Did Jefferson deserve to be on Mt Rushmore?

[freedombecki]

Why??

Washington was the first president of America - Lincoln preserved the Union, TDR made America relevent on the world stage.

What did Jefferson do ??

It would appear he furnished the ground the Mount Rushmore stands on, that's all.

 

[freedombecki]

Nobody should be on Mount Rushmore. The deification of politicians in a nation like ours is a dangerous practice.

That's why we have the second amendment, MuadDib.

 

[freedombecki]

Actually, the U.S. Constitution was drafted by committee...

Under Jefferson's direction and control with substantial influence by James Madison. Madison should be there instead of FDR.

As much as he could from Paris...

Madison is much more responsible for the Constitution than Jefferson, in my opinion.

We seem to read the same books, hjmick.

However, some credit a broader base of patriots with writing the document.

A man named Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania was in charge of the committee to draft the final copy of the Constitution. Other men who had much to do with writing the Constitution included John Dickinson, Gouverneur Morris, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, Edmund Randolph, James Madison, Roger Sherman, James Wilson, and George Wythe. Morris was given the task of putting all the convention's resolutions and decisions into polished form. Morris actually "wrote" the Constitution. The original copy of the document is preserved in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

Jacob Shallus who, at the time, was assistant clerk of the Pennsylvania State Assembly, and whose office was in the same building in which the Convention was held, was given the task of engrossing the Constitution prior to its being signed.
Here is more input from other WikiAnswers contributors:

• The U.S. Constitution is the work of several men, directly and indirectly. The three most notable persons whose work influenced the Constitution but who were not involved in its writing are Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Thomas Paine. The group of men involved in the writing of the Constitution are generally referred to as the "framers".

• No single individual wrote it. Twelve of the thirteen states sent delegates to the Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles of Confederation and the entire convention worked on it. After the political questions were hashed out a 'committee of style' was formed to put the ideas into formal words. It is generally accepted that Gouverneur Morris created most of the actual wording included in the final draft from the Committee of Style.

• The original copy of the document is preserved in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

• The person most associated with authoring the US Constitution was James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. Primary Author: James Madison (drafted the Virginia Plan). He is known as "The Father of the Constitution." James Madison wrote the Constitution in 1787. The constitution wasn't passed until 1788.

Read more: Who wrote the US Constitution
​

 

[freedombecki]

Teddy is the one I question

Teddy Roosevelt set aside lands for Conservation and 125 million acres, doubling number and size of all National Parks of the time. If you haven't been to them, or just don't like the beauty of nature, no, you wouldn't care to see Theodore Roosevelt's felted mush on Mt. Rushmore.

Conservationist Theodore Roosevelt

150 National Forests
51 Federal Bird Reservations
4 National Game Preserves
5 National Parks
18 National Monuments
24 Reclamation Projects
7 Conservation Conferences and Conventions

Wizard Island on Crater Lake showing a bit of its clarity

God blessed America when people like Theodore Roosevelt showed by doing what good conservation is all about. He cared for the earth and preserving the best places in America for all to enjoy.
​

 

[Peach]

Why??

Washington was the first president of America - Lincoln preserved the Union, TDR made America relevent on the world stage.

What did Jefferson do ??

It would appear he furnished the ground the Mount Rushmore stands on, that's all.

Jefferson made the US KNOWN on the world stage. TR started a "splendid little war".

 

[Peach]

Jefferson was a slaveholder

Lots of folks were in that day and age.

And?

So was Washington for that matter. Consistency is not your strongest suit?

No, his wife was.

 

[hortysir]

Washington and Lincoln are a given.

TDR iffy.

My issue is with Jefferson.

Not a difference -maker.

Mr Lincoln trampled all over states rights in direct violation of the constitution.
He is the one you should be challenging.
I do not now, nor have I ever supported slavery.
Mr Lincoln created an atmosphere of "an all powerful federal government" that is allowed to supersede states rights by force.

What part of 'United' States don't you understand?

What part of 'in order to form a more perfect union' don't you understand?


Take your time....

"These"

 

[Peach]

Jefferson didn't even sign the Constitution.

I will say, however, in response to the question of this thread: Yes, he deserved to be on Mt. Rushmore.

He was an important Founding Father.

