The Real Truth Of Thomas Jefferson Analysis

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Esther Garcia ESL 88 Prof. Levine April 14. 2014 Essay, Draft 1 The Real Truth of Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson is one of the Founding Fathers of the American and one of the most influential figures in America history. He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, which declared the 13 colonies a free and independent country. He established strong diplomatic positions in European, being the first Diplomat, sent to France to serve as a United State Minister and also the first Secretary of State (1789-94), second Vice President (1797-1801) and 3th President of United States. Thomas Jefferson did many important things before, during and after he was president of the United States. He also, approved the Louisiana Purchase in…show more content…
Shipler in his essay “Jefferson Is America and America Is Jefferson,” Jefferson represents the most powerful contradiction of American society, because his declaration of individual liberty showed the brilliance of his extraordinary mind but also he claims that black people are inferior. Shipler considers that Jefferson had a deep understanding but at the same time he was such an ignorant person about what was happen, at that time concerning liberty and slavery. Slavery was a contradictory subject in Jefferson’s life. Although he was a defender for individual freedom and at one point he was against of slavery in America, but he owned slaves throughout his life. He was a politician that would speak out about slavery but would still employ slaves for his own use. Thomas Jefferson always knew that slavery one day would end, but he made no efforts during his lifetime to accelerate the process. . His life seems to be a perfect example of hypocrisy. He believed African Americans were inferior to white’s people and thought the two races could not co-exist peacefully in freedom. Moreover, Shipler emphasizes in his essay, “Jefferson Is America and America Is Jefferson,” what Jefferson believe about black people. He thought that they had a bad smell, were more tolerant to the heat, but not the cold, and also were unable to reasoning or think logically and critically and that black people skin not show emotions. Jefferson was not in favor of slavery. He thought…show more content…
And his personal life was also very contradictory. He spoke and acted for the liberty of man, but at the time he thought that liberty was in fact for a small minority of the people, blacks were not included, in fact, and he owned slaves. But his Declaration of Independence, and his other ideas and writings about the rights of states and individuals freedom helped to shape the world as we know it today. Thomas Jefferson’s contradictions are part of our society and are still affecting us today. Additionally, it’s important to study about Jefferson, because this can help us to resolve our problems in society and learn from the past. It’s necessary to know about Jefferson and the history of this country to understand today’s society. However, comparing his words with his acts it was impossible to realize what was done sincerely and honestly.
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