Discussing the life and legacy of thompson jefferson, focusing on issues of slavery and race. This is court si of the United States. Im pleased to announce a mini series with six lectures called great president ial lives. This is attractive for two main reasons. First being its timeliness. As we prepare for an Election Year it will be an insight that we can all benefit from. Second, an esteemed professor who just completed 50 years. During that half century dr. Crawly has contributed in numerous ways including the creation of our renowned Historic Preservation program. And this great live series. But it is for his excellence in teaching that he is perhaps best known, and certainly to literally thousands of stun thats have come fthrough our halls. He received our highest honors from his colleagues and students. Many of whom voted him as the faculty member to truly impact their lives. So with great pleasure i introduce Professor William b. Crow b. Crowely. He has learned and shared so much of his knowledge and he looks at the life of one of six highly interesting and sometimes controversial president s. And like many modern day president s, none is so straightforward as the story may recall or as history may have told us. Will you please share with us now. One of the truly iconic and increasingly controversial president s, Thomas Jefferson. Let me begin with something of a disclaimer. When i have spoken on jefferson, im reminded of a prominent historian that i once heard who said that he never fully trusted anyones views on jefferson that attended the university of virginia. I have to plead guilt on that score. I spent four years in school in charlottesville. He was quite proud of the institution and says the in father of the university be one of only three accomplishments sha should constitute his appetite. And certainly, too, the university has been historically very proud of its founder, treating his memory with such reverent that president republican howard taft says that people still speak of him like he is in the other room and might hear. Personally im not much give ton hero worship. And professionally i dont want to indoctrinate or inlighten. With that said within he had held a highest place in american political heros. Among the nations founders, he possessed the widest range of talents and establishments. He has generally been regarded at the most intellectual. He said they constituted the most extraordinary collection of talent and Human Knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the white house. With a possible exception. It was of course the eloquent voice that made it all so clear. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The core of the american creed. Accord fwli one historian claimed that no figure in our past embody ied so much of our heritage and hopes. And it is for that reason that 20 years ago, on the end of the millennium, they went so far as to suggest that Thomas Jefferson was the most significant person on the planet for the last 1,000 years. Well, sounds pretty extravagant, but it will make a plausible indication. And this is how he explains it. The argument for jefferson is that the history of the human mind of ideas. Jefferson was the mind of the revolution. It resulted in the birth of the first modern nation that in the 20th century saved the world from tyranny. The government of e anymonumera powers. A states man, a scientist, architect, educator. Regarding his own legacy, jefferson, himself, once employed his friend and president ial successor to take care of me when dead. For the most part after the first five or six decades, they shared the popular view of him being beyond reproach. And his clear would have seemed to have justified that reputation. So lets take a quick look at jeffersons career. Very, very briefly. He was born on april 13th near charlottes view. His father was a farmer who became a successful planter. He joined the upper class through marriage. So he inherits status and wealth. He became a successful and well known lawyer in virginia. He was imposing in appearance standing over six feet tall that day and with red hair. Oddly for a public figure he was shy and avoided public appearances when possible. He was elected to the state legislature that was in the house of bergosise. He married a young widow through whom he doubled his property and increased his number of supporters. He was cast into a deep sbregs by the death of his wife in 1782. He never remarried. He became known as a supporter of independence from britain. He served in congress due to the con fed vafederation in 1780s. He spent five years in europe. It was sigts because in that time he became Close Friends with lafayette and wrote the notes on the state of virginia about which more later. He returned to america at the end of 1789 and was appointed secretary of date. He was elected president in 1800. The greatest establishment of his administration was the acquisition of louisiana from france. He was easily reelected to a second term, but it proved to be troubled. After leaving the presidency he retired and concerned himself with mainly establishing the university of virginia that was founded in 1819. And finally by a strange quirk of fate, the most extroz fair instance that i recall, jefferson and john adams both died on july 4th, 1826, on the anniversary of the declaration of independence. Allegedly adams last words were jefferson lives, but he had died earlier