He was the Minister to France when the Constitution was drafted, correct. He had written the Constitution for the state of Virginia, which was a model for the US Constitution, and wrote the Declaration of Independence. His correspondence to many of the framers was also vital in defining the new Constitution. Jefferson, more so than Adams, was firm in his faith in the individual, and the necessity of individual rights. Jefferson helped the United Stares become known in Europe, and his intellect, wit, and personality accomplished much for the new nation.

Roosevelt began his "splendid little war", but was known primarily within the US. TR was certainly a great POLITICIAN though. Either Adams, or FDR, would be the best addition to the monument, if one is ever considered.

And I happen to agree with your choices if there is an addition.

I have no real problem with TR, he did stand up for working people in more ways than are known to many. But the questions about Jefferson are bizarre. He wrote the Declaration, and the Virginia Constitution was the model for the US Constitution:

Constitution of Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[paperview]

Jefferson was a slaveholder

Lots of folks were in that day and age.

And?

So was Washington for that matter. Consistency is not your strongest suit?

No, his wife was.

No. Washington was a slaveholder.In addition to those he inherited from his father, he purchased quite a number of them.

 

[paperview]

Image of census courtesy Mount Vernon​

The list details the adult and child slaves on each of the Mount Vernon farms, usually giving ages, occupations, and other pertinent information. [Note: the list has been divided into seven parts for on-line distribution.]

Washington's list of 317 slaves, printed immediately below, includes the names of 124 who belonged to him outright and were to be freed when Martha Washington died, 153 who were Martha Washington's dower slaves and at her death would go to the Custis heir-at-law, her grandson George Washington Parke Custis, and forty others leased by GW from his neighbor Penelope Manley French.

Of the 277 slaves belonging to Washington in his own right or by marriage, 179 were 12 years old or older, eighteen of whom were "Passed labor." The remaining ninety-eight were children under the age of 12. Of those twelve years old and over, ninety-five were females and eighty-four were males.

 

[freedombecki]

Why??

Washington was the first president of America - Lincoln preserved the Union, TDR made America relevent on the world stage.

What did Jefferson do ??

It would appear he furnished the ground the Mount Rushmore stands on, that's all.

Jefferson made the US KNOWN on the world stage. TR started a "splendid little war".

He earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for it, ma'am, and destroyed the Spanish Fleet. Considering that Spain had holdings in half of South America, his little play on words was quite modest. And you're beating a dead horse. I think you should stuff your hatred for Republicans somewhere besides on your open sleeve.

 

[Peach]

Lots of folks were in that day and age.

And?

So was Washington for that matter. Consistency is not your strongest suit?

No, his wife was.

No. Washington was a slaveholder.In addition to those he inherited from his father, he purchased quite a number of them.

Read some of the actual words of those that opposed slavery, like Jefferson:

Thomas Jefferson was a consistent opponent of slavery throughout his life.[1] He considered it contrary to the laws of nature that decreed that everyone had a right to personal liberty. He called the institution an "abominable crime," a "moral depravity," a "hideous blot," and a "fatal stain" that deformed "what nature had bestowed on us of her fairest gifts."

Early in his political career Jefferson took actions that he hoped would end in slavery's abolition. He drafted the Virginia law of 1778 prohibiting the importation of enslaved Africans. In 1784 he proposed an ordinance banning slavery in the new territories of the Northwest. From the mid-1770s he advocated a plan of gradual emancipation, by which all born into slavery after a certain date would be declared free.

Benjamin Franklin explained that this separation from Britain was necessary since every attempt among the Colonies to end slavery had been thwarted or reversed by the British Crown. In fact, in the years following America's separation from Great Britain, many of the Founding Fathers who had owned slaves released them (e.g., John Dickinson, Ceasar Rodney, William Livingston, George Washington, George Wythe, John Randolph, and others).

Other prominent Founding Fathers who were members of societies for ending slavery included Richard Bassett, James Madison, James Monroe, Bushrod Washington, Charles Carroll, William Few, John Marshall, Richard Stockton, Zephaniah Swift, and many more.

In fact, based in part on the efforts of these Founders, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1780; Connecticut and Rhode Island did so in 1784; New Hampshire in 1792; Vermont in 1793; New York in 1799; and New Jersey in 1804. Furthermore, the reason that the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa all prohibited slavery was a federal act authored by Rufus King (signer of the Constitution) and signed into law by President George Washington which prohibited slavery in those territories.

