The TRUTH about slavery in the U.S.A.

[Flopper]

Thomas Jefferson​

• Vehemently opposed slavery

• Introduced legislation in Virginia to end slavery before the U.S. even declared independence from England

• Inherited slaves from his family and was not permitted to release them by law

• Original writings prove his disdain for slavery and his deep desire to see it end

Listen from the 4:30 mark to the 8:00 minute mark for the truth about Thomas Jefferson and slavery:

Slavery and Our Founders Part I: Thomas Jefferson

I have a lot of respect for Thomas Jefferson the writer and thinker- but like many people- he was conflicted- he was personally opposed to slavery- yet at the same time bought and sold slaves- and allowed his slaves to be beaten.

That's simply not true. His slaves were explicitly forbidden from being beaten and the people charged with overseeing his estate while he served overseas, in Washington, etc. are on record stating as much.

But thank you for recognizing that Thomas Jefferson vehemently opposed slavery - something so many progressives deny.

Well as a progressive- its not hard to find progressives who admire Thomas Jefferson for everything but his slavery. I think most everyone can agree now that slavery was reprehensible- and for a slave owner- Jefferson was rather unique in believing that slavery should be ended- but he also considered slavery his greatest source of wealth.

Many slaveowners, including Jefferson, understood that female slaves—and their future children—represented the best means to increase the value of his holdings, what he called “capital.” "I consider a woman who brings a child every two years as more profitable than the best man of the farm," Jefferson remarked in 1820. "What she produces is an addition to the capital, while his labors disappear in mere consumption." An enslaved couple, Minerva and Bagwell Granger, came close to fulfilling Jefferson's disturbing calculation; they had nine children between 1787 and 1810.


Beating's did happen.
Often absent from Monticello, Jefferson did not always succeed in lessening the violence of slavery. Several slaves were whipped at the hands of Monticello overseers. For example, William Page, an overseer at Lego farm for four years, had a reputation as a “terror” among slaves and was characterized as “peevish & too ready to strike.” William McGehee, an overseer at Tufton farm for two years, was “tyrannical” and carried a gun “for fear of an attack from the negroes.” And Gabriel Lilly, a nailery manager and overseer at Monticello for five years, whipped James Hemings three times in a single day, even when he was too ill “to raise his head.”

Runaway's were sold- along with others
Despite his expressed "scruples" against selling slaves except "for delinquency, or on their own request," he sold more than 110 in his lifetime, mainly for financial reasons. Seventy-one were sold from his Goochland and Bedford county plantations in three sales in the 1780s and 1790s. Chronic runaways and resisters like Sandy, James Hubbard, and Billy were almost invariably sold.

Did Jefferson free his slaves?
During his lifetime, Jefferson freed two enslaved men. At his death, Jefferson bequeathed freedom to five men in his will. At least three other slaves were unofficially freed when Beverly Hemings, Harriet Hemings, and James Hemings, son of (Critta Hemings Bowles) were allowed to leave Monticello without pursuit. (Sell also Slaves Who Gained Freedom.)

A single paragraph cannot do justice to the issue of Jefferson's failure to free more than a handful of his slaves. Some of the possible reasons include: the economic value of his human property (at certain times, his slaves were mortgaged and thus could not be freed or sold); his lifelong view that emancipation had to go hand-in-hand with expatriation of the freed slaves; his paternalistic belief that slaves were incapable of supporting themselves in freedom and his fear they would become burden to society; his belief in gradual measures operating through the legal processes of government; and, after 1806, a state law that required freed slaves to leave Virginia within a year. Jefferson wrote that this law did not "permit" Virginians to free their slaves; he apparently thought that, for an enslaved African American, slavery was preferable to freedom far from one's home and family.

If you had a cotton or tobacco plantation in those day, owning slaves was not an option if you wanted to stay in business, because the cost of labor would put you out of business. Thus a lot of people owned slaves that didn't really want to but that is just the way it was in those days.

 

[P@triot]

George Washington​

• Despite having inherited his first ten slaves when he was 11 years old, Washington grew to despise the practice. Upon his marriage to Martha Custis, Washington took possession of many more slaves. Martha was a widow when she married her second husband, George, and she brought to the marriage close to 100 dowry slaves. Washington argued and fought from the very beginning to end slavery, with no success in the legislature. When his and Martha’s slaves began marrying and forming families, his hands were further tied, as he refused to sell slaves and break up families. He waited until his death and Martha’s to free his slaves saying, “You can’t free the slaves till after I die and till after she dies. Because once we’re both dead, then you can keep the families together.”

• He paid them for what they raised. He paid them for what they did. He did not treat them like slaves. He treated them like family, which is why, after he released them, the blacks for so long came back and took care of Mount Vernon, took care of his grave, took care of Martha’s grave, because they so loved him. He was like a father figure to them.
  
  
• Phyllis Wheatley, a 22-year-old slave and poet was so impressed with the respect and kindness Washington had shown her that she wrote a poem — His Excellency General Washington — to honor the man she so greatly admired when he was made commander in the Continental Army in 1775. Washington responded by inviting Ms. Wheatley to his headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he received her as if she were a visiting dignitary.

