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Thomas Jefferson on Slavery and Race

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Thomas Jefferson on Slavery and Race
B. Jefferson on Slavery and Race

• The terms of the emancipation proposal considered by Virginia legislators were all slaves born after the act would go on with their parents to tillage, arts or sciences, until girls (18) and boys (21) would colonize to places that “render the most proper” out with arms and domestic animals to declare them free and independent and extend the alliance and protection. • Jefferson believes blacks are inferior to whites, he differentiates the two races by stating the obvious first, color, figure, hair, odor, he also states how they are harder working and don’t require as much sleep. He also includes how adventuresome they are, they desire love more and are more sentiment and their “grief’s are transient.” • “This quality is the germ of all education in him.” Slavery influenced masters and other whites in ways of creating “boisterous passions” that created degrading comments to one another. This is spread through the children and other whites seeing or being raised only one way of seeing a “master” degrade his slaves. Slavery influenced slaves that they prefer ways that avoid areas that can or have made work for them. • Jefferson said “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just” because he believes slavery is not right, he hopes for the total emancipation and that slavery is “disposed in the order of events with the consent of the masters.” Jefferson’s hopes for the end of slavery differed from his fears because he hoped of an emancipation, which happened. Rather than slaves taken from “masters” which would anger them. • Jefferson’s notes do not seem to be something typical of the era or that most would agree on, slavery and segregation were very strong and blacks were not even considered or thought of to have human rights like they have today during that era.

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