I did a DNA test and found out that I'm related to the slave master of my 3rd GG. (White mother, Slave) The crazy thing is that we still stay in the same land that we were released from slavery to. My family remained sharecroppers and servants for them up until the 1980s. So much history is yet to be uncovered in America.
Study the ENTIRE history of slavery not just in the US. All slaves remain tied to the owners thru history all but one and its in the Bible. After only a few years slaves are not accepted back into their own old culture - they have lost that thread of history and picked up another. Let’s use some lowly seeds from England that you might recognize the name. The Washington family was attached to the Spencer family of the Diana Spencer Duchess of Wales fame. The Spencer’s still have furniture and possessions of the Washington’s. The the Washington’s made the move to the colonies and they were feeding themselves and many other and no they didn’t start out with slaves - they had no money at first to purchase slaves. The Washington’s lost touch with their Spencer benefactors as they became more successful they even lost their loyalty to King George. They would have never been accepted back in Britain nor would the Spencer’s have accepted them back in their same tiny dirty home. So do you see now how it works from just one example? Slaves have a new thread with their previous owner once they are free but they are never helped as much once they move on to freedom. Once a person declares they can make success by their own back and own mind they are expected to do so. Doesn’t matter the time in history doesn’t matter the race doesn’t matter the location or country - every free individual is expected to succeed by their own work - any claims otherwise are nonsense. Until you succeed you have no idea how difficult success is for EVERYONE
@@droolies7079 Supposedly, that should have been the case but was not in this country. To create a permanent under class the kkk was formed to undercut any achievement by the former enslaved people. Black Wall Street is just one example. Generally the lynching and stealing of properties whether land or patentable ideas. Creating an uneven playing field by providing unequal public education.
Wow..I wonder where the white woman ended up after having a biracial baby at that time? Did the family take the baby away and place them with someone else?
sweet peaches A little bit of history mixed in with your horrible interpretation. Until you can understand these words and learn there definitions, you’re just another wind bag: -Indoctrination -Generational poverty -Psychological warfare -Nutrition and how it pertains to cognitive abilities -resources -implicit biases -Perception -Jim Crowe -segregation (all race segregation is by design) -Redlining(Financial starvation) -Education ( Academic starvation) -Oppression -Mental health (and the lack of this resource) -PTSD -Generational trauma -European beauty standards -cause and effect -Tuskegee experimentation - Prison(for profit prisons) Blk folks face more than just poverty. They face Systemic hate! Most of things Blk folks endure would break you... emotionally, physically etc.. You lack a real understanding of the world and how it’s ran. Your ignorance.. your speaking down to.. Your oversimplification.. your one paragraph solution... should have clued you in.. You have know idea what you’re talking about.
sweet peaches Also the one detail you’re missing: -The notable differences When you have have a majority looking to enslave a minority, (English, Scottish for example)they look like them, it’s hard to oppress them, segregate, financially starve them, keep them from, etc.. No one can tell the difference after a generations of mingling, marriage etc. Not with blk’s! The descendants of slavery were never allowed to truly integrate, you (the majority) pass down all your indoctrinated BS (oppression racism, racial stereotypes)down to your children whom are continuing the cycle.
I remember when Sally Hemmings descendants showed up and was thrown out of a Jefferson celebration. It's a remarkable step forward to see that some of Jefferson's family members have come around to accept the truth about the past.
It's called DNA testing, which was done years go. www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-slavery/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings-a-brief-account/research-report-on-jefferson-and-hemings/ii-assessment-of-dna-study/
When she said children made the bricks that slaves used to build this house that hit... We always think of grown men and women but we need to remember that they lived their whole lives as slaves. Babies, toddlers, pre teens, teenagers, and old men if they make it. All were subject to some form of cruelty and the denial of a fulfilling life.🙁
When she said children made the bricks that slaves used to build this house that hit... We always think of grown men and women but we need to remember that they lived their whole lives as slaves. Babies, toddlers, pre teens, teenagers, and old men if they make it. All were subject to some form of cruelty and the denial of a fulfilling life.🙁
L Jeans What’s worse is that the old people were considered of less value to sell. I bet they were treated very differently. These people’s lives and freedoms were dependent on their age and general health.
@@HelloHamburger I think that if America had been the country that it claims to be(different from the rest of the world) And confronted the ugly truth of slavery from the beginning, we would be in a better place now. Our history books really dont describe how bad it was.
@@HelloHamburger they have white washed history, truth is there were black slave owners, just as much as the ottoman empire was deep into trading European political opponents as slaves. Btw ottoman empire which was muslim and predominantly black did most of the trading of africans as well. Cant blame white man, when all colors are involved. Secondly if you read your bible, if you believe in christianity... it says nothing about abolishing slavery, rather how to treat your slaves. So please get your context and facts of understanding before you make judgement calls.
semperfi 1918 slavery was in the Bible too Mose freed his people and Esther freed her people really their are salves in other countries right now outside of USA
@@juliaweber5026 but does it ever say to not have slaves .... as in did the Torah do away with slaves or in the new testament..... if there is I want to know where it says slavery isnt allowed. Because I've looked and recently reread the new testament.. and there is nothing in there except god freeing his people from egypt. But they became captives several other times to babylon and such... current Christian's cannot fathom this reality that yes the bible supports slavery. And the context it is under.
As a descendant of Jefferson, and his wife, I too think Jefferson was a hypocrite. I’m glad Monticello has acknowledged his children with Sally Hemmings. It has taken too long.
Jesse Newman the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written with the intent of paving the path to end slavery. Centuries ago it was literally impossible to build a country without slave labor. Ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, Britain, Mongolia, China, the list goes on. Show me one country not of the modern world that wasn’t founded on conquest and colonization.
ROD Rosi Of course I realize that. It’s not fair to judge by today’s standards. But it was certainly possible for Jefferson to free his own slaves, as people like John Adams got along fine without it.
The part I hate the most about slavery is taking children from their mother. That is beyond heartless. That kind of pain broke many. It's just cruel and evil
I think these parts of history are important for this reason. Let’s not erase history and forget the horrific things that have happened, but recognize them, honor the victims, and make sure it does not happen again. Hearing the perspective of the woman who said it was important to see it in person was powerful. There is beauty and pain and both deserve to be learned about
It is sometimes very difficult, or impossible, to put yourself in a long-ago era. I remember learning in the 4th grade about women's suffrage. I could not believe that women did not have the right to vote up until well into the 20th century. It astounded me. A slightly different example would be my 15 year-old niece who cannot imagine that smoking was once permitted in movie theaters, restaurants, almost everywhere. "How could people allow that for all those years and not complain?" she asked.
Jason Myers it’s so true, and you can’t truly understand history by looking at it through a modern mind state. That is the biggest problem with people and media and social media today (including many comments on this page).
I am 70 years old. I was a kid in the 1950s in a Midwest city. I remember reading want ads in the newspaper that said things like, _Wanted: house painter, prefer white man but will accept colored. No women_ . That reflected the cultural mentality of the time and almost no one complained. There was a thinking of "that's just the way it is". But not quite everyone thought that's the way it should be and so slowly but surely minds changed.
I don't really think of things in that same way, I don't look back at history and think "wow! People thought that was okay?" I think, "Gross . And they put a stop to it how many years ago???"
I am a minority and the past is a significance of where a society has been and how far it has come. Its a reminder to never go back. Without these remembrances as reminders, it gives nothing to society to hold onto as an historical reminder in a positive light to never return.
America needs to heal. They have never healed from the past horrors that plague them. And until that happens the problems that plague them today will never change.
People need to let go of the past especially from times when even their parents weren’t alive. America is arguably the best country in the world for blacks. The amount of opportunity here for blacks is unlike any other country. What other country has so many rich blacks and what other white majority country had a black president??
@Umbuko DaJuko What? 9/11 will diminish just like Pearl Harbor has. Plus there are still people dieing from the effects of the pollution from when the buildings fell. That was an attack from an outside enemy on innocent people of all races. If most forget when Pearl Harbor (80 years ago) happened I'd think they could let something that happened 200 years ago go. I know I have. If you haven't or won't, that's on you. How come you don't track down all the black and Native slave owners?
The USA needs to start acknowledging that slaves built the country. Willingly or not when people have contributed so massively to a country gratitude and appreciation needs to be shown to the enslaved and their descendants. Celebrating their work, sacrifice and accomplishments. This will not negate the suffering and how disgusting slavery is, but show how their black heritage is strength and courage. Hopefully it would help the younger generation to look at what people built dis-spite what they had to endure and inspire them that they can achieve anything.
What about the people who worked like slaves by our modern standards but weren't. Your clothing is made by people like that today. The whole planet was built by slaves or peasants. The revolution and civil war was a lot of free men. Slavery is gone thankfully but no one alive today has anything to do with it and much of the country wasn't built by slaves. Most was built by free people in the last century. Like 90% of it from the houses,roads, schools and buildings. A lot of things were built by slaves but we do in fact recognize it.
Thomas Jefferson said "we're all born free" what was between the lines " except you 3/5ths of a human now git back to work slaves". Man The Founders made a terrible compromise on slavery that is still a blight and burden upon this nation.
There were a number of _inconsistencies_ in terms of equality across the population. Married women could not own the property until the middle of the 19th century, and that was just New York. It was by law the husband's property. Other states eventually followed New York's example. But a woman could not have her own credit card until the 1970s, not without her husband's signature. In many places in the U.S. the only citizens who were allowed to vote were white men who owned property. Eventually non-whites and women were allowed to vote, and owning property was no longer a prerequisite.
@@AttRandyReynolds you're saying that the inequalities of women being unable to own property is equivalent to the inequality of being owned as property. How does that even begin to make sense?
All jobs were physical labor back then and all kids helped out as soon as they were old enough. My grandma was born in 1920 and had 10 siblings. A fingerprint in a brick was the least of her worries or labors. 1920, the same year the Irish were more hated than blacks. I have a vintage sign from that era that says "Hiring, Irish need not apply".
Briarrose29 that May be not true read the true history first I bet kids did not build the house and little no goodness I think we need read history right and teach it right not everyone had slave my an-asters didn’t they were too poor and barley had enough judging everyone for slavery is harsh as nation we didn’t enslave them. I been finding out that the slave history I was told was always negative
@@briarrose29 those holes in the bricks are from air bubbles rising out of the clay when they are made. They aren’t from children poking their fingers in them, that’s insane. Research how bricks are made.
it's TRUE, Slaves made everything at Monticello & did all the work, built that fancy house, made the bricks by hand like she said. even built the first buildings of T.J's UNIV of VIRGINIA.
