I believe Jefferson may have felt slavery was wrong but did nothing about it. I have read he made a comment "God will punish us for what we have done". And, I believe this statement was made regarding his position on slavery -- of course, I could be wrong. He had put himself into a style he was accustom to living. By freeing his slaves that style would have been changed a great deal. And, I'm sure he feared he might loose his lands and be forced to move in with his children or another relative. He may have known of others who had suffered this fate, like Lewis Nicholas of Albemarle, younger brother of Wilson Cary Nicholas. Lewis Nicholas lost his land due to the bad business dealings of his brother, Wilson Cary Nicholas. He did not loose his land because he managed his own business poorly or because he freed his slaves. But, he lost his economic status in Albemarle County all the same. Lewis Nicholas, son of Robert Carter Nicholas, the old Treasurer, was considered good at managing his estate. Unfortunately, he trusted his older brother's judgement in business speculations. Thomas Jefferson most likely knew that Lewis Nicholas lost his land. TJ was involved in the same sceme and might have been relunctant to do anything that might jeapordize his own economic status -- even if he thought the act was morally correct. (It's hard going back to a diet of hamburger once you get used to steak) ;-} He might have felt that God did not approve of his VA planter style of living, however, he didn't fear God enough to free his slaves. Since it wasn't considered "politically incorrect" to own human beings at that time, he seemed to feel he did not need to do anything about slavery. If you try to parallel his position on slavery to any of our issues today regarding the environment, abortion, etc, you might understand how easy it is to not make a stand and to continue to go with the flow. Although, I'm not trying to say slavery is the same as recyling. But, I'm trying to say that we, too, do things we know are morally wrong regarding the environment, for instance. But, it's easier to continue down the road of pollution than it is to make a stand and modify our style of living. And, so it seems it was the same with Jefferson and slavery. Lonny J. Watro To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html