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Jefferson and Washington

            The two founders of the United States I admire the most are George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  George Washington is known as the father of our country, was the first president, and served honorably as the commander of the army during the revolutionary war.  Thomas Jefferson is best known for writing the Declaration of Independence, was our third president and our first secretary of state.  The contributions these two men had to the United States show their courage, a sense of humility, and yet a contradiction of speaking out against slavery but owning slaves.  In this essay I will recite my favorite story of each of these men, explore their roles in slavery and possible scandals during their lifetime.

            In 1782 all was calm on the battlefront of the Revolutionary War but congress had been slow to pay the soldiers.  A possible military cue was brewing among the troops, in fact, many of the soldiers felt Washington had not done enough to secure the promises congress had made to them.  In a letter to Washington, Hamilton had suggested that the General lead the rebellion instead of discouraging it.  Washington wrote back, “The predicament in which I stand as citizen and soldier is as critical and delicate as can well be conceived… The suffering of a complaining army on the one hand and tardiness of the states on the other” (Parry, Allison and Skousen 379).  General George Washington called a meeting to address this problem.

            After a couple of calls to “continue in the cause of the army” George Washington had changed a few minds but many of the soldiers still wanted to force justice.  From his pocket Washington pulled a letter by Joseph Jones, a Virginia Congressman.  He tried to read the letter, paused, and from the same pocket pulled out a pair of glasses and said, “Gentleman, you must pardon me.  I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind” (Parry, Allison and Skousen 385).  Reports from soldiers in the room claim there was not a dry eye, the threat of a civil war disappeared.  Every soldier in the room realized that Washington had dedicated his entire life to the cause of the American people, soldier and citizen.

            The Baron Alexander von Humboldt visited President Thomas Jefferson in the Executive Mansion (Later named the White House) in 1804.  Humboldt, reading one of the newspapers on the table they sat at, found some of the vilest and disturbing lies written about President Jefferson contained in it.  “Why are these libels allowed?”  Humboldt asked Jefferson.  “Why is not this libelous journal suppressed, or its editor at least fined and imprisoned” (Allison 230)?

            President Jefferson replied, “Put that paper in your pocket, Baron, and should you hear the reality of our liberty [or] the freedom of our press questioned [in Europe], show this paper and tell where you found it” (Allison 230). 

            Both Washington and Jefferson each owned hundreds of slaves during their lifetime.  This fact has been the center of much debate.  Some have used this information to discredit our founders and others have tried to ignore it.  There is no doubt both Washington and Jefferson were against slavery based on their words in speeches and many personal as well as public letters.  After learning about these two men I have yet to find anything that that would lead me to believe either Washington or Jefferson were not sincere in their opposition to slavery.  Still the question remains, why then, did they own slaves?

            George Washington, considered the first farmer scientist, struggled with owning slaves.  One point people do not seem to realize is during those times it was not as if you put an ad in the paper and interviewed thousands of people searching for work.  Hired labor was almost impossible in Virginia in the 1700s and Washington would have had to completely abandon his plantation if he no longer used slaves.  Since he could not bring himself to “traffic in the human species” Washington owned more slaves than were necessary to run Mount Vernon.  This fact almost ruined Washington financially when at any time he could have relieved much of his debt by selling just one slave.  Washington did not do this so the slave families would not be separated.  “There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of [slavery],” Washington wrote in 1786 (Parry, Allison and Skousen 446-447).

            In his will Washington stated that all his slaves would become free upon his wife Martha’s death.  Washington went on to provide money and resources to teach the slaves to read and write and “brought up to some useful occupations” (Parry, Allison and Skousen 608).  In what I have learned Washington treated his slaves with humanity in a time when most of the people, even those against slavery, treated them as less than human.  During the Revolutionary War a newspaper article came out accusing Washington of having “certain relations” with his slaves.  No historian has ever found any evidence that Washington was ever involved in any questionable relationship with any woman, slave or free. 

            Thomas Jefferson inherited his slaves through the death of his father in law.  Along with the slaves came the burden of debt Jefferson would continue to fight for the rest of his life.  Jefferson, due to his debt, would not have been able to free his slaves.  Jefferson said about slavery, “We have the wolf by the ears; and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go.  Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other” (Allison 631).  Before his death Jefferson did free five of his most trusted slaves but the remainder of them had to be sold off to settle his debts. 

It is worth noting that as early as 1768 Jefferson wrote legislation to abolish slavery and continued on this crusade throughout his public life.  In fact, even Washington, in his early years in the Virginia House of Burgess, wrote legislation in an attempt to move towards the complete abolition of slavery.  For those who still question these men on slavery it is also worth noting that it was not legal to just let your slaves go free.  Permission was needed from the legislator to release slaves from bondage if they were to remain in the state of Virginia.  Debt collectors would not have allowed Jefferson or Washington from just letting their slaves go since in the eyes of the law slaves were real property.  The mortgage on my house does not go away because I die or give the house to my family.