We as a country need to realize our atrocities and deal with them so that we can make the United States whole again. As of today we are a divided, racist nation.
America was never whole my dear and it had always been a racist nation the difficulty here is that we have major work and decades of times to try and make up for it ,
As long as the racist left keeps attacking the foundations of this nation, we will remain divided. If historical atrocities mean so much, then the Democratic party needs to come clean on it's racist history. When you point a finger, there are three more pointing right back at YOU! The same party that attacks Jefferson for owning slaves, is the Jim Crow party of the klan that opposed the civil rights act. How many Democrats of the early 1800s owned slaves themselves? Also if historical atrocities mean so much, then why is felonious George Floyd placed on such a high pedestal?
It's very hard to do that because we don't know exactly how they treated each other in private. Neither Jefferson nor Hemings wrote about what they thought of each other or made public comments during their lifetimes. Rumors at the time were that Jefferson treated her like his wife. Sally Hemings's son Madison late in his life wrote only a small amount on life at Monticello and being Jefferson's son. The Hemings family tradition has told that Jefferson was in love with Sally Hemings. Her thoughts about Jefferson are more of a mystery. But I believe looking back on her we can see Sally Hemings as a woman who used her situation to the best advantage she could for the sake of her children.
@@twebster179 When Sally Hemings was 12 Jefferson was already in France while she was still in Virginia (she didn't go to Paris until 2-3 years later), so there was no interactions between the two when she was that age.
@@Jake-nk4wg Are you suggesting that Jefferson was interacting with Sally Hemings while he was living in France and she was in Virginia? She didn't come to Paris until 2 years later.
Absolutely depressing but fascinating story of American history. I as a Black Australian man of East African Somali descent love the Black American community. I myself have no enslaved and segregated ancestors because they were East African Somali people who were never captured or kidnapped or sold into slavery because they came from a strong empire. I am the proud son of two East African Somali immigrant parents both my father and my mother plus my paternal uncle which they all successfully immigrated to Australia in the mid 1990s escaping the Somali Civil War which devastated the country. My family and I still live there today. I love Australia because it is so peaceful and relaxing here plus I enjoy my life here in this incredible country. If I was a descendant of an amazingly tough enslaved and segregated ancestors who went through so much suffering I would always honour them plus remember them. I would never disgrace or forget what they had to experience the painful torment of racism. My heart goes out to all the oppressed Black people in the past that had go through the African Tribal Warfare, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Chattel Slavery, the Colonial Wars, the Domestic Slave Trade, the American Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan Racial Terror Lynchings, the Race Riots, Convict Leasing, Jim Crow Segregation, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, Redlinings, the Inner City Gang Violence, the War On Drugs, Police Brutality, the Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System, and Private Prison Abuse. In the United States of America today there is still Inner City Gang Violence, Police Brutality, Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System, and Private Prison Abuse so depressing. America needs a huge criminal justice reform, economic reform, gun control reform, immigration reform, police reform, political reform, and prison reform. I send my love plus support all the way from Lakemba, New South Wales, Australia. To all my fellow human brothers and sisters around the world, always remember be genuine & take care of one another.
Technically but technically he did try to write a condensation about slavery but he remover it from the final part of it for fear of loosing the south’s sympathy during the war so yes and no he could be said as a hypocrite
Smithsonian magazine did a lengthy piece about Jefferson as a slave owner and it was quite damning. There are documents where he pencils out the value that each slave brings to his estate in dollars and cents on a yearly basis. He recognized enslaved labor as his most valuable resource and it is surmised that this is why he did not choose to grant freedom to his enslaved workforce during his lifetime or upon his death. Kościuszko, a Polish military man who participated in the American Revolution and greatly admired Jefferson's thinking offered to give Jefferson funds to compensate him and allow Jefferson the freedom to free his slaves. But Jefferson decided the compensation was not enough and rejected the offer. Contrast this with Washington, who freed his slaves upon his death despite his wife's opposition. I have to conclude that hypocrite is the most charitable judgement we can make upon Jefferson. I appreciate what he did to give our country a philosophical foundation. But in the end he failed to redeem himself.
It was removed from the grievances with England because the Carolinas and Georgia would not agree. Nothing was put in that all 13 didn't agree on. Jefferson only wrote it in the sense he put what the Continental Congress decided onto paper. They did all agree to abolish slavery within 20 years. Most of them did, but then the cotton gin was invented that made slavery profitable and it continued in southern plantations which only accounted for 9% of the population.
She mentions 400 years of slavery. Where does this figure come from? The first colonies only date back to the 1620s. The United States only gained its independence in 1783 and the the first states started to free slaves from 1804. That gives you a period of just over 20 years between the Founding Fathers making their statements and getting the control they wanted and starting to put it into action. You can’t look at history through 21st Century lenses. Slavery had gone on around the world for thousands of years and was accepted as a way of life. Consider this; how many of us think that war is good? Now how many of us accept it? How many of us approve of poor labor conditions? How many of us buy cheap clothes which inevitability have been made through the exploitation of labor? Even now we are all hypocrites, it takes a brave person to stand up and say ‘enough’.
We must not forget that the Black descendants of Thomas Jefferson have a voice and have used that voice to celebrate the man as well as recognize slavery as a product of the times. I grew up trying to understand the greatness of Jefferson while holding people against their will. After learning about the Jefferson family reunions, I understood forgiveness as opposed to carrying that anger and hate around like the dead weight of a ship's anchor. Who are we to lecture his descendants or call them disgusting, vile names used by ignorant people? It is their business and certainly deserves no judgment from the public.
Tajah Smith There is nothing beautiful in this Story. A Hypocritical,Slave owning pedophile is precisely what Thomas Jefferson was. As a slave how beautiful life was at Monticello. I bet you'd get a very different story. Imagine a child asking his or her father why the author of the Declaration of Independence is raising him or her in bondage uneducated with no prospect for the future.
it most assuredly does...all parts of it. America needs to talk about why Thomas Jefferson said all men are created equal, thought twice about his own slave holding, thought of abolishing it, but in the end he couldn't free his slaves to show his own faith in his iconic ideals. We don't have to hate, we have to talk, we have to acknowledge, then we can come one step closer to the idealized America that our founders wrote down on paper...there is a reason the Freedom of Speech was the first Amendment, America herself must embrace conversation, only then can we reach understanding and National enlightenment. These flawed founders were never perfect, nor did any of them believe themselves to be deities, to be worshiped by a nation, their words were just meant to acknowledge the failings of their world around them and to try to build a better place for all men and women, but we have given them too great of place in our pantheon for their achievements, that we find it hard to acknowledge their imperfections and we fight to stop people from attacking our beliefs. It's human nature to want to defend our heroes, but our heroes are not everyone's heroes and we need to listen why.
With that reasoning, we have so many inequalities that would have to be addressed before America would matter, such as: those people with lower IQ's, those people that ARE NOT pretty/ attractive, those people that are mentally ill, and on and on and on. All of these have no color barrier, but they have always been treated with hate, disrespect, and extreme economic/social bias. But when we work under the banner of a consolidated group- Americans- it allows us to change as a whole. Left pulls and Right pulls, and we come center to change what is wrong. There are NO COUNTRIES that are PURE. EVERYONE OF ALL COLORS have done wrong in their lifetime. Change occurs slowly because you're dealing with imperfect humans. But it does occur, always. History proves it. America Matters, History Matters.
@Donna Hackney until we get it right. Until the day me and my cousin walk down a street and someone no longer feels to yell get out of here and drop the n-bomb. You know it still happens daily all over this country, right? Racism isn't dead just because you might not see it, and people still make decisions off of those biases that affect hundreds of thousands of lives. And guess what, try being a guy in a wheel chair, try being anyone other than who you are and see things from their point of view. You have a friend that you know drops racial dog whistles or even full on speech, maybe you're part of the problem, because you're not holding them accountable. Instead you fight that there needs to be change by saying, it's been done...well I guess it wasn't enough, we need to do better.
@@nickhill8612 Why you need more on a thread dealing with slavery, I have no clue, and since you must be a noob that hasn't discovered that Google is your friend in these matters...www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-washington Anymore and you're a simple troll and you can go pester someone else.
I am a DNA descendant of the Hemings family of Ohio and African American. I totally disagree with Thomas Jefferson beliefs but as a nrw country "we" had to start somewhere so a lot of my hate is retracted. Nonetheless, I'm proud to be a relative of a few Founding Fathers of this great nation!
And that is why it is such a paradox when we talk about people like him. He was obviously very intelligent and a forward thinker but he held slaves. He wrote all men are created equally and freedom is a god given right but he had slaves kinda doesn’t connect the dots!!
"... all men are created equal..." Jefferson said those words, wrote those words, but did not live by them. The Constitution was written "to form a more perfect union." Well, this country isn't there yet on either count, not by a long shot. That should be the work of every generation of people in this country, whether we are born here or come here in search of a better life - to leave this country better than we found it.This country's original sins haunt us - the enslavement of fellow human beings, the destruction and extermination of indigenous peoples - and it is right that they should, because we can not forget. We must stare these truths in the face and not flinch. We must remember, and build a better future. We must work to live by the words Jefferson spoke and wrote, but would not live by. We must work to build that more perfect union. No one ever said it would be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.
Jefferson actually wrote many times his belief that the goal of each generation would be to progress society further than the generation previous. Sadly, later in his life, he abandoned his work to end slavery. But he did so with the believe that the following generations of the United State would take the problems of the previous generation and solve them.
Jefferson passed laws prohibiting slavery, his slaves were family, he educated them, they had jobs like by today's standards, he saved them from brutal slave traders. and further advocated against slavery. I'm the great granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson I, who is the Grandfather of President Jefferson. Jefferson I owned all of the lands that were inherited. From what I've read on the DNA results are that it proved they are Jeffersons, but it did not prove it was President Jefferson's line, it could be his Brother. Martha Jefferson Goode and Colonel Bennett Goode are my Grandparents. We welcome all cousins in this lineage and so glad that we have them all.
Yes if can... tear the building down... and stop talking about it... then the past is undone... if anything the fact the monuments still stand... it is symbolic that slavery still exist...just in a covert mutated form we call capitalism...
