Jefferson believed in white superiority, and that Africans were on this earth to labor for whites. He believed that Natives were savages and Heathens. I am sure that this is nothing new to those who follow Jefferson. That, in my view, is a racist view. It is a view that was supposedly shored up by the word of God as in the Christian Bible (or maybe their interpretation of the Bible). I also have to disagree with the view that Jefferson, as a racist would not have slept with Sally. Colonial Virginia had a large population of Mulattoes, who were the offspring of whites, many of them slaveholders. A more recent example would be Strom Thurmond.
Anita
Since this is a discussion group, I feel that my opinions are appropriate.
Anita
-- Hist Docs <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I did not make the position that Ms. Wills was racist. I merely pointed out that her statement MAY be construed as such by others ... should they choose to do so. Perception is always a very important factor in any discussion and inasmuch as TJ's credibility is , too often, called into account on the basis of perception I find the interjection of such detrimental to the discussion at hand.
I think when we put historical figures on a pedestal and try to use our
estimations of their morality or lack of it, we do them a disservice. The
Founding Fathers were human beings.
I concur; tearing down the pedestals that past generations built with our modern biases likewise is a disservice to the Founding Fathers.
RBJ
----- Original Message -----
From: Anne Pemberton<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: Jefferson's Overseer
RBJ,
I know Anita well enough to know she is not a racist. Nor did I see in her
post anything that approached a "racist" statement. She made statements of
generally accepted truths.
One point that Anita made that is not always well explained, was her comment
about his behavior in regard to the Native Americans. In a historical source
regarding other colonies, it was noted that both George Washington, Thomas
Jeffferson, Ben Franklin, and other founding fathers invested in land
development schemes that were intended to deprive the Native Americans of
their lands before they chose to sell them and move. By buying shares in
companies that held the "rights" to the land that was still in use by the
Natives, these Founding Fathers intended to make money after squatters moved
onto those lands and destroyed them for use by the Native Americans, which
then led to the land being purchases because there were already settlers on
the land.
I think when we put historical figures on a pedestal and try to use our
estimations of their morality or lack of it, we do them a disservice. The
Founding Fathers were human beings. They did some great things in their
lives, but all that they did was not great!
Anne
Anne Pemberton
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
http://www.erols.com/apembert<http://www.erols.com/apembert>
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org<http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/>
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