Reviewed by Fergus M. Bordewich
THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO
An American Family
By Annette Gordon-Reed
Norton. 798 pp. $35
This is a review of a book called, "The Hemingses of Monticello." It talks about how Jefferson was a strong believer in Natural rights, but he also strongly believed in slave labor. These facts contradict the first line in the Declaration of Independence, "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;" which was written by Thomas Jefferson. Back then, people viewed the word "Men," as only referring to males. But today, it has been changed to refer to men, woman, and any race. I feel that it is confusing how a man like Jefferson believed that slavery was immoral, but he had many slaves under his name. In class, we were learning about teh Declaration of Independence and natural rights.
1 comment:
Hey Luke,
Do you remember that Jefferson also thought that all people were basically good intentioned and he gave them the benefit of the doubt? he belived in the best side of humankind.
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