Slavery is an inescapable part of history and history is the inescapable record of our past. It is wrong to attempt to erase the past when we should be adding newly discovered artifacts and information to help us better understand and relate to our history.
Without Thomas Jefferson's "all men are created equal", the way to end slavery in the near future wouldn't have happened. He paved the way, he wasn't perfect nor his time. Different times but great people.
I cannot imagine the horrors and pain these individuals suffered. But people blame me here in 2020. None of my ancestors owned slaves. I never owned a slave. I am not to blame for what happened.
They may not have owned slaves, but the whole of the USA was founded on slave economic and labor. It was the very foundation, so they benefited and so do you because of continued systemic racism. This is not about blame, it is about facts and equality.
This makes me think of the Great Pyramids, they’re not so great, those pyramids were built by slaves. The Great Wall of China, again built by slaves. Pyramids of South America, slave trade, Parthenon, Roman coliseum, Turkish basilica, Angkor Wat Cambodia, all built by slaves. Between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire, this occurred during the 15th and 19th centuries. Most of the Scotts came to Colonial America through indentured servitude. People often forget about the Irish slave trade as well. Slavery still exists today, in fact Africa just recorded the highest rate of modern-day enslavement in the world. Armed conflict, state-sponsored forced labor, and forced marriages were the main causes behind the estimated 9.2 million Africans who live in servitude without the choice to do so. This all according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index. That’s who we should be fighting for, people who are still enslaved to this very day.
The word "great" means "big" not "wonderful." Therefore the "great" pyramids remain "great." As for who built these structures. It is in fact not likely that the great pyramids were built by slaves. The only place where it is written that the builders were slaves is in the old testament which is extremely likely to be incorrect. Egyptian court records indicate the pyramids were built at great expense due to the hiring of many skilled tradesmen. The Great Wall of China was constructed by a mixture of labor forces but mostly consisted of paid soldiers and convicts and a smaller number of paid artisans and tradesmen. Few if any slaves were involved. The Parthenon was built mostly by highly skilled tradesmen. Only a small number of the builders were slaves and they were paid at the same rate as the other skilled tradesmen. Under Greek law slaves involved in Temple building were entitled to keep all money earned doing so and it was to be a voluntary thing NOT something they were forced to do by their masters and they had the right to use their earnings to buy their own freedom and many did just that. Your vague claim that the pyramids of South America were built by slaves has no meaning since you don't say which pyramids you are referring to. There were many pyramids built at different times by different cultures and there are few if any records to indicate the actual labor force involved. There is no record of the labor force involved in the construction of the Colosseum. However, stone masonry being what it was it is highly likely that professional stone masons built the Colosseum with minimal assistance by slaves. There is no such place known as the "Turkish Basilica." There are many basilicas built in various periods currently located in Turkey. Which one are you referring to? There is no record and no evidence that slaves were involved in the construction of Angkor Wat. You obviously have absolutely no knowledge of history or archaeology and are just spouting off lies or suppositions with no basis in fact.
The pyramids were not built by slaves. They were built by advanced civilizations that have moved on. The perfection of the design is not anything that would have been available under "uncivilized humanoids" which is what these people were, who happen to live there, at that time. It has nothing to do with current Egyptians. Some people do not understand the concept of what it is and what it was. Schools lie to people.
Some slaveowners were slaves by default. They inherited a home (not all homes were on plantations mind you) and that home came with a slave or slaves. So they owned the home by inheritance, but they didn't own the slaves. So selling or even giving a slave manumussion could never happen.
I truly believe that Sally and Thomas were married while in France it wouldn't have been recognized in America I believe that is the origin of the secret room it was their shared bedroom.
Certainly, its clear to see the man was a hypocrite. If he thought slavery was an abomination, he should of freed all his slaves, regardless of 1776. Either that, or he should of wrote, "All white men are created equal." You can't have it both ways.
Haven't you been paying attention in history class, at the time "all men are created equal" we were at war with the british and we needed everyone we could get to fight, it was basically give up your country like a coward and slavery be permanent, or help create a country and lay the groundwork for the end of slavery I'm not giving him excuses slavery is a sin but it was a odd situation back then so I still see him as an honorable man.
I always like to think that Jefferson loved Sally; it would take a real cynical understanding of Jefferson who saw her only as a slave tor his sexual urges.
Steven Torrey what about Sally, was she in love too? Does she matter? I think people like to see it that way, to romanticise their ‘relationship’. He was helping himself to her when she was a kid, I doubt she had much say in the matter. So if that’s ‘love’, then it sure is a twisted version of it.
@@JamesCM86 Hemings family tradition tells that Jefferson was in love in Sally Hemings. Her feelings towards Jefferson are really more of a mystery. Maybe she was affectionate towards him, maybe she did not. Like Jefferson, she never spoke publicly on the matter or wrote anything about the relationship. I think we have to analyze Sally Hemings as a woman of her time. Many slave women in her days, including her own mother, were forced to become the concubines for their masters. Looking at the situation she was born into, there were not many options. So I think she took the opportunities she had to ensure a better life for her children, Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston. She made Jefferson promise her that her children would live lives of freedom, which they did. I like to think if she could see her progeny today she would be happy to know the success they've had and the freedom they've enjoyed.
The story is my family owned slaves in Kentucky . How far back shall we go to try to make it right ? Half of Oklahoma was just declared and Indian reservation and monuments are being removed or destroyed if they have anything to do with the Confederacy ? Im sure the great majority of Confederate soldiers never owned a slave and in their minds were not fighting for slavery ..they were Americans answering the call . Our Vietnam vets did not question the call to duty they just answered the call even though it was an undeclared war as did all of those who have served in the mid east .. Were all the guys in gulf wars criminals because people said it was all about oil money? ..which it was ..they answered the call of their country . I dont have to support the motivation of the war but I do support those who answer the call ..same goes for the Civil War .
@grass flowerz actually by the time they created this country the land had already been stolen and the original owners moved or wiped out for almost two centuries.
Yes... Because they thought the same way our society thinks... 🤦♂️. Look, it wasn't right. But if we don't learn from it we'll never know the extent of how wrong it was and why it was wrong.
I never knew about Jefferson and Sally Hemings, they're entitled to his everything, a flawed man, and a genius to insist not to sign the constitution unless the Bill Of Rights was included as the first 10 amendments to the constitution. Delude yourself that saints walk among us. As much a founder and creator of this great nation. On balance, flawed but loved his slaves, literally, insisted on a Bill Of Rights, especially the 1st Amendment. Jefferson knew the dichotomy would not stand time, they're comprehensive biographies that explore his inner most thoughts. Jeffersonian ideals still guide us.
What we need to better grapple with about human nature and our present, past and future is that every single person has bad and good qualities. Jefferson was not perfect. There are things that should be criticized. But he also advanced our country in a lot of ways, as did many of the founding fathers. It's complex and always will be.
Yep. They also could have mentioned some of his anti slavery motives and the fact he tried to pass a bill to allow the freeing of slaves or the fact he was not legally able to free any slaves because of his lifelong debt he inherited. There's more to it all and no one is all sin or saint
Absolutely. But Jefferson still fails. He recognized the evil that slavery was. Yet chose for economic reasons to continue to personally benefit from the system. We have writings, notes and ledgers in Jefferson's own hand that demonstrate how aware he was. Sadly, that is the historical perspective.
Ideas outlast and outshine the men that spoke/wrote them. Jefferson’s ideas still ring true today, and are timelessly American. It’s my opinion that slaves who rebelled and fought (and sometimes killed) for their freedom were doing the most “American” thing they could’ve done. Jefferson helped us come up with what it means to be “American” even if he wasn’t so American in his own actions as a sinful human.
intelligence wisdom Um Majority of the Slave Owners did sleep with their slaves and have children they had more children with the slaves then their own wives that they were married to facts
In the end we do not honor the man for the bad. We honor the man for the astounding accomplishments. Trying to downplay the value of a person by their humanity and standards of today is disingenuous. Not to mention we do not have proof it was his and not his relatives.
@@hotrodhendrix1 America is changing and we are correcting history written to praise evil. We can talk about what he did, and his evil as well. The same as Hitler.
@@tipsandtricks6071 Now I do agree with that part. Obviously well deserving of honor and praise for their accomplishments but with an understanding that they were human. People molded by the times in which they lived but also molded the world themselves.
I am not sure how there can be a debate whether a 43 year old man who owned a 13 or 14 year old slave child was engaged in a consensual relationship or not. I think we would all be better off putting all of our founding fathers on pedestals and instead recognize them as the flawed people they actually were.
Well, if we didn't have slaves....some certain types of people wouldn't be here...so...slavery....good/bad....it gave certain types of people the american dream...well...the off springs....it took time, but....you go, and you ask certain types of people "Would you have rather be in another country that isn't so wealthy or be here in America?"....yeah....
I agree, there are so many countries where people who are within the same ethnic group, skin color, or heritage who are oppressed by their own people. Their way of thinking sets them back years of progression, where women’s rights or freedom of speech doesn’t even exist in these countries. In America, there is opportunity.
Miguel Coronado I’m not condoning slavery. It’s completely wrong. I am fully aware of the affects and toll it has on many individuals. I see now that my perspective came rather harsh. There should be a choice in the matter to leave a country you are born in rather than being taken, yes. But there are people who did come from slavery and they we’re able to exceed more in America than unfortunately they would have in their own country because of dictatorship governments or developmental issues. Nonetheless, I do not mean to offend.
Its History and the USA is so far away from that time, it's now 2020. All lives need to come together under God and with goodwill and make peace with all. Can not do that with violence. Vilonece will be met with violence. We know the history of world wars and the suffering that happens but we have moved on.
There is arguably no person more responsible for the ideals of the enlightenment being baked into the founding principal of the United States, such that all [people] are created equal. It was that very principal that became the basis of emancipation. It will be interesting to see how we come to live with the contradiction of the poor and inhumane choices he made in private. Something I think about is that one day in, say, 150 years, today's factory farming could be seen as a gargantuan and wholly unnecessary humanitarian atrocity. The lifelong torture and genocide of tens of millions of sentient, intelligent, emotional beings per year. Think about all the ways our minds might immediately begin to justify participating in something that could be come to be universally seen as extremely terrible. That is how values and norms of current structures can influence our moral framework. Let's condemn the depravity of slavery. Let's tear down all reverence to those who fought for it. But let's judge the moral character of people's actions within the appropriate context of their time and place.