It is not surprising that Washington would sign such a law, for it was he who had declared:

“I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it [slavery].”
—George Washington


Notice a few additional examples of the Founder's strong antislavery sentiments:

“[M]y opinion against it [slavery] has always been known… [N]ever in my life did I own a slave.”
—John Adams, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. President. The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1854), vol IX pp. 92-93. In a letter to George Churchman and Jacob Lindley on January 24, 1801.

“[W]hy keep alive the question of slavery? It is admitted by all to be a great evil.”
—Charles Carroll, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Kate Mason Rowland, Life and Correspondence of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1898), Vol. II, pg. 231.

“As Congress is now to legislate for our extensive territory lately acquired, I pray to Heaven that they …[c]urse not the inhabitants of those regions, and of the United States in general, with a permission to introduce bondage [slavery].”
—John Dickinson, Signer of the Constitution and Governor of Pennsylvania. Charles J. Stille, The Life and Times of John Dickinson (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1898) p. 324.

“That men should pray and fight for their own freedom and yet keep others in slavery is certainly acting a very inconsistent as well as unjust and perhaps impious part.”
—John Jay, President of Continental Congress, Chief-Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Governor of New York. Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, editor (New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1891), Vol. III, pp. 168-169. In a letter to Dr. Richard Price on Sep. 27, 1785.

“Christianity, by introducing into Europe the truest principles of humanity, universal benevolence, and brotherly love, had happily abolished civil slavery. Let us who profess the same religion practice its precepts… by agreeing to this duty.”
—Richard Henry Lee, President of Continental Congress and Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Memoir of the Life of Richard Henry Lee and His Correspondence With the Most Distinguised Men in America and Europe (Philadelphia: H.C. Carey and I. Lea, 1825), Vol. I, pp. 17-19. The first speech of Richard Henry Lee in the House of Burgesses.

“t ought to be considered that national crimes can only be and frequently are punished in this world by national punishments; and that the continuance of the slave trade, and thus giving it a national sanction and encouragement, ought to be considered as justly exposing us to the displeasure and vengeance of Him who is equally Lord of all and who views with equal eye the poor African slave and his American master.”
—Luther Martin, Constitutional Convention Delegate. James Madison, The Records of the Federal Convention, Max Farrand, editor (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), Vol. III, pg. 211.

“Domestic slavery is repugnant to the principles of Christianity… It is rebellion against the authority of a common Father. It is a practical denial of the extent and efficacy of the death of a common Savior. It is an usurpation of the prerogative of the great Sovereign of the universe who has solemnly claimed an exclusive property in the souls of men.”
—Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Minutes of the Proceedings of a Convention of Delegates From the Abolition Societies Established in Different Parts of the United States, Assembled at Philadelphia, on the First Day of January, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four… (Philadelphia: Zachariah Poulson, 1794), p. 24. “To the Citizens of the United States.”

“Slavery, or an absolute and unlimited power in the master over life and fortune of the slave, is unauthorized by the common law… The reasons which we sometimes see assigned for the origin and the continuance of slavery appear, when examined to the bottom, to be built upon a false foundation. In the enjoyment of their persons and of their property, the common law protects all.”
—James Wilson, Signer of the Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. James Wilson, The Works of James Wilson, Robert Green McCloskey, editor (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967), Vol. II, pg. 605.

“It is certainly unlawful to make inroads upon others… and take away their liberty by no better right than superior force.”
—John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), p. 81, “Lectures on Moral Philosophy.”
Numerous similar quotes could be cited.

 

[GHook93]

Washington and Lincoln are a given.

TDR iffy.

My issue is with Jefferson.

Not a difference -maker.

You can't be serious! TJ was the best President we ever had!
(1) He pened the Declaration of Independence with the key line, "All men are created equally!"
(2) The Lousiana Purchase: He expanded the sized of the US negotiating a purchase for pennies on the dollar. Not one gun shot was fired to get this land!
(3) Successful won the Barbary wars with minimal effort and expense!
(4) Funded Lewis and Clark
(5) West Point was his brainchild
(6) He cut taxes, reduced spending, shrunk the size of government, balanced the budget and oversaw a very good and rapidly growing economy!
(7) He was the first one to float the idea of "Wall between the Church and State," but it didn't become a fundmental principal of the land to decades later.
(8) He was strongly against borrowing and creating burdensome Federal Deficits!
(9) President Jefferson signed into law a bill that banned the importation of slaves into the United States. Jefferson
(10) The Jefferson Economy Philosophy is the BEST economic philosophy of any President!

JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie

 

[paperview]

No, his wife was.

No. Washington was a slaveholder.In addition to those he inherited from his father, he purchased quite a number of them.

Read some of the actual words of those that opposed slavery, like Jefferson:

Thomas Jefferson was a consistent opponent of slavery throughout his life.[1] He considered it contrary to the laws of nature that decreed that everyone had a right to personal liberty. He called the institution an "abominable crime," a "moral depravity," a "hideous blot," and a "fatal stain" that deformed "what nature had bestowed on us of her fairest gifts."

Early in his political career Jefferson took actions that he hoped would end in slavery's abolition. He drafted the Virginia law of 1778 prohibiting the importation of enslaved Africans. In 1784 he proposed an ordinance banning slavery in the new territories of the Northwest. From the mid-1770s he advocated a plan of gradual emancipation, by which all born into slavery after a certain date would be declared free.

Benjamin Franklin explained that this separation from Britain was necessary since every attempt among the Colonies to end slavery had been thwarted or reversed by the British Crown. In fact, in the years following America's separation from Great Britain, many of the Founding Fathers who had owned slaves released them (e.g., John Dickinson, Ceasar Rodney, William Livingston, George Washington, George Wythe, John Randolph, and others).

...

“[M]y opinion against it [slavery] has always been known… [N]ever in my life did I own a slave.”
...
Numerous similar quotes could be cited.

I don't need to get into a quote war with you.

I know plenty about Jefferson and his views on slavery -- he was a terribly conflicted man, and yes, he did oppose the idea of slavery - nonetheless, he owned, bought and sold slaves.

When he wrote the Declaration, he was much more forthright in his condemnation of it...that changed over time, and what you will see was a man who, after we had won the war, and we plodded along towards the convention and the signing of the Constitution, he never said anything publicly against slavery. He was conspicuously silent on the matter.

Go head. See if you can find a public quote from him after 1787 against slavery.
Give it a jog. Prove me wrong.

He had the power to make changes in the laws, via his bully pulpit, and all other forms as other abolitionists did, but *nothing.*

Nothing.

You will not find anything from Jefferson publicly stated after that Constitution was signed where he was against "the peculiar institution." Nothing.

That said, he *was* against slavery, in principle. Just not for himself, personally.

He was a slaveholder through and through, and even when given a chance to free some, held on.

He was a terribly conflicted man. Anyone who has done the slightest biographical reading on him would know that.

 

[Peach]

Washington and Lincoln are a given.

TDR iffy.

My issue is with Jefferson.

Not a difference -maker.

You can't be serious! TJ was the best President we ever had!
(1) He pened the Declaration of Independence with the key line, "All men are created equally!"
(2) The Lousiana Purchase: He expanded the sized of the US negotiating a purchase for pennies on the dollar. Not one gun shot was fired to get this land!
(3) Successful won the Barbary wars with minimal effort and expense!
(4) Funded Lewis and Clark
(5) West Point was his brainchild
(6) He cut taxes, reduced spending, shrunk the size of government, balanced the budget and oversaw a very good and rapidly growing economy!
(7) He was the first one to float the idea of "Wall between the Church and State," but it didn't become a fundmental principal of the land to decades later.
(8) He was strongly against borrowing and creating burdensome Federal Deficits!
(9) President Jefferson signed into law a bill that banned the importation of slaves into the United States. Jefferson
(10) The Jefferson Economy Philosophy is the BEST economic philosophy of any President!

JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie

I agree, as JFK phrased it, to a group of Nobel Laureates: "The greatest collection of minds ever assembled in one room, with the exception of Thomas Jefferson, dining alone."

 

[Peach]

No. Washington was a slaveholder.In addition to those he inherited from his father, he purchased quite a number of them.

Read some of the actual words of those that opposed slavery, like Jefferson:

Thomas Jefferson was a consistent opponent of slavery throughout his life.[1] He considered it contrary to the laws of nature that decreed that everyone had a right to personal liberty. He called the institution an "abominable crime," a "moral depravity," a "hideous blot," and a "fatal stain" that deformed "what nature had bestowed on us of her fairest gifts."

