Slavery In The Eyes Of Thomas Jefferson



Thomas Jefferson is well   known in history as one of the most influential founding fathers, and the third president of the  Unites States. 

One of the most controversial subjects that he took a stance on   was slavery. 


Jefferson was anti-slavery and pro-slavery in the same breath. he believed that slavery was something that was unjust and not right, but he also believed that America is dependent on slavery and that if they abolished it America would become turmoil. 



Jefferson had become the second largest slave holder in Albemarle County. In his lifetime Jefferson had owned over 600 slaves and gave/sold over 100 slaves.



With his split views on slavery he began to weigh more towards slavery, but he went about it in a different way. Since he believed that, "white Americans and enslaved blacks constituted two separate nations who could not live together peacefully in the same country”, and “blacks were racially inferior and as incapable as children”, he decided to change his ways of slavery.
 


He believed that instead of treating slaves so terribly with corporal punishment, they should be treated better and given incentives. he chose to do this because by using incentives he would subconsciously trick slaves into doing more work because they would get something out of it in return. Also, by doing this it made slave labor look more like free labor. 



Also, the next step that Jefferson took in reforming slavery was changing the working conditions of his slaves. One of the biggest changes that Jefferson made was transitioning from crops that took a lot of time and effort, like tobacco, to crops that were much more manageable and produced more resource in shorter amounts of time. He also had more of the slaves who were women and children work in the Main House as maids, seamstresses and other less physical jobs instead of working out in the fields where the men would work.




Finally, one of the other big changes Jefferson made in the ways he went about slavery was the living conditions of the slaves. Jefferson had gotten many cabins built on the outskirts of the plantations where slaves could live so that the slaves weren't so cramped and close to one another.
Many people began to criticize Jefferson for these changes like saying, "you give them too much freedom they are going to disobey you", but Thomas Jefferson was a very intelligent man and had already thought about these types of things before any changes were made. 


One way that Jefferson remained order was by having a huge gong be put in place outside of the Main House. He would use this gong for many different reasons including summoning all the slaves. This helped Jefferson keep a certain type of power because he used it as a tool to remind the slaves that he is their owner and they must answer and obey him and his orders. 
Also, Jefferson would make many different random stops throughout the plantations. By doing this Jefferson was able to keep an eye on what was happening and make sure things were getting done. Also, with his stops being random it kept the slaves on their feet and in line because they never knew when he might stop by.
 

So instead of completely abolishing slavery Jefferson decided to take a different approach and reformed slavery in his own ways through incentives, better working conditions, and better living conditions.


Jefferson not only wanted to change the ways he treated slaves to be able to keep his slaves, but he had a genuine feeling of remorse. He can even be quoted in saying, “My first wish is that the laborers may be well treated,”


Sources:


https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-slavery/the-practice-of-slavery-at-monticello/


https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-slavery/jefferson-s-attitudes-toward-slavery/


https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-slavery/


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