I can't think about Thomas Jefferson without wondering about the conflicts in his personality. Right now I am reading the text known as Jefferson's Bible (really titled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. The question that constantly comes up is about whether Jefferson was a Christian, a Deist, or even an Atheist.
| Then there is the video here (for interested adult consumers and not placed here for students). It concerns the interesting story of Thomas Jefferson's relationship with one of his enslaved girls - a young girl named Sally Hemmings - and how his keeping of slaves is a contrast with the words he penned for the Declaration of Independence - that all men are created equal. There was definitely an internal struggle in Thomas Jefferson. Everything about the design of his house tells me he was embarrassed for others to see the enslaved people on his plantation. | |
I suppose we all have internal struggles. We often do the very things that we consider to be wrong. We struggle to corral our morals. And we are embarrassed that others may see our hypocrisy. Jefferson lived during the Age of Enlightenment - a time when it was considered high-thinking to question everything. We, instead, live during a time when it is no longer acceptable to declare that an action is right or wrong - morals, or the lack of morals, aren't to be questioned or challenged any more, and the person who does is said to be judgmental and a legalist. I wonder how an enlightened Thomas Jefferson would fare in the 21st century.
