Although he was a slave owner himself, Thomas Jefferson believed slavery was wrong and hoped it would be abolished someday. He believed the African-American slaves were destined to be free. In his autobiography, written in 1821, Jefferson wrote:
“Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free; nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion have drawn indelible lines of distinction between them. It is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation and deportation peaceably, and in such slow degree, as that the evil will wear off insensibly and their place be, pari passu [equally and simultaneously], filled up by free white laborers. If, on the contrary, it is left to force itself on, human nature must shudder at the prospect held up.”
Jefferson did not believe that it would be possible for the black and white races to live together in the same nation without dangerous results. Finding a way to help the races interact peacefully fell to later generations, and to great leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. Unlike Jefferson, King believed that it was possible for the races to live and work together, and he devoted his life to trying to achieve equal rights for blacks and to end racial tensions.
One Comment
You appear to have extensive knowledge of Jefferson as evidenced by your pertinent and incisive quotation selections. I have found them to be very thought provoking. Thank you.
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