that day. These were great accomplishments, no doubt. As i eluded to earlier, they have been overshadowed by a different interpretation. It has risen among the latest generation of jefferson scholars. The reason for his decline is not hard to find. These writers focused major attention on that area of his life, that by modern standards is certainly the least attractive and the most vel usual. That is his views on slavery and race. Perhaps it was predict thabl this would happen in the wake of the civil have the Rights Movement that were more keenly aware of racial injustice. Largely ignoring his extraordinary establishments, they trust an achilles heel that was the heel of oppression. So we reached the point where one of his most prominent biographers that say that in a multiracial future he will not be revered. The sound you hear, he says, is the crashing of a reputation. I want to address the remand ore of my comments today and i want to do it in the following way. First to examine his theories on race and slave ry, and in light of recent criticism to suggest a tum ri evaluati summary valuation of him, his place in history with regard to slavery and race. Lets look at his thoughts around slavery and what he actually had to say on those subjects if is surprising how little he wrote on anything given his highly intellectual nature. Most come from letters and from his only published works. Even the notes are frar a polishes systematic state of his views. He wrote it in resfons a request from a french official while he was in paris as the american minister and he did so with the intention of it being read only bay select group. He was trying to explain the government, the economy, and the social structure of his native virginia. The book was pirated and it became public. So jefferson owned up to it but without enthusiasm and with some am barsment. If he had his way the only book he over wrote would not have been published. Now the point is that jefferson did not write extensively on many subjects. But for purposes of our talk today, maybe for his unfortunate place in history, he left a armament of information regarding his views on africanamericans. It might be well to begin with his central dilemma. He hated slavery but thought negros to be inferior to white. This was dicotomy. He hated slavery, but thought blacks inferior to whites. This is a different position. On one hand he could certainly say there was no indication in any of his works that he felt slavery to be right. At the same time, on the other hand, there is every reason to believe that he did not, indeed, blacks to be equal to whites not withstanding his famous words that all men are created equal. What is the evidence to indicate he did not approve. He took no pride, he thought they were a burden rather than a blessing. He seems to not even like the word slave. He would often say servants instead. He thought the slaves were miserable and he referred to it as a hideous evil. And yet, even though it is clear that jefferson did not believe the condition of the slave to be desirable, it was not the primary reason why he december liked slavery. The main reason that he expressed for slavery was the harmful effect it had on white society. In other words his main attack was not against the cruelty of the system to blacks, but against what he believed to be the injustice of the system to whites. How could that be . This is the way he explained it on his quotes in virginia. There must be an unhappen insuran unhappy influence on our people. It is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions. The degrading submissions on the other. Our children see this and learn to imstate it. With the morals of the people, their industry also destroyed, for in a warm climate no man will lay before himself that who can make another labor for him. Slavery was bad training for democracy. Now o points of slavery had traditionally been concerned with the effect of institution upon slave owners. Jefferson was not the first of the last to express such a view. But it seemed to be almost his only concern. As one biographer puts it, he went to his grave convinced that slavery was detrimental. He was simply not overly concerned. So jefferson was concerned with what we might call the coror sie corosive internal if is preslicely on this point that most scholared today have criticized him. He calls the real distinction that nature has made between the races. He considered that physical, mental, and moral differences as well. He was offended by their very color. He said the eternal monotony, the black that covers their emotions. He is clear that he believed blacked to be inferior to whites. Said te come tehe compared me facul faculty, and he said they r equal, but that they did not have talent. Black authors and poets, or the works of the black female poet, jefferson remained highly skeptical, to put it mildly. Now it might be assumed that he had attributed some of them to the lack of opportunity. But that was not apparently the case. Said he it is not their condition, but nature which has produced this disfintinction between the two races. His attitude on the issue of race seems to be summed up in the frequently quoted passage from his notes on virginia where he said i advance it as a suspicion only that the blacks weather originally a distins race made distinct by time and circumstance, are inferior to whites in body and mind. Jefferson addressed himself to the