As I understand it, (and I'm no authority on the subject) Jefferson was in
financial ruin at the end of his life. Partly, I believe, due to his friend,
Wilson Cary Nicholas, who not only over extended Jefferson's credit, but
WCN's younger brother's, Lewis Nicholas's, credit as well. See _The Nicholas
Family of Virginia 1722-1820_, Victor Denise Golladay, University of
Virginia, Ph.D., 1973.

Could the business speculation that TJ became involved in with Wilson Cary
Nicholas be one of the reasons that he did not free his slaves, but sent
them to the auction block to save himself and his Montecello? Lewis Nicholas
of Albemarle lost his 2000 acre Berry Hill plantation on Green Mountain in
Albemarle, and died intestate -- possibly at the home of his son, John H.
Nicholas of Albemarle. Wilson Cary Nicholas passed hugh debts onto his
heirs. Did TJ suffer the same fate? I don't know the answer, I'm just
speculating the reason why he autioned his slaves.

Lonny J. Watro

You wrote:

.  Jefferson fails the test.
>      When Jefferson wrote the Declaration he owned over 175 slaves.  While
many of
> his contemporaries freed their slaves during and after the Revolution,
Jefferson
> did not.  In the fifty years from 1776 until his death in 1826, a period
of
> extraordinary public service, he did little to end slavery or to
dissociate himself
> from his role as the master of Monticello.  To the contrary, as he
accumulated more
> slaves he worked assiduously to increase the productivity and the property
values
> of his labor force.  Nor did he encourage his countrymen to liberate their
slaves,
> even when they sought his blessing.  Even at his death Jefferson failed to
fulfill
> the promise of his rhetoric.  In his will he emancipated only five
bondsmen,
> condemning nearly 200 others to the auction block."
>

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