Jefferson

Many people in America perceive Thomas Jefferson as a person who was against slavery and who wanted equality for everyone because he is the one who wrote the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence is considered to be one of the greatest documents of all time. In this document, Jefferson declared that all men are created equally and every human has an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The truth is that Jefferson was a hypocrite as he did not believe in equality for everyone. He only wanted equality for white men and not for anyone else. Specifically, he thought that blacks were “inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind” (555). In fact, he stated that they had a “disposition to sleep” like an animal because their existence was based more on “sensation than reflection” (353). Not only is this comparison to animals degrading, but Jefferson went on to say that even Indians have better oratory skills and a much greater imagination than blacks. Jefferson used the excuse of the inferiority of blacks to say they should be emancipated gradually over time. Moreover, they should be colonized or sent away from white society. According to his “Notes on the State of Virginia,” Jefferson did not want to assimilate blacks into white society because he was afraid whites had too many prejudices and he had a fear of intermarriages. Perhaps his real fear was he had illegitimately fathered offspring with his female slaves and he did not want them around to remind him of his wrongful actions.

This article has provided more insight into Jefferson’s “equality.” He obviously believed only white men were equal and had rights. It took years of suffering and fighting for civil rights before blacks, Indians, and women gained their chance at equality.