at tribute thats he called the moral sense. In this respect he argued that blacks equal to whites. More over that such a deficiency should be attributed to environment. He said if a slave stole from the master, say chickens from the barnyard, such an act that must be ascribed to their situation. If they reoccurred, he claimed it was fully understandable. The man, he said, whose no no laws whose property cyst do not respect the laws made in favor of others. So he said may not the slave justifiably taken a lit from one who has taken everything from him . So much for jeffersons theories. What were his actions kraregard slavery. His private behavior such as we know of it. At the risk of over simplification, it might be said that his public involvement went from that of out spoken opposition to quiet opposition to that of despair, and rez ig nationer in the end of his life. Earlier in his career there was indications that he certainly had qualms about slavery and in particular slave trade. He blamed the British Government for refusing to accept a law designed to prohibit the slave trade. Two years later he drafted a constitution that he stated no person here after after coming into virginia will be new england slavery under pretext whatsoever. That was not adopted. With troord abolition, jefferson was more cautious. He moved to what might have been the most important antislavery action of his career. In that year that he sponsors a bill before the Virginia Legislature that would have granted freedom to all slaves and blacks born after the passage of that act. But, when the bill went before the legislature for the following year, jefferson withdrew his prop silgs for it. He found out that it was unpopular with the voters. Now this action shows us two highly significant aspects of jeffersons attitude. First, it was significant that he withdrew his proposal for the reason that he did. In other words he was a po politici politician. The second significant revelation of this episode is that jefrs proposal include ad provision which would have required the remoe value of all freed slaves. That in his words they should be k colonized to such someplaces. It was one of the real constants in jefrs action with ward to slavery. He wanted all free blacked to be sent to the west indys. And why this was . The answer is that the simply seemed to not to believe that the races could live side by side in harmonious equality. And he explained why he felt this way as follows. Deep rooted prejudices by the whites. 10,000 injuries of the blacks. The real distinction that nature has made, and many other circumstance thats will divide us. And they will never end but in the extemperature nation of one race or the other. Pretty strong words. Again near the end of his life in his unfinished auto biography he said that he concluded it was in his words certain that the two races, equally free, could not live under the same government. In view of such statements, they stated flatly that the entire body of jeffersons writings that he never considered it in the basis of equality. And until his death he saw no alternatives to slavery. Or as a more critical historian saw it they said nothing is more certain than he did not intend black people to be free in america. Most of what i have talked about so far deals with his attempts regarding slavery at the state level. But of course jefferson was a National Figure as well. And the slavery issue at that level as well. Most important of his nation al articles of confederation for the current constitution that came into effect. During that time those ordinances go up to 1784. The legislation if passed would have had great impact because it would have prohibited the extension of slavery into any western territories of the United States after 1800. Again, it would have made a serious difference. But the ordinance of 1784 failed to pass by one vote. By in any case it was significant for two reasons. First, in the long run it raised the principal for which many future attacks on slavery would rest. And that is at the spread of slavery could and should be limited by the government. And secondly, in the short run it infired the act three years later of 1787 that banned slavery. This was the old northwest. And so the enactment prevented slavery from ever being established in the old northwest, that is ohio, indiana, and illinois. And jefferson, i think, must be given credit for that legislation. On the other hand, jefferson folks listen because there is always an on the other hand. In this case if he is to be created with limiting the spread of slavery, you to blame him for expansion in other areas like louisiana. Because the purchase of louisiana from france in 1803 did permit the spread of slavery, in that huge area. Well, the actual situation is that slavery already existed. It had been down to the spanish and the french. And i suppose it is doubtful if it had been continued. But it came with the package on u fortunately. Well the fact is, friends, that after 1800, jefferson was able to do very little to decrease slavery. For awhile he remained optimistics. He said the hour of emancipation is advancing in the march of time and it will come. And yet as jeffersons life progressed, the likelihood appeared to decrease rather than to increase. As well see. And according to jefferson appeared to be more pessimistic. Now what i have been talking about so far death with his public actions. But i said