Minor problem with that argument. There are whites who have black blood running in their veins. Does that mean they could get reparations because they are descended from black people? And what about black people who have white slave owners as ancestors (like Jefferson's descendants)? Would they have to give up money for the sin of their ancestors? If you say no to either one, then thats being hypocritical. Its either both or no one. Or there's a thing called "don't punish the seed for the crimes of its sire".
@@TimberlakeTigerGirl The sins of the fathers. ... : The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation. : Deuteronomy Chapter 5
Jefferson was a man, not perfect. There has only been one perfect man recorded in history, and that guy got hung up on a cross. Yes slavery was bad, but you need to judge people by their own time. How else was he to run a farm, when his competition was using slaves. By speaking out against slavery, he was a stepping stone to emancipation. Give the man the credit that is due.
@@luv4ever101 No. I don't agree with you. If I agree with you then I have to blame all the protesters for being "rioters". You have to judge people by the rules of the day, but allow for moving the rules forward. That is what Jefferson did. I do thank you though for caring.
@@luv4ever101 What have you done to clean the air. Quit breathng my air you are poluting it. Is it ok for you to polute my air with your breath? Why don't you quit doing it. Are you doing it just because everybody else is doing it? Give the man the credit that is due, he spoke out against slavery. He was a stepping stone to ending slavery. I know it's not popular to believe in kaizen, after all it a Japanese concept, not American. But I definitely practice it. Incremental changes. One foot in front of the other. One day at a time. Are you speaking out against modern day slavery? Or only historical? Big changes are only temporary, little changes are much more permanent.
There will be no getting past the shameful chapters of our history without fully exhuming and considering them. Our country - as great and cherished as it is to americans of all races - was founded on a duplicity that haunts us to this day ....we have to all accept that in order to move forward in order to allow our founding principles to truly flower...
@@Lucky-nv2ph I’m going to guess you’re a Brit … why yes I do have a passport and I’ve lived in Africa, Asia and the UK… while I’ve enjoyed living abroad - there’s just no place like the USA - it’s home and I love it - warts and all. Our ‘American experiment’ is being tested and wilL come out stronger. . .we Americans are definitely different than our cousins across the pond - for good and bad …
Wrong president for Trail of Tears. Oh, Jefferson only wrote the Declaration of Independence, was minister to France during the Revolutionary Way and secured their help which led to America's freedom, made the Louisiana Purchase, sent Lewis and Clark to explore and map the West. But by all means, let's let him be known as the president with the most slaves.
Why are you only focusing on the bad? He has done so much for the independence and creation of America, and I’m not saying it was right for him to own slaves, but back then that’s just how it was. They had a different way of thinking back then. Same thing with us “stealing” the natives land. Back then, people would go and conquer other lands, the Spanish did it, the Mongols did it, everyone did
Yeah if they were in Africa they wouldn’t be talking about how their African brothers had them as slaves because it only matters when a white man owns a slave
@@Eman1900O you sound stupid! Who in df said thats the only type enslavement that matters🤔🤔 go back to talking to your screen don't talk to me. Butt hurt much
I was in Monticello and I can say that Mr. Jefferson was a good man. He gave nice homes to his workers/ slaves & gave them education as well. The Hemings lady was his wife's direct family member & he was half white & she wasn't mistreated by him. I don't think that Mr. Jefferson had the energy of degrading & mistreating anyone. In comparison to the Spanish people from Spain those were worse than animals. They mistreated the Indian slaves in Peru to the point of make them feel shame of themselves. The treatment of Mr. Jefferson gave to his workers/slaves was an equal treatment. I didn't see any place that his workers were mistreated or not paid for their work. Unfortunately in the pass the only way to hire workers was through buying slaves. The act of exchanging money for people was horrible but that was the business at that PERIOD OF TIME. It is THE PAST and I feel sorry for Mr. Jefferson cuz one of his family member is ignorant and doesn't understand history & the character of their ancestors. I am not a family member of his neither American by birth cuz I read so much about him I can tell with confidence that he is sorry that the people that carry his blood validates blm terrorists. What a shame!
This is the only thing he should be remembered for: as a violator of human rights and a perpetrator of crimes against humanity. All of those "founding fathers".
Or, we could learn both the good and bad of Thomas Jefferson. That way we can see that despite his good works, he was still a very flawed man, like you and me.
Well lets talk about the african slave traders that sold African american ancestors to the white man Enabling All this to happen? Through all the ignorance everyone wants to blame the white man when it was 1 race betraying and selling their own race to the white man.
@@nigerianpride253 Again we need to look at both THE GOOD and THE BAD. No person in history is going to be perfectly good or so awfully bad. We need to judge them by the context of that specific time as well as their works
While I love the life and reality of slavery showcased, I do not agree with the bashing of Thomas Jefferson. To judge one by our current values is unfair, hypocritical and not very intellectually advanced. None of those hating on TJ are perfect and they have not achieved 1/4 of TJ so I don't think it right to bash him. Let's be kind and forgive while at the same time showing what was right and what was wrong. And judge ourselves with the same zeal. Maybe that is what America needs to become a more gentle and kinder place.
Harry Smith gets it. The fact someone added this super super dumb chyron... Mr Smith goes to Monticello...is probably a youngster who doesn't get it . We all learn.
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I did a DNA test and found out that I'm related to the slave master of my 3rd GG. (White mother, Slave) The crazy thing is that we still stay in the same land that we were released from slavery to. My family remained sharecroppers and servants for them up until the 1980s. So much history is yet to be uncovered in America.
Study the ENTIRE history of slavery not just in the US. All slaves remain tied to the owners thru history all but one and its in the Bible. After only a few years slaves are not accepted back into their own old culture - they have lost that thread of history and picked up another. Let’s use some lowly seeds from England that you might recognize the name. The Washington family was attached to the Spencer family of the Diana Spencer Duchess of Wales fame. The Spencer’s still have furniture and possessions of the Washington’s. The the Washington’s made the move to the colonies and they were feeding themselves and many other and no they didn’t start out with slaves - they had no money at first to purchase slaves. The Washington’s lost touch with their Spencer benefactors as they became more successful they even lost their loyalty to King George. They would have never been accepted back in Britain nor would the Spencer’s have accepted them back in their same tiny dirty home. So do you see now how it works from just one example? Slaves have a new thread with their previous owner once they are free but they are never helped as much once they move on to freedom. Once a person declares they can make success by their own back and own mind they are expected to do so. Doesn’t matter the time in history doesn’t matter the race doesn’t matter the location or country - every free individual is expected to succeed by their own work - any claims otherwise are nonsense. Until you succeed you have no idea how difficult success is for EVERYONE
@@droolies7079 Supposedly, that should have been the case but was not in this country. To create a permanent under class the kkk was formed to undercut any achievement by the former enslaved people. Black Wall Street is just one example. Generally the lynching and stealing of properties whether land or patentable ideas. Creating an uneven playing field by providing unequal public education.
Wow..I wonder where the white woman ended up after having a biracial baby at that time? Did the family take the baby away and place them with someone else?
sweet peaches
A little bit of history mixed in with your horrible interpretation.
Until you can understand these words and learn there definitions, you’re just another wind bag:
-Indoctrination
-Generational poverty
-Psychological warfare
-Nutrition and how it pertains to cognitive abilities
-resources
-implicit biases
-Perception
-Jim Crowe
-segregation (all race segregation is by design)
-Redlining(Financial starvation)
-Education ( Academic starvation)
-Oppression
-Mental health (and the lack of this resource)
-PTSD
-Generational trauma
-European beauty standards
-cause and effect
-Tuskegee experimentation
- Prison(for profit prisons)
Blk folks face more than just poverty. They face Systemic hate! Most of things Blk folks endure would break you... emotionally, physically etc.. You lack a real understanding of the world and how it’s ran. Your ignorance.. your speaking down to.. Your oversimplification.. your one paragraph solution... should have clued you in..
You have know idea what you’re talking about.
sweet peaches
Also the one detail you’re missing:
-The notable differences
When you have have a majority looking to enslave a minority, (English, Scottish for example)they look like them, it’s hard to oppress them, segregate, financially starve them, keep them from, etc.. No one can tell the difference after a generations of mingling, marriage etc. Not with blk’s!
The descendants of slavery were never allowed to truly integrate, you (the majority) pass down all your indoctrinated BS (oppression racism, racial stereotypes)down to your children whom are continuing the cycle.
I remember when Sally Hemmings descendants showed up and was thrown out of a Jefferson celebration. It's a remarkable step forward to see that some of Jefferson's family members have come around to accept the truth about the past.
@King Kong no one actually knows. Before our lifetime
@King Kong it was jefferson, good grief
It's called DNA testing, which was done years go.
www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-slavery/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings-a-brief-account/research-report-on-jefferson-and-hemings/ii-assessment-of-dna-study/
King Kong you’re in denial. As stated by someone already. DNA.
When she said children made the bricks that slaves used to build this house that hit...
We always think of grown men and women but we need to remember that they lived their whole lives as slaves.
Babies, toddlers, pre teens, teenagers, and old men if they make it. All were subject to some form of cruelty and the denial of a fulfilling life.🙁
When she said children made the bricks that slaves used to build this house that hit...
We always think of grown men and women but we need to remember that they lived their whole lives as slaves.
Babies, toddlers, pre teens, teenagers, and old men if they make it. All were subject to some form of cruelty and the denial of a fulfilling life.🙁
L Jeans What’s worse is that the old people were considered of less value to sell. I bet they were treated very differently. These people’s lives and freedoms were dependent on their age and general health.
@@HelloHamburger I think that if America had been the country that it claims to be(different from the rest of the world)
And confronted the ugly truth of slavery from the beginning, we would be in a better place now.
Our history books really dont describe how bad it was.