Early in his political career Jefferson took actions that he hoped would end in slavery's abolition. He drafted the Virginia law of 1778 prohibiting the importation of enslaved Africans. In 1784 he proposed an ordinance banning slavery in the new territories of the Northwest. From the mid-1770s he advocated a plan of gradual emancipation, by which all born into slavery after a certain date would be declared free.

Benjamin Franklin explained that this separation from Britain was necessary since every attempt among the Colonies to end slavery had been thwarted or reversed by the British Crown. In fact, in the years following America's separation from Great Britain, many of the Founding Fathers who had owned slaves released them (e.g., John Dickinson, Ceasar Rodney, William Livingston, George Washington, George Wythe, John Randolph, and others).

Other prominent Founding Fathers who were members of societies for ending slavery included Richard Bassett, James Madison, James Monroe, Bushrod Washington, Charles Carroll, William Few, John Marshall, Richard Stockton, Zephaniah Swift, and many more.

In fact, based in part on the efforts of these Founders, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1780; Connecticut and Rhode Island did so in 1784; New Hampshire in 1792; Vermont in 1793; New York in 1799; and New Jersey in 1804. Furthermore, the reason that the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa all prohibited slavery was a federal act authored by Rufus King (signer of the Constitution) and signed into law by President George Washington which prohibited slavery in those territories.

It is not surprising that Washington would sign such a law, for it was he who had declared:

“I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it [slavery].”
—George Washington


Notice a few additional examples of the Founder's strong antislavery sentiments:

“[M]y opinion against it [slavery] has always been known… [N]ever in my life did I own a slave.”
—John Adams, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. President. The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1854), vol IX pp. 92-93. In a letter to George Churchman and Jacob Lindley on January 24, 1801.

“[W]hy keep alive the question of slavery? It is admitted by all to be a great evil.”
—Charles Carroll, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Kate Mason Rowland, Life and Correspondence of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1898), Vol. II, pg. 231.

“As Congress is now to legislate for our extensive territory lately acquired, I pray to Heaven that they …[c]urse not the inhabitants of those regions, and of the United States in general, with a permission to introduce bondage [slavery].”
—John Dickinson, Signer of the Constitution and Governor of Pennsylvania. Charles J. Stille, The Life and Times of John Dickinson (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1898) p. 324.

“That men should pray and fight for their own freedom and yet keep others in slavery is certainly acting a very inconsistent as well as unjust and perhaps impious part.”
—John Jay, President of Continental Congress, Chief-Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Governor of New York. Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, editor (New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1891), Vol. III, pp. 168-169. In a letter to Dr. Richard Price on Sep. 27, 1785.

“Christianity, by introducing into Europe the truest principles of humanity, universal benevolence, and brotherly love, had happily abolished civil slavery. Let us who profess the same religion practice its precepts… by agreeing to this duty.”
—Richard Henry Lee, President of Continental Congress and Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Memoir of the Life of Richard Henry Lee and His Correspondence With the Most Distinguised Men in America and Europe (Philadelphia: H.C. Carey and I. Lea, 1825), Vol. I, pp. 17-19. The first speech of Richard Henry Lee in the House of Burgesses.

“t ought to be considered that national crimes can only be and frequently are punished in this world by national punishments; and that the continuance of the slave trade, and thus giving it a national sanction and encouragement, ought to be considered as justly exposing us to the displeasure and vengeance of Him who is equally Lord of all and who views with equal eye the poor African slave and his American master.”
—Luther Martin, Constitutional Convention Delegate. James Madison, The Records of the Federal Convention, Max Farrand, editor (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), Vol. III, pg. 211.

“Domestic slavery is repugnant to the principles of Christianity… It is rebellion against the authority of a common Father. It is a practical denial of the extent and efficacy of the death of a common Savior. It is an usurpation of the prerogative of the great Sovereign of the universe who has solemnly claimed an exclusive property in the souls of men.”
—Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Minutes of the Proceedings of a Convention of Delegates From the Abolition Societies Established in Different Parts of the United States, Assembled at Philadelphia, on the First Day of January, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four… (Philadelphia: Zachariah Poulson, 1794), p. 24. “To the Citizens of the United States.”