that we would also take some look at his personal interactions with slavery. It is something that he was intimately acquainted with. He recalled that his first memories was that he was my point is that he knew slavery, literally, from the cradle to the grave. He said he remembered being carried on a bipillow by a slav and it was a slave carpenter that made the coffin that he was buried in. He was a very substantial slave owner. Now we dont know much about his day to day behavior. The assumption of the past was that he was benevolent and enlightened, but that has been questioned. One of whom points out that seven of his slav70 of his slaves ran away, and that is pretty high. And there is record that he smds had them whipped. So he was, an average slave owner, as impossible as as that is to define. They say he was at hart just a typical southern slave owner. The fact is that in the historical record there is no justification to believe that was he was ruthless than any slave owners of his time. The matter of his personal involvement brings up the issue of sally heminhemmings. An enormous amount has been written about this because it has all of the ingredients to fascinate the public. Interracial sex, white exploitation of blacks, it could have kept oprah win free and the tabloids, and social media going for months. He was the father of at least four, five, or six children by his slave. That story is widely known having been the story of one novel, one movie, and a mini series and has been the focal point of several biographies in recent years written by those most critical of jefferson. This is a subject which by itself could take up more time than we are allotted today. Let me just outline that the generally agreed upon facts, jeffersons wife martha died in 1782. Which i mentioned that jefferson never remarried remaining a widow for the 44 remaining years of his life. The half sister of his late wife bore four children that survived to late adulthood. Records show that he was present at the time when those conceptions would have occurred. By many accounts the hemmings Office Spring resembled jefferson and they were so light skinned they often passed as white. The hemmings children were essentially the only slaves that jefferson ever freed or allowed to go free. The question is does it all add up to his paternity. Scholars say up there the 1960s and 70s it did not add up. They dismissed it on the hand of the reverential theory that if i may put it this way that jefferson just wasnt that sort of man. Well, was he . They also put heavy emphasis on the fact that this story of the affair with Sally Hemings was first aseminated by one james calendar. He was an opponent of calendar. One person called him a d dispicable person. It would perhaps be unwise to reject this on account of the dubious character of his p pervayor. A 1974 study called Thomas Jefferson an intimate body. Nanny lieu of going into further detail today, i commend both of these books to you if you wish to pursue the subject. A significant step occurred with dna test thats if i have interpreted them correctly, apparently they do not prove that jefferson fathered sallys children, but they do give significant support to that possibility. They do rule out the children who were the prime systems. Well as the matter now stands, it seems safe to say that historians fatherly generally believed that they concede their validity. Now having looked at jeffersons thoughts on the matter, lets turn, finally, so a overall evaluation of the man both viewed by his context of his own times. Well, it is certainly true that assessments of jefferson have been highly divergent over the years. As you would expect given his complex nature and his vibrant career. In his own times he was honhono with titles like the most honorable man in the world. One referred to him as that redheaded son of a bitch. The recent trend seems to be more toward that later view. In some cases with just as much hostility. This explanation for this, i suppose, lies in to the apparent inevitability of revisions. One of the factors noted american political heros both past and present are in trouble. Assaulted openly and ambushed. From the right, the left, and innocuous profresessors in history. So we have noticed dispersions on notable figures. But this has been never been more stark than in the case of jefferson. So it behoves us to examine some of the chief criticisms and exact a rebuttal and measure of explanation. Fundamental to the revisionist is the conflict present throughout jeffersons life. Between word and deed. The contradiction inherent in the expression of human equality with unmatched eloquent by the owner of other human beings. That was noted in his own times by no less oaf a figure than dr. Samuel johnson who once asked with evident disdain, how is it that we hear the loudest yelps of liberty. In picking up that theme in modern times, they pointed out the leisure that made possible jeffersons great writings on human liberty were supported by the labors of three generations of slaves. The list could go on. The basic point being that far from being an icon of democracy, that he was a racist hypocrite. In that overall critique is several charges. The first is that jefferson in reality accomplished very little with regard to eradicating slavery and in some ways here. The first, and i think the most fundamental one, is that any effort that jefferson may have undertaken against