@@HelloHamburger they have white washed history, truth is there were black slave owners, just as much as the ottoman empire was deep into trading European political opponents as slaves. Btw ottoman empire which was muslim and predominantly black did most of the trading of africans as well. Cant blame white man, when all colors are involved. Secondly if you read your bible, if you believe in christianity... it says nothing about abolishing slavery, rather how to treat your slaves. So please get your context and facts of understanding before you make judgement calls.
semperfi 1918 slavery was in the Bible too Mose freed his people and Esther freed her people really their are salves in other countries right now outside of USA
@@juliaweber5026 but does it ever say to not have slaves .... as in did the Torah do away with slaves or in the new testament..... if there is I want to know where it says slavery isnt allowed. Because I've looked and recently reread the new testament.. and there is nothing in there except god freeing his people from egypt. But they became captives several other times to babylon and such... current Christian's cannot fathom this reality that yes the bible supports slavery. And the context it is under.
As a descendant of Jefferson, and his wife, I too think Jefferson was a hypocrite. I’m glad Monticello has acknowledged his children with Sally Hemmings. It has taken too long.
They acknowledge it quite awhile ago
@@Bailey-to1pn Declaring all men are created equal doesn’t jive with owning slaves.
Jesse Newman the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written with the intent of paving the path to end slavery. Centuries ago it was literally impossible to build a country without slave labor. Ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, Britain, Mongolia, China, the list goes on. Show me one country not of the modern world that wasn’t founded on conquest and colonization.
Justin Moyer I understand that. But that doesn’t justify Jefferson’s personal choice to own slaves.
ROD Rosi Of course I realize that. It’s not fair to judge by today’s standards. But it was certainly possible for Jefferson to free his own slaves, as people like John Adams got along fine without it.
The part I hate the most about slavery is taking children from their mother. That is beyond heartless. That kind of pain broke many. It's just cruel and evil
CPS takes far more children from their mothers in 1 year now than in all the history of slavery.
There must be so many distant relative separated in the US 😢. Some many have even married eachother down the line.
I think these parts of history are important for this reason. Let’s not erase history and forget the horrific things that have happened, but recognize them, honor the victims, and make sure it does not happen again. Hearing the perspective of the woman who said it was important to see it in person was powerful. There is beauty and pain and both deserve to be learned about
They don't want to give black people reparations from slavery, the government hates black people it's designed to keep us down
It is sometimes very difficult, or impossible, to put yourself in a long-ago era. I remember learning in the 4th grade about women's suffrage. I could not believe that women did not have the right to vote up until well into the 20th century. It astounded me. A slightly different example would be my 15 year-old niece who cannot imagine that smoking was once permitted in movie theaters, restaurants, almost everywhere. "How could people allow that for all those years and not complain?" she asked.
Jason Myers it’s so true, and you can’t truly understand history by looking at it through a modern mind state. That is the biggest problem with people and media and social media today (including many comments on this page).
Exactly what I'm thinking.
I am 70 years old. I was a kid in the 1950s in a Midwest city. I remember reading want ads in the newspaper that said things like, _Wanted: house painter, prefer white man but will accept colored. No women_ . That reflected the cultural mentality of the time and almost no one complained. There was a thinking of "that's just the way it is". But not quite everyone thought that's the way it should be and so slowly but surely minds changed.
I still remember when smoking was premitted in doors ( late 2000's in my state )
I don't really think of things in that same way, I don't look back at history and think "wow! People thought that was okay?" I think, "Gross . And they put a stop to it how many years ago???"
I got chills when mrs Simmons spoke. “To see beauty and pain”. Wow that was powerful
I am a minority and the past is a significance of where a society has been and how far it has come. Its a reminder to never go back. Without these remembrances as reminders, it gives nothing to society to hold onto as an historical reminder in a positive light to never return.
Always keep your divorced document with you as a reminder so that you don't repeat it. No thank you.
Thats why we study history. That the problelm people don't look to go to a library to read.
@@stellaketu5321 😂😂
As a matter of fact, if you were the cause of the marital breakdown, keep it with you don’t repeat the same mistake and damage one more persons life
@Summer Rose Libraries are online, don't you know. They've had online websites for years.
America needs to heal. They have never healed from the past horrors that plague them. And until that happens the problems that plague them today will never change.
People need to let go of the past especially from times when even their parents weren’t alive. America is arguably the best country in the world for blacks. The amount of opportunity here for blacks is unlike any other country. What other country has so many rich blacks and what other white majority country had a black president??
Eman19O black ppl in America are still not treated equally in America so how are we suppose to just get over slavery
@Umbuko DaJuko What? 9/11 will diminish just like Pearl Harbor has. Plus there are still people dieing from the effects of the pollution from when the buildings fell. That was an attack from an outside enemy on innocent people of all races. If most forget when Pearl Harbor (80 years ago) happened I'd think they could let something that happened 200 years ago go. I know I have. If you haven't or won't, that's on you. How come you don't track down all the black and Native slave owners?
@@esiarpesiarp1828 there is still slavery in america?
@@TheRealElise . Maybe not. But blacks in the US are still more prosperous than blacks in Brazil and Cuba.
I am so happy one of the descendants works there to give her perspective.
Wonderful tribute, thank you so much for this history lesson!
The USA needs to start acknowledging that slaves built the country. Willingly or not when people have contributed so massively to a country gratitude and appreciation needs to be shown to the enslaved and their descendants. Celebrating their work, sacrifice and accomplishments. This will not negate the suffering and how disgusting slavery is, but show how their black heritage is strength and courage.
Hopefully it would help the younger generation to look at what people built dis-spite what they had to endure and inspire them that they can achieve anything.
What about the slaves that built the Roman Empire. They deserve recognition too 👏
What about the people who worked like slaves by our modern standards but weren't. Your clothing is made by people like that today. The whole planet was built by slaves or peasants. The revolution and civil war was a lot of free men. Slavery is gone thankfully but no one alive today has anything to do with it and much of the country wasn't built by slaves. Most was built by free people in the last century. Like 90% of it from the houses,roads, schools and buildings. A lot of things were built by slaves but we do in fact recognize it.
@@Lucky-nv2ph
Oh for goodness sake documentary is about Thomas Jefferson and his descendents not about the Romans.
Posted from Britain 🇬🇧
Maybe if they taught this in schools decades ago, we could’ve been a less racist world. Would’ve been nice.
👍👍👍
so true
That would defeat the agenda to keep us divided.
I’m telling ya!
Charel you are 10000000000000000% on point.
Erasing history doesn't work people!
Tell the whole truth!
Thomas Jefferson said "we're all born free" what was between the lines " except you 3/5ths of a human now git back to work slaves". Man The Founders made a terrible compromise on slavery that is still a blight and burden upon this nation.
Let me guess, all the money went to his "pure" white children.
John Adams was opposed and fought, not all of them.
@@ihateyoutube8789 he still owned slaves and he was part of the compromise
#factsbruh
There were a number of _inconsistencies_ in terms of equality across the population. Married women could not own the property until the middle of the 19th century, and that was just New York. It was by law the husband's property. Other states eventually followed New York's example. But a woman could not have her own credit card until the 1970s, not without her husband's signature. In many places in the U.S. the only citizens who were allowed to vote were white men who owned property. Eventually non-whites and women were allowed to vote, and owning property was no longer a prerequisite.
@@AttRandyReynolds you're saying that the inequalities of women being unable to own property is equivalent to the inequality of being owned as property. How does that even begin to make sense?
The part about the bricks had me crying. How awful for those kids.
All jobs were physical labor back then and all kids helped out as soon as they were old enough. My grandma was born in 1920 and had 10 siblings. A fingerprint in a brick was the least of her worries or labors. 1920, the same year the Irish were more hated than blacks. I have a vintage sign from that era that says "Hiring, Irish need not apply".
Briarrose29 that May be not true read the true history first I bet kids did not build the house and little no goodness I think we need read history right and teach it right not everyone had slave my an-asters didn’t they were too poor and barley had enough judging everyone for slavery is harsh as nation we didn’t enslave them. I been finding out that the slave history I was told was always negative
@@juliaweber5026 do you also deny the holocaust? Keep your revisionist history B.S. to yourself. Thanks.
@@luv4ever101
Hear!! Hear!!
@@briarrose29 those holes in the bricks are from air bubbles rising out of the clay when they are made. They aren’t from children poking their fingers in them, that’s insane. Research how bricks are made.
🤎🖤❤️ when this is over I want to visit Monticello with my daughter...So many stories...so many lives
it's TRUE, Slaves made everything at Monticello & did all the work, built that fancy house, made the bricks by hand like she said. even built the first buildings of T.J's UNIV of VIRGINIA.
All men are created equal except my slaves.
@grass flowerz i-
We as a country need to realize our atrocities and deal with them so that we can make the United States whole again. As of today we are a divided, racist nation.
America was never whole my dear and it had always been a racist nation the difficulty here is that we have major work and decades of times to try and make up for it ,
As long as the racist left keeps attacking the foundations of this nation, we will remain divided.
If historical atrocities mean so much, then the Democratic party needs to come clean on it's racist history.
When you point a finger, there are three more pointing right back at YOU!
The same party that attacks Jefferson for owning slaves, is the Jim Crow party of the klan that opposed the civil rights act. How many Democrats of the early 1800s owned slaves themselves?
Also if historical atrocities mean so much, then why is felonious George Floyd placed on such a high pedestal?
Was just watching the Oprah segment on Sally Hemmings decendants from almost 30 years ago and it's suprising but not that it's still an issue.
Was just watching a few minutes ago
There are still so many Thomas Jefferson's in the world today.
Jefferson live a double life .
most conservative men do.
Back in 2008 I had the opportunity to visit Monticello. I remember Harry Smith from the A&E television series 'Biography'.
I love brenda's honesty
Ironically there's no scene of him interacting with Sally being acted out.
It's very hard to do that because we don't know exactly how they treated each other in private. Neither Jefferson nor Hemings wrote about what they thought of each other or made public comments during their lifetimes. Rumors at the time were that Jefferson treated her like his wife. Sally Hemings's son Madison late in his life wrote only a small amount on life at Monticello and being Jefferson's son. The Hemings family tradition has told that Jefferson was in love with Sally Hemings. Her thoughts about Jefferson are more of a mystery. But I believe looking back on her we can see Sally Hemings as a woman who used her situation to the best advantage she could for the sake of her children.
Well, she was 12 and he was 42 so acting it out would be creepy either way.
@@twebster179 When Sally Hemings was 12 Jefferson was already in France while she was still in Virginia (she didn't go to Paris until 2-3 years later), so there was no interactions between the two when she was that age.
@@porsche911sbs
That we know of; a dirty old man is a dirty old man no matter who it is/was.