Fawn Brodie wrote a book titled, Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History that was published in 1974.  Using flimsy evidence and a type of psychoanalysis Brodie comes to the conclusion that Jefferson fathered children with one of his slaves Sally Hemings.  This attack originated from a staunch Federalist during Jefferson’s presidency named Thomas Callender.  After being pardoned by Jefferson but denied a position in his administration Callender began writing for a paper opposing Jefferson and from thin air created this story about Jefferson.  Historians like Charles Warren, Garry Wills, and Dumas Malone called Brodie’s book, “a constant labor at ignorance,” or that she “borrows from Hollywood fan magazines,” or that she is “at her best when she has no evidence whatsoever” (Allison 232).  It does not help Brodie’s case when other biographies she has written have been filled with the same sexual misconduct found in the book about Jefferson.

Within the past ten years DNA testing was done on Jefferson and the children of Sally Hemmings.  The results did conclude that her sixth child is fathered by someone with Jefferson’s DNA.  This was not the child that many, including Brodie, have accused Jefferson of being the father of but there is no way of completely exonerating him of these charges.  One biographer of Jefferson named Henry Randall interviewed Jefferson’s grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph and learned that Peter Carr, Jefferson’s nephew, was having an affair with Sally Hemmings.    According to Randall, the family knew about Carr and did not approve of what was going on (Allison 228-233).

The lives of both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are inspirational.  Both of these men risked life, property, and reputation because they believed in freedom.  Washington turned down the offer of becoming King, refused to serve a third term as president, and is the only man that could have been the father of our country.  It is ironic that Washington never had children of his own.  Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence turned theory into reality.  During Jefferson’s presidency he defeated pirates at Tripoli.  Interesting how history repeats itself since today the world is still fighting pirates there, only it is now called Somalia. 

The first presidential election of Thomas Jefferson is still considered one of nastiest campaigns in history yet Jefferson and John Adams remained friends until their death, one hour apart, on July 4, 1826.  The principles contained in the Bill of Rights all the founders agreed were essential to the new government.  The founders also agreed that we were born with God given rights that no government can take away from us.  In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy” (Allison 225).  I hope, as we now decide what the government’s role is in our lives, we take seriously these words from Jefferson.

Works Cited:  

 Allison, J. The Real Thomas Jefferson. New York: National Center for Constitutional Studies, 2008.

Parry, J., and Allison, A. The Real George Washington. New York: National Center for Constitutional Studies, 2008.

Our Most Precious Right

 “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.  For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”  Patrick Henry.

It seems to me as if there is a war on Christians in this country.  My understanding or misunderstanding of the Bible may or may not mean I am a Christian but what I do know is our country was founded on Christian principles.  In one state capital there is an atheist sign stating, in so many words, that God is a fairytale and putting down everyone who believes in God.  Why do they feel it necessary during the Christmas and Hanukah season to display such hate?  What is their point?  What is their agenda?  Why would they want to demean the vast majority of Americans?  I don’t believe I will be able to answer any of these questions but I will write what this right under our Constitution means to me.

The role of religion in the United States has been considered our most precious right under the Constitution.  The founders were clear on the subject, the first amendment on religion reads; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  Time and again one can read how Thomas Jefferson or James Madison viewed the teaching of religion in public schools.  The intent was that all faiths, Christian and non-Christian, would have legal equality under the law.  The only requirement for a certain faith to meet in a public building in the opinion of Thomas Jefferson was that that building be open to all faiths, and all sects.  In today’s world the Supreme Court has twisted the intent of our founding fathers by outlawing the Lord’s Prayer and the reading of the Bible in public schools. 

Regardless of the attacks on religion and God I do not believe they will ever be able to eliminate Him from our society.  There seems to be a sense of jealously from the non-believers with the need to claim their moral grounding on the sides of buses and billboards in New York.  The Soviet Union spent over eighty years trying to eliminate, or better yet become, God in the eyes of its people but failed.  During World War II Germany did its best to kill and terrorize the belief of God out of the Jews, but failed.  The question is not the elimination of God but instead how He will react to our attempt to secularize a nation built on the foundation of God given freedoms that include religion.  I believe God is the perfect gentleman and if we ask him to stay out of our schools, He will and if we do not ask our leaders to follow basic moral principles, God will allow us to have leaders who have none. 

I volunteer at my daughter’s church serving the kids food on Mondays and found myself in an interesting position two weeks ago.  One of the teachers was trying to diet and he was beginning to doubt if he could be successful.  My first thought was to share with him how through prayer I have quit smoking and drinking but found myself afraid to mention prayer.  The funny thing is my daughter goes to a Lutheran school. Yet I watch as people like George W. Bush and Sarah Palin are ridiculed for their religious beliefs so I paused before mentioning God.  It will be through our silence that the secular progressives will win.  So I plan to “freely exercise” my first amendment rights and share, when asked, the role God plays in my daily life.

In closing, I would like to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!