slavery pays an enormous and increasingly economic obstacle. And heres why. Earlier in jeffersons career and up through the writing of the constitution, slavery was widely believed to be a dying institution. In fact, it was largely this belief in the inevitable slavery in the constitution. They believed it would die out. Actually, just the opposite happened. Instead of dying out, slavery took on new life in the 1990s. Specifically after 1993 when eli whitney vinen iitney invented t. What it meant was that cotton could be grown not just along the seaboard but all through the south, all the way to texas. The spread of cotton was dramatic, and manual labor meant the simultaneous spread of slavery as well. Soon the institution that seemed destined for demise was now increasingly entrenched as the progression of cotton and the ownership of slaves constituted the very pinnacle of slavery society, a sure status of prestige. But that was not all. The vastly increased number of slaves to almost 4 million by the time of the civil war raised in the minds of many whites the problems of social control they feared would arise in the event of emancipation. Jefferson himself spoke directly to this point when he wrote on one occasion regarding that possibility, and i think this is one of his most telling observations, summing up, as it did, the sum of jeffersons concerns when he wrote, we need to talk about whether or not to abolish slavery. He said, we have the wolf by the ears and we can either safely hold him or safely let him go. Justice, emancipation, is one scale and selfpreservation on the other. His own solution, as we have seen, was colonization. All of this is just to illustrate that any impulses he may have had in the direction of emancipation ran headlong into both the hard economic realities of the times and the pervasive social fears. Which, of course, created a Formidable Political problem. We think of jefferson as a statesman, which he was, but before he could become a statesman, he had to be a politician. A practical politician, what the public mind would bear. This is where i describe jeffersons lack of assertiveness on this issue. He said vital as the abolition of slavery was to him, the rebuffs he had suffered when he proposed plans for freeing the slaves had demonstrated to him that to press too hard on this issue was to risk a premature end to his political career and preclude him from accomplishing any constructive purpose whatsoever. In other words, he was willing to strike his whole career on abolition, or as John Quincy Adams put it, most succinctly and aptly, mr. Jefferson did not have the spirit of martyrdom. Interestingly, sensing subsequent critics would bring charges to the hypocrisy, the reason for his restraint was, as he explained in so many words, to paraphrase, the time wasnt right. Of course, he put it more more eloquently saying the moment of doing it with success has not arrived and an unsuccessful effort, as too often happens, would only rivet still closer the chains of bo bondage. Much later in his life, in fact, only two weeks before his death, he returned to that subject, explaining his position this way. Again, a good quote. A good cause, he said, is often more about illtimed efforts of its friends than arguments of its enemies. Persuasion, perseverance and patience are the best advocates in question depending on the will of all others. This Public Opinion is not expected in a day or perhaps in an age, but time which outlives all things will outlive this evil also. Concerning another modern criticism of jefferson, some have conceded it might have been too much for him to engineer the abolition of the entire institution of slavery. But given his avowed commitment to individual liberty, might he not at least have freed his own slaves . Two explanations are offered for this. One is that his staunchest offenders say he kept them because they felt he would be better off as his slaves than if they were freed and had to fend for themselves. Ive always thought this was a bit flimsy reason, because given a choice, the slaves would have quickly opted for freedom. On the other hand, i see the theory because the plight of most, not all, but most free blacks in the antebellum south was difficult in the extreme. And there is, i think, a more fundamental reason and more likely reason for his position, and that is in the economics, he couldnt afford to free them because they were essential to his very livelihood. We tend to think of jefferson as a wealthy man as evidenced by the grandeur of monticello, but he lived beyond his means and he almost lost monticello. He hardly could have divested himself of his assets if he had wanted to. George washington was more of a businessman and did provide for freeing of slaves before his death. It must be noted that jeffersons actions did not mollify his critics which one sa said, his lifestyle was more important to him than the lives of his slaves. The last point of criticism, mainly that jefferson was a racist, there was exculpation and there was no doubt he was a racist. I told my students over the years it would be good to read the notes on virginia and read jeffersons views in some detail, but dont do it if you have a weak stomach or a weak constitutional law if you are a jefferson idolator because its rough stuff. Its pretty graphic and not appealing to us today to read those words. But in any case, thats what he wrote. And thats why we are