Slavery and the Founders Part II: George Washington

 

[PurpleOwl]

Thomas Jefferson​

• Vehemently opposed slavery

• Introduced legislation in Virginia to end slavery before the U.S. even declared independence from England

• Inherited slaves from his family and was not permitted to release them by law

• Original writings prove his disdain for slavery and his deep desire to see it end

Listen from the 4:30 mark to the 8:00 minute mark for the truth about Thomas Jefferson and slavery:

Slavery and Our Founders Part I: Thomas Jefferson

I have a lot of respect for Thomas Jefferson the writer and thinker- but like many people- he was conflicted- he was personally opposed to slavery- yet at the same time bought and sold slaves- and allowed his slaves to be beaten.

That's simply not true. His slaves were explicitly forbidden from being beaten and the people charged with overseeing his estate while he served overseas, in Washington, etc. are on record stating as much.

But thank you for recognizing that Thomas Jefferson vehemently opposed slavery - something so many progressives deny.

Well as a progressive- its not hard to find progressives who admire Thomas Jefferson for everything but his slavery. I think most everyone can agree now that slavery was reprehensible- and for a slave owner- Jefferson was rather unique in believing that slavery should be ended- but he also considered slavery his greatest source of wealth.

Many slaveowners, including Jefferson, understood that female slaves—and their future children—represented the best means to increase the value of his holdings, what he called “capital.” "I consider a woman who brings a child every two years as more profitable than the best man of the farm," Jefferson remarked in 1820. "What she produces is an addition to the capital, while his labors disappear in mere consumption." An enslaved couple, Minerva and Bagwell Granger, came close to fulfilling Jefferson's disturbing calculation; they had nine children between 1787 and 1810.


Beating's did happen.
Often absent from Monticello, Jefferson did not always succeed in lessening the violence of slavery. Several slaves were whipped at the hands of Monticello overseers. For example, William Page, an overseer at Lego farm for four years, had a reputation as a “terror” among slaves and was characterized as “peevish & too ready to strike.” William McGehee, an overseer at Tufton farm for two years, was “tyrannical” and carried a gun “for fear of an attack from the negroes.” And Gabriel Lilly, a nailery manager and overseer at Monticello for five years, whipped James Hemings three times in a single day, even when he was too ill “to raise his head.”

Runaway's were sold- along with others
Despite his expressed "scruples" against selling slaves except "for delinquency, or on their own request," he sold more than 110 in his lifetime, mainly for financial reasons. Seventy-one were sold from his Goochland and Bedford county plantations in three sales in the 1780s and 1790s. Chronic runaways and resisters like Sandy, James Hubbard, and Billy were almost invariably sold.

Did Jefferson free his slaves?
During his lifetime, Jefferson freed two enslaved men. At his death, Jefferson bequeathed freedom to five men in his will. At least three other slaves were unofficially freed when Beverly Hemings, Harriet Hemings, and James Hemings, son of (Critta Hemings Bowles) were allowed to leave Monticello without pursuit. (Sell also Slaves Who Gained Freedom.)

A single paragraph cannot do justice to the issue of Jefferson's failure to free more than a handful of his slaves. Some of the possible reasons include: the economic value of his human property (at certain times, his slaves were mortgaged and thus could not be freed or sold); his lifelong view that emancipation had to go hand-in-hand with expatriation of the freed slaves; his paternalistic belief that slaves were incapable of supporting themselves in freedom and his fear they would become burden to society; his belief in gradual measures operating through the legal processes of government; and, after 1806, a state law that required freed slaves to leave Virginia within a year. Jefferson wrote that this law did not "permit" Virginians to free their slaves; he apparently thought that, for an enslaved African American, slavery was preferable to freedom far from one's home and family.

If you had a cotton or tobacco plantation in those day, owning slaves was not an option if you wanted to stay in business, because the cost of labor would put you out of business. Thus a lot of people owned slaves that didn't really want to but that is just the way it was in those days.

thats true if one person owned slaves and another paid a fair wage, the slave owner would easily outcompete the decent human being, thats just one reason why they had to outlaw it. Rather than just letting the "free market handle it"

 

[P@triot]

do you have any sources for any of this or are you just making it up as you go along?

As a matter of fact, I do. And I posted it in my second post. How embarrassing that you just got caught failing to read the link and listen to the audio before commenting.

it sounds more like desperate white supremacist apologism

You sound more like horrified progressive in the face of reality...

your climbing over mountains of evidence to pick up a crumb, just pretend that Thomas Jefferson was a democrat and he did all that stuff.

No...I'm simply telling the truth. You're having trouble accepting it because it goes in the face of everything you were trained to believe in the progressive ideology.

 

[PurpleOwl]

do you have any sources for any of this or are you just making it up as you go along?

As a matter of fact, I do. And I posted it in my second post. How embarrassing that you just got caught failing to read the link and listen to the audio before commenting.

it sounds more like desperate white supremacist apologism

You sound more like horrified progressive in the face of reality...

your climbing over mountains of evidence to pick up a crumb, just pretend that Thomas Jefferson was a democrat and he did all that stuff.

