At 2:04 PM -0500 4/12/01, Paul Finkelman wrote:
>
>In fact, Jefferson's status or that of any
>other president may be harmed or enhanced by what we find out about
>them.    Their
>private lives may not affect how we view their public acts or even
>their famous
>words; but surely what we know about Jefferson as slaveowner does
>affect our views
>of him as person and even as a president.

snips happen

>
>Serious historians, on the other hand, are not in the business of
>defending the
>honor or reputation of the Founders; we are in the business of understanding
>people, their lives and the world they lived.

I have problems reconciling these two statements from Professor
Finkelman. Jefferson as slaveowner was merely a member of his class.
To appreciate his works, of course, we must understand that they are
from the pen of a slaveowner.  But he was a lot of other things, too.
He was a serious student of the Bible. He was a scientist. He was an
amateur architect. He was a farmer. He was an industrialist. He was a
politician.

To identify "slaveowner" as a dominant characteristic of Jefferson's
persona is to seriously distort the man as a whole, in the context of
the milieu where he lived. So do we interpret the advocate of
religious freedom as a slaveowner, or as a friend of Baptists?  Do we
interpret the architect of Monticello as a slaveowner, or as a
student of classical architecture?  While you can't isolate any
aspect of this incredibly complex person, all the aspects must be
present in any interpretation.

While I happen to be a professional historian, I have misgivings
about some of the basic tenets of the profession. Professional
historians supposedly keep a certain detachment, but the best
historical writing is anything but detached. Read any of the great
historical writers: Samuel Eliot Morisn, Winston Churchill, or Ivor
Noel Hume.  I could name many more, but the curious fact is that none
of the best historical writers are professors of history.  There is a
possibility that detachment is a disability when we want to interpret
people's lives and works.  Is it really possible for one human being
to write about another without developing some kind of personal
attachment?
--
Ned Heite  ([log in to unmask])
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