@@Jake-nk4wg Are you suggesting that Jefferson was interacting with Sally Hemings while he was living in France and she was in Virginia? She didn't come to Paris until 2 years later.
this made me cry so hard
Absolutely depressing but fascinating story of American history. I as a Black Australian man of East African Somali descent love the Black American community. I myself have no enslaved and segregated ancestors because they were East African Somali people who were never captured or kidnapped or sold into slavery because they came from a strong empire. I am the proud son of two East African Somali immigrant parents both my father and my mother plus my paternal uncle which they all successfully immigrated to Australia in the mid 1990s escaping the Somali Civil War which devastated the country. My family and I still live there today. I love Australia because it is so peaceful and relaxing here plus I enjoy my life here in this incredible country. If I was a descendant of an amazingly tough enslaved and segregated ancestors who went through so much suffering I would always honour them plus remember them. I would never disgrace or forget what they had to experience the painful torment of racism. My heart goes out to all the oppressed Black people in the past that had go through the African Tribal Warfare, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Chattel Slavery, the Colonial Wars, the Domestic Slave Trade, the American Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan Racial Terror Lynchings, the Race Riots, Convict Leasing, Jim Crow Segregation, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, Redlinings, the Inner City Gang Violence, the War On Drugs, Police Brutality, the Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System, and Private Prison Abuse. In the United States of America today there is still Inner City Gang Violence, Police Brutality, Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System, and Private Prison Abuse so depressing. America needs a huge criminal justice reform, economic reform, gun control reform, immigration reform, police reform, political reform, and prison reform. I send my love plus support all the way from Lakemba, New South Wales, Australia. To all my fellow human brothers and sisters around the world, always remember be genuine & take care of one another.
I am so glad to see these changes beginning in my lifetime.
Technically but technically he did try to write a condensation about slavery but he remover it from the final part of it for fear of loosing the south’s sympathy during the war so yes and no he could be said as a hypocrite
Smithsonian magazine did a lengthy piece about Jefferson as a slave owner and it was quite damning. There are documents where he pencils out the value that each slave brings to his estate in dollars and cents on a yearly basis. He recognized enslaved labor as his most valuable resource and it is surmised that this is why he did not choose to grant freedom to his enslaved workforce during his lifetime or upon his death. Kościuszko, a Polish military man who participated in the American Revolution and greatly admired Jefferson's thinking offered to give Jefferson funds to compensate him and allow Jefferson the freedom to free his slaves. But Jefferson decided the compensation was not enough and rejected the offer. Contrast this with Washington, who freed his slaves upon his death despite his wife's opposition. I have to conclude that hypocrite is the most charitable judgement we can make upon Jefferson. I appreciate what he did to give our country a philosophical foundation. But in the end he failed to redeem himself.
It was removed from the grievances with England because the Carolinas and Georgia would not agree. Nothing was put in that all 13 didn't agree on. Jefferson only wrote it in the sense he put what the Continental Congress decided onto paper. They did all agree to abolish slavery within 20 years. Most of them did, but then the cotton gin was invented that made slavery profitable and it continued in southern plantations which only accounted for 9% of the population.
He wanted to end slavery but he didn't want to at the same time
Wow ! This is very very interesting & also heart felt
She mentions 400 years of slavery. Where does this figure come from? The first colonies only date back to the 1620s. The United States only gained its independence in 1783 and the the first states started to free slaves from 1804. That gives you a period of just over 20 years between the Founding Fathers making their statements and getting the control they wanted and starting to put it into action. You can’t look at history through 21st Century lenses. Slavery had gone on around the world for thousands of years and was accepted as a way of life. Consider this; how many of us think that war is good? Now how many of us accept it? How many of us approve of poor labor conditions? How many of us buy cheap clothes which inevitability have been made through the exploitation of labor? Even now we are all hypocrites, it takes a brave person to stand up and say ‘enough’.
We must not forget that the Black descendants of Thomas Jefferson have a voice and have used that voice to celebrate the man as well as recognize slavery as a product of the times. I grew up trying to understand the greatness of Jefferson while holding people against their will. After learning about the Jefferson family reunions, I understood forgiveness as opposed to carrying that anger and hate around like the dead weight of a ship's anchor.
Who are we to lecture his descendants or call them disgusting, vile names used by ignorant people? It is their business and certainly deserves no judgment from the public.
“Never did a man achieve more fame in which he did not do “
Wooooo
That right there....
What a beautiful message they have.....this story is very beautiful!!
Tajah Smith There is nothing beautiful in this Story. A Hypocritical,Slave owning pedophile is precisely what Thomas Jefferson was. As a slave how beautiful life was at Monticello. I bet you'd get a very different story. Imagine a child asking his or her father why the author of the Declaration of Independence is raising him or her in bondage uneducated with no prospect for the future.
trw4war wow thank u for that though.. I never thought of it that way...
Healing has to come the heart , not out hate vengeance. So for 150 years hasn’t brought. Forgiving and put to rest or never be healed.
What I hear in this report, and from the historians that commented, is that AMERICA MATTERS!
it most assuredly does...all parts of it. America needs to talk about why Thomas Jefferson said all men are created equal, thought twice about his own slave holding, thought of abolishing it, but in the end he couldn't free his slaves to show his own faith in his iconic ideals. We don't have to hate, we have to talk, we have to acknowledge, then we can come one step closer to the idealized America that our founders wrote down on paper...there is a reason the Freedom of Speech was the first Amendment, America herself must embrace conversation, only then can we reach understanding and National enlightenment. These flawed founders were never perfect, nor did any of them believe themselves to be deities, to be worshiped by a nation, their words were just meant to acknowledge the failings of their world around them and to try to build a better place for all men and women, but we have given them too great of place in our pantheon for their achievements, that we find it hard to acknowledge their imperfections and we fight to stop people from attacking our beliefs. It's human nature to want to defend our heroes, but our heroes are not everyone's heroes and we need to listen why.
America will matter when everyone irrespective of color will be valued. Until then, for now, BLM
@@stellaketu5321 America matters, but all lives don't matter until black lives matter. Question, do you wear a face mask?
With that reasoning, we have so many inequalities that would have to be addressed before America would matter, such as: those people with lower IQ's, those people that ARE NOT pretty/ attractive, those people that are mentally ill, and on and on and on. All of these have no color barrier, but they have always been treated with hate, disrespect, and extreme economic/social bias. But when we work under the banner of a consolidated group- Americans- it allows us to change as a whole. Left pulls and Right pulls, and we come center to change what is wrong. There are NO COUNTRIES that are PURE. EVERYONE OF ALL COLORS have done wrong in their lifetime. Change occurs slowly because you're dealing with imperfect humans. But it does occur, always. History proves it. America Matters, History Matters.
@Donna Hackney until we get it right. Until the day me and my cousin walk down a street and someone no longer feels to yell get out of here and drop the n-bomb. You know it still happens daily all over this country, right? Racism isn't dead just because you might not see it, and people still make decisions off of those biases that affect hundreds of thousands of lives. And guess what, try being a guy in a wheel chair, try being anyone other than who you are and see things from their point of view. You have a friend that you know drops racial dog whistles or even full on speech, maybe you're part of the problem, because you're not holding them accountable. Instead you fight that there needs to be change by saying, it's been done...well I guess it wasn't enough, we need to do better.
THINK OF AMERICA AS A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE... THEN TELL ME WHO THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS ARE...IF YOU CAN'T THEN THE MOVIE IS STILL PLAYING.
The bad guys are the media and good guys are the very few people that can actually see it
@@Cameron-dj1yi Didn't realize the Media Owned Slaves.
I wish so much love for Sally’s spirit and for her descendants
Great video, now do Washington he was from the same fruit basket...
I'm interested, do tell about that. I had only heard that Washington had no children and was sterile due to small pox
@@Hopeful_dreamer Just another founding father slave owner. 317 between him and his wife.
@@frankwilson726
Okay, But what else was Washington known for besides slavery?
Please give me at least 2 things.
@@nickhill8612 Why you need more on a thread dealing with slavery, I have no clue, and since you must be a noob that hasn't discovered that Google is your friend in these matters...www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-washington Anymore and you're a simple troll and you can go pester someone else.
@@frankwilson726
Hey I'm not pestering anyone.
You replied to me .
Remember?
I am a DNA descendant of the Hemings family of Ohio and African American. I totally disagree with Thomas Jefferson beliefs but as a nrw country "we" had to start somewhere so a lot of my hate is retracted. Nonetheless, I'm proud to be a relative of a few Founding Fathers of this great nation!
2:30 she look like a finely aged Alicia Keys, goodness!
Ain’t she pretty?!?!
What does anyone’s looks have to do with this????
The slaves didn't build that house.
I BET THE AFRICANS HELD IN CAPTIVITY THERE DID NOT FIND ONE IOTA OF BEAUTY THERE.
I bet you would be wrong
For better or for worse it was their home and what they built. I would guess it was a mixed bag how they felt because it was their life.
BLACK KNIGHT Facts! No Romanticization about it!
I learned all this in the 70s in elementary School.
But then again if it wasn’t for him, we would still be living under monarchy and the divine right of kings.
no someone else would have done it simple.
@@nm6783 huh
And that is why it is such a paradox when we talk about people like him. He was obviously very intelligent and a forward thinker but he held slaves. He wrote all men are created equally and freedom is a god given right but he had slaves kinda doesn’t connect the dots!!
@@Gunfighter5 Right. Surprisingly enough he was alive to see half of the US abolish slavery.
The French revolution was VASTLY more important for democracy then that tiny pigmy of a revolt that happened in Boston.
I have a mixed child who passed a caucasoid but she mixed with caucasoid and human. O yes this hurts me because this is 2021.
Huh?
I'm facinated ! I know Jefferson was not an honorable man but knowing that his desendants are around to corroborate the story is such a blessing.
Yes he was an honorable man
Ive never seen a plantation in person and its on my list of places to see
"... all men are created equal..." Jefferson said those words, wrote those words, but did not live by them. The Constitution was written "to form a more perfect union." Well, this country isn't there yet on either count, not by a long shot. That should be the work of every generation of people in this country, whether we are born here or come here in search of a better life - to leave this country better than we found it.This country's original sins haunt us - the enslavement of fellow human beings, the destruction and extermination of indigenous peoples - and it is right that they should, because we can not forget. We must stare these truths in the face and not flinch. We must remember, and build a better future. We must work to live by the words Jefferson spoke and wrote, but would not live by. We must work to build that more perfect union. No one ever said it would be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.
