson’s view of African Americans? How would it change if you read more of his writings on the subject? What does this tell you about potential pitfalls in interpreting history?      

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