I too wonder what Allen means when he refers to 'common-sense Jeffersonian conservative principles' -- and I think the answer is: whatever Allen wants that to mean; probably lower taxes and less government--Alaskan bridges excepted, of course. Merrill Peterson, Joseph Ellis, and others have pointed out that Jefferson can be summoned to support either side of almost any issue. There were two small errors in Paul Finkelman's posting: George Washington did sell a few slaves before the Revolution, not nearly as many as Jefferson did after it; and as Paul says, Washington grew to detest slavery and freed all his slaves in his will. Also, TJ owned more than 600 slaves in his lifetime, not 400. I'm at work on a book about Jefferson and slavery and I'm wrestling with all these issues. Joan Brooks writes that we need to give TJ a break because he was "a man of his time and place in the world and with values of the Age of Enlightenment" and that "it is not fair to judge someone in America of 200+ years ago as if he had the values of today's American society." Well, yes, but what WERE the values of 200+ years ago? When we go back and actually read the statements of the founding generation it is amazing to see how widely and passionately slavery was denounced as an abomination that would bring a catastrophe to the United States. Jefferson himself said it, in a famous remark: "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that His justice cannot sleep forever." Henry Wiencek Charlottesville To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html