Originally Posted by t walgamuth

There is a long article in the new Smithsonian about Jefferson and his attitudes about slavery. Although he wrote eloquently about how men are created equal he never freed his slaves and had them beaten when they did not work hard enough....even young boys ten years old.

He wrote to friends about the economics of it saying basically that one of his chief forms of wealth building was the birth rate among his slaves which created more young ones than the ones who died of old age.

He also borrowed a huge sum of money using his slaves as collateral to rebuild Monticello in his later years. Upon his death they were all sold off to pay off mortgages, splitting up families in some cases seven and eight different ways.

George Washington on the other hand freed his slaves on or near his death but gets no credit for it historically.

Disappointing.