This is the third in a series called Presidential Free Association. I post the first word that comes to mind when I hear the name of the president, along with a brief explanation if necessary.
Weak
Thomas Jefferson is that teacher you really like on the first day and then realize halfway through the semester that you actually dislike. His eloquence makes him a compelling figure, but also makes him frustrating. Here was man who knew that slavery was wrong, truly believed the nation would be better off without it, and continued to own slaves because he was too weak to change his own lifestyle. Thomas Jefferson should be an admirable president, but instead he's just disappointing.
3 comments:
Enjoying your thoughts and love your mission! You give vastly different grades to slaveowners Washington and Jefferson. Is Washington strong because he didn't think slavery wrong and thus enjoyed owning people without regret? The presidency was certainly not Jefferon's finest moment, but doubling the size of country should get him at least a golf clap:)
Thanks for reading! To answer your question, what bothers me most about Jefferson is less about his actions, which are abhorrent to me but not exactly atypical of his time, and more about his hypocrisy. Washington is admired for his war service and setting the example for what a president should do. Jefferson is most famous for writing a document championing the right of all people to liberty, which makes his slaveholding a greater act of hypocrisy and, at least to me, cheapens some of the sentiment behind his words, which is a shame because he really had some beautiful ideas.
Also, I have no problem with expanding the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase, except for the fact that Jefferson believed by doing so he was greatly expanding the powers of the presidency, committing an unconstitutional action, and generally going against his principles.
This is the main gist of why I find him so frustrating. The more I learn about the things I admire him for, the less admirable they become. He’s superficially awesome, but as you dig deeper, his greatness diminishes, which I find really upsetting because I actually want to like him.
You address many of the same points that come up in my high school classroom (I'm a history teacher)and I am supportive of your conclusions. Historian Douglas Wilson wrote an interesting article entitled "Thomas Jefferson and the Meaning of Liberty" (1992 Atlantic Monthly) where he warns against "presentism" or the judging of historical figures on the basis of modern values. He defends Jefferson and my students usually have a lively discussion after reading Wilson's work. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I love the phrase "superficially awesome" that you use. Brilliant!
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