Jefferson actually wrote many times his belief that the goal of each generation would be to progress society further than the generation previous. Sadly, later in his life, he abandoned his work to end slavery. But he did so with the believe that the following generations of the United State would take the problems of the previous generation and solve them.
Jefferson passed laws prohibiting slavery, his slaves were family, he educated them, they had jobs like by today's standards, he saved them from brutal slave traders. and further advocated against slavery.
I'm the great granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson I, who is the Grandfather of President Jefferson. Jefferson I owned all of the lands that were inherited. From what I've read on the DNA results are that it proved they are Jeffersons, but it did not prove it was President Jefferson's line, it could be his Brother.
Martha Jefferson Goode and Colonel Bennett Goode are my Grandparents. We welcome all cousins in this lineage and so glad that we have them all.
Some symbols and buildings, such as Jefferson's house serve as a realistic reminder of people affected by slavery . The past cannot be undone.
Yes if can... tear the building down... and stop talking about it... then the past is undone... if anything the fact the monuments still stand... it is symbolic that slavery still exist...just in a covert mutated form we call capitalism...
@@camerontaylor7471 fools will let history repeat
@@camerontaylor7471 destroying history? no.
that can't be undone either.
Slavery is an inescapable part of history and history is the inescapable record of our past. It is wrong to attempt to erase the past when we should be adding newly discovered artifacts and information to help us better understand and relate to our history.
Without Thomas Jefferson's "all men are created equal", the way to end slavery in the near future wouldn't have happened. He paved the way, he wasn't perfect nor his time. Different times but great people.
It's easy to Monday morning quarterback on the game you watched while sitting on your couch on Sunday instead of going to Church.
Take emotions out of reason and logic. 🙏🏾
5:17 Excuse me. I was watching that
I cannot imagine the horrors and pain these individuals suffered. But people blame me here in 2020. None of my ancestors owned slaves. I never owned a slave. I am not to blame for what happened.
They may not have owned slaves, but the whole of the USA was founded on slave economic and labor. It was the very foundation, so they benefited and so do you because of continued systemic racism. This is not about blame, it is about facts and equality.
butterfly butterfly well said
No one is blaming you personally or as an individual
Glad to see people imbracing history, instead of trying to tear down the relics and erase it.
I hear u but try to remember it's coming from a painful place.
You just don’t get it do you?
People who own slaves, faught for slavery, where racist, commited mass genocide should not have statues on our streets
This makes me think of the Great Pyramids, they’re not so great, those pyramids were built by slaves.
The Great Wall of China, again built by slaves. Pyramids of South America, slave trade, Parthenon, Roman coliseum, Turkish basilica, Angkor Wat Cambodia, all built by slaves.
Between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire, this occurred during the 15th and 19th centuries.
Most of the Scotts came to Colonial America through indentured servitude.
People often forget about the Irish slave trade as well.
Slavery still exists today, in fact Africa just recorded the highest rate of modern-day enslavement in the world. Armed conflict, state-sponsored forced labor, and forced marriages were the main causes behind the estimated 9.2 million Africans who live in servitude without the choice to do so.
This all according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index.
That’s who we should be fighting for, people who are still enslaved to this very day.
Pyramids were not built by slaves.
www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/11/great-pyramid-tombs-slaves-egypt
The word "great" means "big" not "wonderful." Therefore the "great" pyramids remain "great."
As for who built these structures. It is in fact not likely that the great pyramids were built by slaves. The only place where it is written that the builders were slaves is in the old testament which is extremely likely to be incorrect. Egyptian court records indicate the pyramids were built at great expense due to the hiring of many skilled tradesmen.
The Great Wall of China was constructed by a mixture of labor forces but mostly consisted of paid soldiers and convicts and a smaller number of paid artisans and tradesmen. Few if any slaves were involved.
The Parthenon was built mostly by highly skilled tradesmen. Only a small number of the builders were slaves and they were paid at the same rate as the other skilled tradesmen. Under Greek law slaves involved in Temple building were entitled to keep all money earned doing so and it was to be a voluntary thing NOT something they were forced to do by their masters and they had the right to use their earnings to buy their own freedom and many did just that.
Your vague claim that the pyramids of South America were built by slaves has no meaning since you don't say which pyramids you are referring to. There were many pyramids built at different times by different cultures and there are few if any records to indicate the actual labor force involved.
There is no record of the labor force involved in the construction of the Colosseum. However, stone masonry being what it was it is highly likely that professional stone masons built the Colosseum with minimal assistance by slaves.
There is no such place known as the "Turkish Basilica." There are many basilicas built in various periods currently located in Turkey. Which one are you referring to?
There is no record and no evidence that slaves were involved in the construction of Angkor Wat.
You obviously have absolutely no knowledge of history or archaeology and are just spouting off lies or suppositions with no basis in fact.
Animal Peeper Evolved Fine, the pyramids were built by willing participants through indentured servitude.
nunya biznez payed labor is a form of human slavery... if that is so difficult to comprehend then you are just in denial...
The pyramids were not built by slaves. They were built by advanced civilizations that have moved on. The perfection of the design is not anything that would have been available under "uncivilized humanoids" which is what these people were, who happen to live there, at that time. It has nothing to do with current Egyptians. Some people do not understand the concept of what it is and what it was. Schools lie to people.
Some slaveowners were slaves by default. They inherited a home (not all homes were on plantations mind you) and that home came with a slave or slaves. So they owned the home by inheritance, but they didn't own the slaves. So selling or even giving a slave manumussion could never happen.
YA'LL SHOULD DEMAND CHILD SUPPORT !!!
LMAO
😂😂😂 but the man is already dead
🤣🤣
@They_Call_Me_ Pebbles is now; pay up.
@They_Call_Me_ Pebbles See previous comment and remit.
Teach your children well
I truly believe that Sally and Thomas were married while in France it wouldn't have been recognized in America I believe that is the origin of the secret room it was their shared bedroom.
Certainly, its clear to see the man was a hypocrite. If he thought slavery was an abomination, he should of freed all his slaves, regardless of 1776. Either that, or he should of wrote, "All white men are created equal." You can't have it both ways.
Haven't you been paying attention in history class, at the time "all men are created equal" we were at war with the british and we needed everyone we could get to fight, it was basically give up your country like a coward and slavery be permanent, or help create a country and lay the groundwork for the end of slavery I'm not giving him excuses slavery is a sin but it was a odd situation back then so I still see him as an honorable man.
I always like to think that Jefferson loved Sally; it would take a real cynical understanding of Jefferson who saw her only as a slave tor his sexual urges.
Steven Torrey what about Sally, was she in love too? Does she matter? I think people like to see it that way, to romanticise their ‘relationship’. He was helping himself to her when she was a kid, I doubt she had much say in the matter. So if that’s ‘love’, then it sure is a twisted version of it.
@@JamesCM86 Hemings family tradition tells that Jefferson was in love in Sally Hemings. Her feelings towards Jefferson are really more of a mystery. Maybe she was affectionate towards him, maybe she did not. Like Jefferson, she never spoke publicly on the matter or wrote anything about the relationship.
I think we have to analyze Sally Hemings as a woman of her time. Many slave women in her days, including her own mother, were forced to become the concubines for their masters. Looking at the situation she was born into, there were not many options. So I think she took the opportunities she had to ensure a better life for her children, Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston. She made Jefferson promise her that her children would live lives of freedom, which they did. I like to think if she could see her progeny today she would be happy to know the success they've had and the freedom they've enjoyed.
sparklesandseahorses Facts! Thank you for clearing that reality up to these idealistic Rock for Brains People.
The story is my family owned slaves in Kentucky . How far back shall we go to try to make it right ? Half of Oklahoma was just declared and Indian reservation and monuments are being removed or destroyed if they have anything to do with the Confederacy ? Im sure the great majority of Confederate soldiers never owned a slave and in their minds were not fighting for slavery ..they were Americans answering the call . Our Vietnam vets did not question the call to duty they just answered the call even though it was an undeclared war as did all of those who have served in the mid east .. Were all the guys in gulf wars criminals because people said it was all about oil money? ..which it was ..they answered the call of their country . I dont have to support the motivation of the war but I do support those who answer the call ..same goes for the Civil War .
0:11 why are the parents wearing mask all safe and their daughter dont get one lol
What kind of sick man would enslaved his own offspring ?
He meant “all white men are created equal”
✅✅✅✅✅
They did kinda create this country.
@grass flowerz actually by the time they created this country the land had already been stolen and the original owners moved or wiped out for almost two centuries.
Yes... Because they thought the same way our society thinks... 🤦♂️.
Look, it wasn't right. But if we don't learn from it we'll never know the extent of how wrong it was and why it was wrong.
@@aragos32727 what our ancestors did was perfectly fine. They're The heroic people that created a vast and prosperous nation.
I hope I can visit Monticello.
I never knew about Jefferson and Sally Hemings, they're entitled to his everything, a flawed man, and a genius to insist not
to sign the constitution unless the Bill Of Rights was included as the first 10 amendments to the constitution. Delude yourself that saints walk among us.
As much a founder and creator of this great nation. On balance, flawed but loved his slaves, literally, insisted on a Bill Of Rights, especially the 1st Amendment.
Jefferson knew the dichotomy would not stand time, they're comprehensive biographies that explore his inner most thoughts. Jeffersonian ideals still guide us.
Jefferson was one of my favorite presidents
Sad
Nellie Cooper He was a pioneer of antifederalism
There’s a problem with the recording.
What we need to better grapple with about human nature and our present, past and future is that every single person has bad and good qualities. Jefferson was not perfect. There are things that should be criticized. But he also advanced our country in a lot of ways, as did many of the founding fathers. It's complex and always will be.
Yep. They also could have mentioned some of his anti slavery motives and the fact he tried to pass a bill to allow the freeing of slaves or the fact he was not legally able to free any slaves because of his lifelong debt he inherited. There's more to it all and no one is all sin or saint
Although quite controversial, America has quite an interesting and complex history.
Yes it doe’s, and that’s what makes us so unique.
Have you people never heard of historical perspective?!
Absolutely. But Jefferson still fails. He recognized the evil that slavery was. Yet chose for economic reasons to continue to personally benefit from the system. We have writings, notes and ledgers in Jefferson's own hand that demonstrate how aware he was. Sadly, that is the historical perspective.