left with his views on race. What we can do, though, i think, and should do is consider two things. The first very simply is that such racial views is probably to be considered within the context of his own times, and this was a period, ladies and gentlemen, when virtually no one thought differently. Indeed, in jeffersons own times, the odd concept was not that he owned slaves, which was widespread and had been in existence from time immemorial, but the strange thing was his concept of human life. It was virtually his belief at that time, and not jeffersons own times, but throughout the 19th century and even into the 20th century. As unfortunate as it is, it is unreasonable, perhaps, to expect that he would have believed something drastically different from that. But the larger point, it seems to me, involves another pertinent question, and that is to what use did he put those views which we consider racist . He might have proceeded from those views to develop a strong argument on slavery as many of his subsequent leaders did based on the presumption of black inferiority. For instance, dallas calhoun once advocated slavery this way. Get this. Some are born with saddles on their backs and others booted and spurred to ride them, and the riding does them good. But jefferson never took had approach. As far as i know, he never once suggested that the inferiority of blacks, which he presumed was an adequate justification for their enslavement. His attitude was Crystal Clear in a letter he wrote in 1889. Speaking of blacks, he wrote, whatever their degree of talent, it is no measure of their rights. Just because sir isaac newton was superior to others in sbe intelligence, he was not, therefore, the owner of a person or property of others. In other words, even if blacks were inferior, that did not constitute legitimate grounds for their enslavement. Finally, what can we say about a summary assessment of jefferson today . In light of his appraisal, perhaps it might be best to look at jefferson on how he was viewed in his own times, how he was regarded by people who knew him and worked with him. Even that effort proves contradi contradictory. He said, in the 19th century, abolitionists used jeffersons words as swords, slaveholders used his example as a shield. Pretty good, isnt it . On the whole, however, it seems that in the minds of most of his contemporaries, jefferson was regarded, and i think rightly so, as a man of humane ideals, that although he couldnt find the solution to slavery who did, who could he certainly never advocated that institution. To appreciate the significance, jefferson must be placed in contrast to any of his contemporaries in almost all of his successors, calhoun, for example. My point is so long as jeffersons ideals flowurished, there was always a question to it and a hope that happen a solution might be found. Jeffersons ideals made senators uneasy about the constitution, which fell on a creed, a creed that jefferson nor anyone else had helped to establish. But it was not long before that liberalism began to fade, soon to be replaced by an oppressive conservatism and uniformity that characterized the years after jeffersons death. All of this had an effect on jefferson, diminishing the optimism he once exhibited. He spoke more truth than he realized when he wrote in 1826, quote, in the emancipation i think it was not to be the work of my day. He was right. Within a year, he was dead, and with him the brightest light of liberalism in the old south was extinguished. To understand finally what jefferson meant in his own times, we should look perhaps not to recent historians but to his contemporaries, and ill conclude by quoting three of those contemporaries. The first was a white abolitionist congressman who asked, quote, who taught me to hate slavery and every other form of oppression . That was jefferson, the great and good jefferson. The second contemporary, also a congressman, said similarly, i ought to write a history of slavery. I ought to be constrained to say that jefferson deserves credit to look at slavery in this country and he was a prime force of the antislavery movement. Lastly, the third contemporary was quite different. He was not a congressman, he was not white. And his feelings were expressed not for public consumption but the in a personal letter to jefferson himself. The historian who records this story tells us that the letter was written with the painful care of a hand unaccustomed to the pen. That hand belonged to a black man, a former slave, and he wrote personally to jefferson to tell jefferson about a very important event in his life, namely that his wife had, now quoting from the letter, just presented me with a pair of twin boys. A pair of twin black boys are, sir, i believe no common sight. Sir, as a testimony of my gratitude for those principles of justice and humanity by you so boldly advocated and abley advanc advanced. Announcer youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan3, explore our nations past. Cspan3 is a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Weeknights this month were showing a preview of whats available every weekend on cspan3. Tonight, the speaker of the house talks about changes and the impact of those changes. Up next on American History tv, university of maryland, washington by william crawley. University of Mary Washington hosted this event and provided the video. Im about to present a series of six episodes