Thomas Jefferson
In the text we read that was written about Jefferson, we were shown Jefferson's viewpoints on the thought process and actions of the Blacks, and also if he thought that they were inferior to the whites/Europeans in any way. Jefferson also shared with us the common beliefs of that time reflecting how the Blacks should be treated and why they were thought to be inferior to the whites/Europeans.
Jefferson says that the there are studies that prove that the Blacks think more for pleasure of the senses rather than what's right. He also says that the blacks think more about short term goals than long term goals. Jefferson also states that the Blacks are generally larger and have a different scent to themselves than the Europeans do. The scent and height of the Blacks seem to be just a general observation, where as the inferiority and the thought process of the Blacks seems to be from studies and the common viewpoint of the Europeans in America.
My question is whether you think that the majority of the article we read is based off of common belief during Jefferson's time, statistics and studies, Jefferson's personal opinions, or a combination of the three. I was also wondering on what your thoughts are on Jefferson's personal opinion, and if they present any form of bias towards the purpose and content in the text.
To answer your question, I believe that the article Jefferson had wrote is based on his own opinions and common belief. Jefferson was raised in Virginia where slaves were the driving force in Virginia's economy. He was exposed to the concept of slavery at a very early age and the common beliefs toward them but as he later became an educated man he started to develop his own personal opinions about slavery. As to Jefferson's opinion, its very hard to say whether he opposed slavery or not. In the article, he mentions that slavery is detrimental to the slave as well as the slave owner himself but he goes to say that the black man is inferior to the white man based on his observations. I personally think he opposed slavery but since slavery was so entangled with the economy of the colonies I guess it was hard to give slaves an equal chance not to mention that he thought they were inferior to the white man. So I guess he did oppose slavery but he didn't know how to incoporate them into society as denizens equal to a white man. Finally, a bias that I notice was, again, the inferior thing. Overall, this is what I think.
ReplyDeleteMuhammad, you make a strong case. Nick, underneath your questions there seems to be a lurking concern: if Jefferson is subscribing to common beliefs, should we expect a man of his acumen to rise above those common beliefs? Should we be in some sense disappointed (a sentiment that a number of students expressed) when we encounter the scientific racism that accompanies other "rational" beliefs of the age?
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