Ideas outlast and outshine the men that spoke/wrote them. Jefferson’s ideas still ring true today, and are timelessly American. It’s my opinion that slaves who rebelled and fought (and sometimes killed) for their freedom were doing the most “American” thing they could’ve done. Jefferson helped us come up with what it means to be “American” even if he wasn’t so American in his own actions as a sinful human.
How do we know for sure theyre really his descendants?
Dna family tree tracing ect..
They aren't. He didn't sleep with his slaves.
Ancestry DNA test it conectes family tree
intelligence wisdom He had over 600 slaves and a secret dungeon and had kids with a child slave that was his wife sister so
intelligence wisdom Um Majority of the Slave Owners did sleep with their slaves and have children they had more children with the slaves then their own wives that they were married to facts
In the end we do not honor the man for the bad. We honor the man for the astounding accomplishments. Trying to downplay the value of a person by their humanity and standards of today is disingenuous. Not to mention we do not have proof it was his and not his relatives.
The same way we can't judge Hitler by today's standards. Do you see how stupid that sounds.
@@tipsandtricks6071 They judged him then the same way. Terrible analogy but nice try
@@hotrodhendrix1 America is changing and we are correcting history written to praise evil. We can talk about what he did, and his evil as well. The same as Hitler.
@@tipsandtricks6071 Now I do agree with that part. Obviously well deserving of honor and praise for their accomplishments but with an understanding that they were human. People molded by the times in which they lived but also molded the world themselves.
...I thought Mr. Jefferson was black and lived out on the eastside in a deluxe highrise?
In a deluxe apartment in the sky .
😂
@@nickhill8612 he finally got his piece of the pie!
@@TheSkinnay1
It took a whole lot a trying just to get up the hill.
Weenie!!!!
Y’all be aight’!
Oh my gosh he owned over 600 slaveries what a hurtfully thing to know oh my gosh it is sicken
Get your English right Fanzy or whoever you are.
I am not sure how there can be a debate whether a 43 year old man who owned a 13 or 14 year old slave child was engaged in a consensual relationship or not. I think we would all be better off putting all of our founding fathers on pedestals and instead recognize them as the flawed people they actually were.
Well, if we didn't have slaves....some certain types of people wouldn't be here...so...slavery....good/bad....it gave certain types of people the american dream...well...the off springs....it took time, but....you go, and you ask certain types of people "Would you have rather be in another country that isn't so wealthy or be here in America?"....yeah....
I agree, there are so many countries where people who are within the same ethnic group, skin color, or heritage who are oppressed by their own people. Their way of thinking sets them back years of progression, where women’s rights or freedom of speech doesn’t even exist in these countries. In America, there is opportunity.
So brave yet so wrong
@@allthingsforthegood5381 BULLSHYT
Miguel Coronado I’m not condoning slavery. It’s completely wrong. I am fully aware of the affects and toll it has on many individuals. I see now that my perspective came rather harsh. There should be a choice in the matter to leave a country you are born in rather than being taken, yes. But there are people who did come from slavery and they we’re able to exceed more in America than unfortunately they would have in their own country because of dictatorship governments or developmental issues. Nonetheless, I do not mean to offend.
America wouldn’t be wealthy without slavery.
Its History and the USA is so far away from that time, it's now 2020. All lives need to come together under God and with goodwill and make peace with all. Can not do that with violence. Vilonece will be met with violence. We know the history of world wars and the suffering that happens but we have moved on.
There is arguably no person more responsible for the ideals of the enlightenment being baked into the founding principal of the United States, such that all [people] are created equal. It was that very principal that became the basis of emancipation.
It will be interesting to see how we come to live with the contradiction of the poor and inhumane choices he made in private.
Something I think about is that one day in, say, 150 years, today's factory farming could be seen as a gargantuan and wholly unnecessary humanitarian atrocity. The lifelong torture and genocide of tens of millions of sentient, intelligent, emotional beings per year. Think about all the ways our minds might immediately begin to justify participating in something that could be come to be universally seen as extremely terrible. That is how values and norms of current structures can influence our moral framework.
Let's condemn the depravity of slavery. Let's tear down all reverence to those who fought for it. But let's judge the moral character of people's actions within the appropriate context of their time and place.
IT WAS ALL BULLSHYT.
Nature knows the right time to pay back
what can you say the world was different 350 years ago
Pay descendants of slavery reparations.
So they can go buy some Jordan’s, weed, and weaves?
Minor problem with that argument. There are whites who have black blood running in their veins. Does that mean they could get reparations because they are descended from black people? And what about black people who have white slave owners as ancestors (like Jefferson's descendants)? Would they have to give up money for the sin of their ancestors? If you say no to either one, then thats being hypocritical. Its either both or no one. Or there's a thing called "don't punish the seed for the crimes of its sire".
@@TimberlakeTigerGirl The sins of the fathers. ... : The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation. : Deuteronomy Chapter 5
@@Eman1900O 40 acres and a mule. If you choose to purchase jordans and weaves while the black dollar plummets thats on you.
@@TimberlakeTigerGirl I say yes. Who am I to say no? I also include those enslaved natives.
Jefferson was a man, not perfect. There has only been one perfect man recorded in history, and that guy got hung up on a cross. Yes slavery was bad, but you need to judge people by their own time. How else was he to run a farm, when his competition was using slaves. By speaking out against slavery, he was a stepping stone to emancipation. Give the man the credit that is due.
@@luv4ever101 No. I don't agree with you. If I agree with you then I have to blame all the protesters for being "rioters". You have to judge people by the rules of the day, but allow for moving the rules forward. That is what Jefferson did. I do thank you though for caring.
@@luv4ever101 What have you done to clean the air. Quit breathng my air you are poluting it. Is it ok for you to polute my air with your breath? Why don't you quit doing it. Are you doing it just because everybody else is doing it? Give the man the credit that is due, he spoke out against slavery. He was a stepping stone to ending slavery. I know it's not popular to believe in kaizen, after all it a Japanese concept, not American. But I definitely practice it. Incremental changes. One foot in front of the other. One day at a time. Are you speaking out against modern day slavery? Or only historical? Big changes are only temporary, little changes are much more permanent.
Jefferson is a libertarian hero hands down. Makes me proud to be an American.
Go away!!!
There will be no getting past the shameful chapters of our history without fully exhuming and considering them. Our country - as great and cherished as it is to americans of all races - was founded on a duplicity that haunts us to this day ....we have to all accept that in order to move forward in order to allow our founding principles to truly flower...
Oh God shut up. Idealistic Americans are so cringe. Do you even have a passport lol
@@Lucky-nv2ph I’m going to guess you’re a Brit … why yes I do have a passport and I’ve lived in Africa, Asia and the UK… while I’ve enjoyed living abroad - there’s just no place like the USA - it’s home and I love it - warts and all. Our ‘American experiment’ is being tested and wilL come out stronger. . .we Americans are definitely different than our cousins across the pond - for good and bad …
Jefferson's accomplishments? Trail of tears, and being the President with the most slaves, amongst others. What a guy.
Wrong president for Trail of Tears. Oh, Jefferson only wrote the Declaration of Independence, was minister to France during the Revolutionary Way and secured their help which led to America's freedom, made the Louisiana Purchase, sent Lewis and Clark to explore and map the West.
But by all means, let's let him be known as the president with the most slaves.
Why are you only focusing on the bad? He has done so much for the independence and creation of America, and I’m not saying it was right for him to own slaves, but back then that’s just how it was. They had a different way of thinking back then. Same thing with us “stealing” the natives land. Back then, people would go and conquer other lands, the Spanish did it, the Mongols did it, everyone did
Y’all is a straight up trip
They sooo happy to be descendants of that foolishness😱😷
Yeah if they were in Africa they wouldn’t be talking about how their African brothers had them as slaves because it only matters when a white man owns a slave
@@Eman1900O you sound stupid! Who in df said thats the only type enslavement that matters🤔🤔 go back to talking to your screen don't talk to me. Butt hurt much
I was in Monticello and I can say that Mr. Jefferson was a good man.
He gave nice homes to his workers/ slaves & gave them education as well.
The Hemings lady was his wife's direct family member & he was half white & she wasn't mistreated by him. I don't think that Mr. Jefferson had the energy of degrading & mistreating anyone.
In comparison to the Spanish people from Spain those were worse than animals. They mistreated the Indian slaves in Peru to the point of make them feel shame of themselves.
The treatment of Mr. Jefferson gave to his workers/slaves was an equal treatment.
I didn't see any place that his workers were mistreated or not paid for their work.
Unfortunately in the pass the only way to hire workers was through buying slaves.
The act of exchanging money for people was horrible but that was the business at that PERIOD OF TIME. It is THE PAST and I feel sorry for Mr. Jefferson cuz one of his family member is ignorant and doesn't understand history & the character of their ancestors. I am not a family member of his neither American by birth cuz I read so much about him I can tell with confidence that he is sorry that the people that carry his blood validates blm terrorists.
What a shame!
This is the only thing he should be remembered for: as a violator of human rights and a perpetrator of crimes against humanity. All of those "founding fathers".
Or, we could learn both the good and bad of Thomas Jefferson. That way we can see that despite his good works, he was still a very flawed man, like you and me.
Well lets talk about the african slave traders that sold African american ancestors to the white man Enabling All this to happen? Through all the ignorance everyone wants to blame the white man when it was 1 race betraying and selling their own race to the white man.
@S W so your defending slave owners??? Those are the people that you believe need your empathy and understanding.......oooookkkkkayyyy
@@nigerianpride253 Again we need to look at both THE GOOD and THE BAD. No person in history is going to be perfectly good or so awfully bad. We need to judge them by the context of that specific time as well as their works
While I love the life and reality of slavery showcased, I do not agree with the bashing of Thomas Jefferson. To judge one by our current values is unfair, hypocritical and not very intellectually advanced. None of those hating on TJ are perfect and they have not achieved 1/4 of TJ so I don't think it right to bash him. Let's be kind and forgive while at the same time showing what was right and what was wrong. And judge ourselves with the same zeal. Maybe that is what America needs to become a more gentle and kinder place.
Slavery is as old as human history.
Harry Smith gets it. The fact someone added this super super dumb chyron... Mr Smith goes to Monticello...is probably a youngster who doesn't get it . We all learn.