Thomas Jefferson

60

Thomas Jefferson : biography

April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826

Although opposed to the international slave trade, Jefferson sometimes bought slaves and often sold them.Appleby (2003), p. 77Betts (1999), p. 5, Thomas Jefferson’s Farm Book After returning from France, he sold fifty slaves to pay the debts he had incurred there.Finkelman, Paul. "Thomas Jefferson and Antislavery". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 102, No. 2 (Apr., 1994), pp. 205 Ten years after the abolition of the American slave trade, Jefferson, again to pay his debts, sold slaves to his grandson.Ferling (2000), p. 288 He inherited slaves from both his father, Peter, and his wife’s father, John Wayles. Over the course of his life, he owned some 600 slaves,Rothstein, Edward. "Exhibition Review; Life, Liberty And the Fact Of Slavery." The New York Times. 27 Jan 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012. requiring about 130 at any one time to work at Monticello.William Cohen, "Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Slavery," Journal of American History 56, no. 3 (1969): 503–526, p. 510

Jefferson avoided violence in regard to slavery. In 1800, 27 African American slaves were hanged for conspiracy in Gabriel’s Rebellion. Jefferson claimed the hangings were "revenge" while noting the strong public sentiment "that there has been hanging enough". Concerned over public reaction and the slaves’ safety, Jefferson attempted to deport the remaining rebellious slaves to Sierra Leone, however they were denied entrance.Johnson, Smith, WGBH (1998), Africans in America: America’s Journey through Slavery, pp. 256–257 In 1820, Jefferson opposed the Missouri Compromise, which established a geographical dividing line among the states, believing that such a division and an attempt to limit slavery would lead to war.Finkelman (1998), Federalists Reconsidered, edited by Doron S. Ben-Atar and Barbara B. Oberg, pp. 142-143 Jefferson expressed this concern in an April 22 letter to John Holmes, believing correctly that such a division among the states would eventually lead to the destruction of the Union.Peterson, 1960 p.189

Slaves performed in many capacities and carried out most of the activities on Jefferson’s plantations. These included agriculture, domestic duties, and textile manufacture. Many slaves were highly skilled in cabinetry and carpentry, blacksmithing and gunsmithing and were often paid extra for such work. At Monticello, Jefferson acted as a patriarch and considered his slaves, whom he referred to as ‘servants’, part of his ‘extended family’. Some slaves, particularly the Hemings family, interacted closely with Jefferson’s family.Peterson, 1986 pp.518-521TJF, Monticello, 2012 Quotations on ChildrenKierner, 2012 pp.152-155

Jefferson felt a moral obligation and a duty to protect and provide well for his slaves,Peterson, 1977 whom he referred to as his extended family.Brodie, p. 53 He provided them with 20 by 12 foot log cabins, each having a fireplace, a sleeping loft and an earthen floor. Jefferson provided clothing to slaves every summer and winter while also providing household goods such as blankets, beds, cooking ware, and other household items. Slaves were allowed to have their own poultry yard and fruit and vegetable gardens which they managed during their spare time. Slaves were also given Sundays, Christmas and Easter off. TJF, Monticello, 2012 Mulberry Row, Family Children of slaves began working at the age of 10; the girls would spin wool or flax while the boys made nails in Jefferson’s nail factory. From 16 years of age slave children would either work in the fields or learn a trade. Although slaves could not legally marry, enduring unions were common at Monticello, as it was Jefferson’s practice to keep family units together.Randall, 1994 p.180Brodie, 1974 p.53 Slave couples with children were sometimes given their own cabin.Hyland, 2009 p.27TJF, Monticello, 2012 Thomas Jefferson and Slavery

Jefferson policy was to not allow his slaves to be whipped except as a last resort, and then only on the arms and legs, preferring to penalize the lazy and reward the industrious,Brodie, 1974 p.288 however his instructions were often ignored by overseers during his long absences. In perspective, according to testimony of slaves and overseers, whippings were administered only for stealing, fighting, or other exceptional cases. There were however a couple of overseers known for their excessive use of the whip. Jefferson would not overwork his slaves, expecting them to work no harder than free farmers.Peterson, 1986 p.535Pierson, 1862 p.103Merwin, 1901 pp.22-23