“Slavery, or an absolute and unlimited power in the master over life and fortune of the slave, is unauthorized by the common law… The reasons which we sometimes see assigned for the origin and the continuance of slavery appear, when examined to the bottom, to be built upon a false foundation. In the enjoyment of their persons and of their property, the common law protects all.”
—James Wilson, Signer of the Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. James Wilson, The Works of James Wilson, Robert Green McCloskey, editor (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967), Vol. II, pg. 605.

“It is certainly unlawful to make inroads upon others… and take away their liberty by no better right than superior force.”
—John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), p. 81, “Lectures on Moral Philosophy.”
Numerous similar quotes could be cited.

I don't need to get into a quote war with you.

I know plenty about Jefferson and his views on slavery -- he was a terribly conflicted man, and yes, he did oppose the idea of slavery - nonetheless, he owned, bought and sold slaves.

When he wrote the Declaration, he was much more forthright in his condemnation of it...that changed over time, and what you will see was a man who, after we had won the war, and we plodded along towards the convention and the signing of the Constitution, he never said anything publicly against slavery. He was conspicuously silent on the matter.

Go head. See if you can find a public quote from him after 1787 against slavery.
Give it a jog. Prove me wrong.

He had the power to make changes in the laws, via his bully pulpit, and all other forms as other abolitionists did, but *nothing.*

Nothing.

You will not find anything from Jefferson publicly stated after that Constitution was signed where he was against "the curious institution." Nothing.

That said, he *was* against slavery, in principle. Just not for himself, personally.

He was a slaveholder through and through, and even when given a chance to free some, held on.

He was a terribly conflicted man. Anyone who has done the slightest biographical reading on him would know that.

I have no desire to "prove you wrong"; Jefferson was anti slavery, but a man of his times He was deeply in debt, could not free his slaves except to pay his debt, here are some facts & part of his Last Will & Testament, however:

Robert Hemings (1762-1819), freed 1794.
James Hemings (1765-1801), freed 1796.
Thomas Jefferson freed five slaves in his will.

Joseph (Joe) Fossett (1780-1858)
Burwell Colbert (1783-1850+)
Madison Hemings (1805-1856)
John Hemmings (1776-1833)
Eston Hemings (1808-1856)
Thomas Jefferson gave tacit consent for the following slaves to leave Monticello, in 1804 and 1822

James Hemings (born 1787)
Beverly Hemings (born 1798)
Harriet Hemings (born 1801)
The remaining slaves he owned at the time of his death were to be sold to settle debts with creditors.

He had little choice, at that time.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Washington and Lincoln are a given.

TDR iffy.

My issue is with Jefferson.

Not a difference -maker.

Jeezzzzz.....didn't Gutzon Borglum do enough????

 

[Peach]

Washington and Lincoln are a given.

TDR iffy.

My issue is with Jefferson.

Not a difference -maker.

Jeezzzzz.....didn't Gutzon Borglum do enough????

Good one! Some want him disinterred to keep working!

 

[Dick Tuck]

Why??

Washington was the first president of America - Lincoln preserved the Union, TDR made America relevent on the world stage.

What did Jefferson do ??

It would appear he furnished the ground the Mount Rushmore stands on, that's all.

So where do you wingnuts find the authorization, in the constitution, to use public money to purchase property? I agree with Jefferson's decision, but if you do you have to accept the "social welfare" clause as being intentionally overly broad.

 

[hortysir]

Why??

Washington was the first president of America - Lincoln preserved the Union, TDR made America relevent on the world stage.

What did Jefferson do ??

It would appear he furnished the ground the Mount Rushmore stands on, that's all.

So where do you wingnuts find the authorization, in the constitution, to use public money to purchase property? I agree with Jefferson's decision, but if you do you have to accept the "social welfare" clause as being intentionally overly broad.

Therefore, he personally drafted a constitutional amendment authorizing the national government to acquire new lands and allowing for the indefinite settlement of the new territory. However, Jefferson and his colleagues feared the time it would take to adopt a new amendment might allow the deal to slip through their fingers. Urged by fellow Republicans, he dropped the amendment and submitted the treaty that provided for the Louisiana Purchase to the Senate, where it was speedily ratified.

SparkNotes: The First Years of the Union (1797-1809): The Louisiana Purchase