No...I'm simply telling the truth. You're having trouble accepting it because it goes in the face of everything you were trained to believe in the progressive ideology.

and who trained me to believe in this "progressive ideology"?

 

[P@triot]

thats true if one person owned slaves and another paid a fair wage, the slave owner would easily outcompete the decent human being, thats just one reason why they had to outlaw it. Rather than just letting the "free market handle it"

The free market can flawlessly handle anything thrown at it. The problem (as always) is that slavery wasn't the result of the free market. It was the result of government oppression. King George III forced it on the colonies.

Anything else you'd like me to correct for you? We're on a roll here. You continue to propagate progressive propaganda and I continue to set the historical record straight for you.

 

[P@triot]

As a matter of fact, I do. And I posted it in my second post. How embarrassing that you just got caught failing to read the link and listen to the audio before commenting.

it sounds more like desperate white supremacist apologism

You sound more like horrified progressive in the face of reality...

your climbing over mountains of evidence to pick up a crumb, just pretend that Thomas Jefferson was a democrat and he did all that stuff.

No...I'm simply telling the truth. You're having trouble accepting it because it goes in the face of everything you were trained to believe in the progressive ideology.

and who trained me to believe in this "progressive ideology"?

You tell me. Normally it's a progressive parent that brainwashes their children with that ideology out of fear. But USMB is a little touchy about mentioning family so the onus is on you here to tell us.

 

[initforme]

So flopper you think that is justification for slavery? What you are admitting is plantation owners were greedy and lazy. Ungodly lazy. In other words...pathetic. Thank you. If that's the way it was in those days then let's call slavery the darkest most heinous time in american history.

 

[PurpleOwl]

it sounds more like desperate white supremacist apologism

You sound more like horrified progressive in the face of reality...

your climbing over mountains of evidence to pick up a crumb, just pretend that Thomas Jefferson was a democrat and he did all that stuff.

No...I'm simply telling the truth. You're having trouble accepting it because it goes in the face of everything you were trained to believe in the progressive ideology.

and who trained me to believe in this "progressive ideology"?

You tell me. Normally it's a progressive parent that brainwashes their children with that ideology out of fear. But USMB is a little touchy about mentioning family so the onus is on you here to tell us.

so my parents brainwashed me into believing progressivism why would they do that?

 

[initforme]

Patriot are you trying to justify slavery? Good luck. Slave owners should have been locked away.

 

[initforme]

I'm 79 years old. Haven't been influenced at all.

 

[P@triot]

So flopper you think that is justification for slavery? What you are admitting is plantation owners were greedy and lazy. Ungodly lazy. In other words...pathetic. Thank you. If that's the way it was in those days then let's call slavery the darkest most heinous time in american history.

And yet you support slavery today! Progressives are greedy and lazy. They demand that government place a gun to the head's of conservatives and take by force 60% of what our labor earned - and then hand it to progressives that don't want to work because they'd rather stay home watching tv and getting drunk or stoned.

That is the way it is today - so let's call progressivism the darkest, most heinous time in American history. Because it is.

 

[P@triot]

Patriot are you trying to justify slavery? Good luck. Slave owners should have been locked away.

Justify it? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm the ultimate advocate of liberty.

Your side of the aisle is lying about history so that they can circumvent the U.S. Constitution and bring slavery back. I'm simply correcting the lies. If your side is going to bring back slavery and oppression - you're simply going to have to do it by convincing the American people it's the way to go. Not by lying about history.

 

[PurpleOwl]

I'm 79 years old. Haven't been influenced at all.

your parents must have brainwashed you too?

 

[BluesLegend]

My people were enslaved by the Romans, those bastards. We should conquer Italy and confiscate wealth for reparations!!!

 

[PurpleOwl]

Patriot are you trying to justify slavery? Good luck. Slave owners should have been locked away.

Justify it? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm the ultimate advocate of liberty.

Your side of the aisle is lying about history so that they can circumvent the U.S. Constitution and bring slavery back. I'm simply correcting the lies. If your side is going to bring back slavery and oppression - you're simply going to have to do it by convincing the American people it's the way to go. Not by lying about history.

I'm pretty sure the only freedom you support is the freedom to own slaves

 

[PurpleOwl]

My people were enslaved by the Romans, those bastards. We should conquer Italy and confiscate wealth for reparations!!!

who said anything about reparations?

 

[PurpleOwl]

So flopper you think that is justification for slavery? What you are admitting is plantation owners were greedy and lazy. Ungodly lazy. In other words...pathetic. Thank you. If that's the way it was in those days then let's call slavery the darkest most heinous time in american history.

And yet you support slavery today! Progressives are greedy and lazy. They demand that government place a gun to the head's of conservatives and take by force 60% of what our labor earned - and then hand it to progressives that don't want to work because they'd rather stay home watching tv and getting drunk or stoned.

That is the way it is today - so let's call progressivism the darkest, most heinous time in American history. Because it is.

did you just compare paying your taxes to slavery?

 

[initforme]

Inviting for trump. That means you are voting for more of the same. Great.

 

[initforme]

I don't see our founding fathers as anything but average.