This
is an outline of my comments when I reviewed this book at LifeVentures in
October 2013.
Consider
the following two statements: Aristotle:
“From the hour of birth, some men are marked out for subjection, others
for rule.”
Jefferson:
“All men are created equal.”
For
centuries history taught one idea – Aristotle’s view of humanity. Then along came another thinker and stated
quite the opposite. Or did he? Did Jefferson mean what he wrote in the
Declaration of Independence? Wiencek
makes a compelling case that he intended people to mumble “white” under their
breath before “men.”
Jefferson
is a significant figure in American history. He held many positions with great political influence: diplomat to France, secretary of
state, vice president, president twice, past-presidency
period. He is credited with writing the Declaration of Independence. He was a man of great influence and
intelligence.
This
book deals primarily with his relationship to his slaves, not his entire life,
although it refers to various periods in his life. It focuses on his
paradoxical attitude toward slavery. Early in life he said that slavery was
wrong and supported freeing the slaves. He is heralded as the great believer in human
rights but in the 1780s a change came over him with regard to slavery. Over his
lifetime he owned about 600 slaves altogether, including close relatives, some
that were mistaken for him because they resembled him so closely.
Master of the
Mountain
focuses on Jefferson’s life at
Monticello, his magnificent home, built
on a small hill, or mountain. It well documented and reasoned.
Monticello
was a three-story stately building, full
of amazing gadgets, like a dumbwaiter, which made food appear and disappear as
if by magic. An underground passageway
led to the kitchen where slaves made elaborate meals for him and his many
guests.
Hidden
from the view of his guests was Mulberry Row with its slave cabins,
housing usually about 100 slaves. In 1817 he owned about 140–a lot of
people. Some were loyal to him, some related
by blood; some of course, were miserable. Jefferson needed slaves to work
cheaply – all they required was some shelter and bare subsistence.
Jefferson inherited slavery. He did not start the institution of slavery. It
was much discussed during his lifetime with varied solutions offered: ship them
to Africa, ship them into the interior to begin their own settlements. Some
slave owners freed their slaves.
What was the situation with
regard to slaves? “A slave was like money in your pocket,” said
one slave. To invest in slaves was to invest in the easiest way to become
wealthy. Only land was more valuable. Jefferson’s standard of living at
Monticello was dependent upon the institution of slavery. He seemed to say
“They should be freed,” and also “I can’t let them go.”
Slaves
were considered property or chattel, included in the owner’s estate and
bequeathed to others.
They could be bought and sold like
cattle at auction, mortgaged, or used as collateral on a loan. J. discovered
they were the cheapest way to grow his assets – 4% per annum.
They could be rented out or loaned to
some other person
They
could be given as gifts to a daughter, for example, as a dowry
They
could be used to pay off debts, including those incurred in buying them
They
could be set free, problematic because of slave runners
They
could be used for the slave owner’s sexual pleasure
They
could be bred like cattle by having a partner assigned to them– having babies
was encouraged, because it was the cheapest way to produce more. “Breeding”
women were given special care.
Slaves
were kept illiterate because literacy might encourage them to forge their own
papers of emancipation
Slave
owners controlled the slave’s family life
--marriages ties were broken and family members sold separately -- at
his death one family was divided among eight buyers.
Children
were given away or sold separately, sometimes
when quite young
Slave
women were used as nannies and wet nurses for slave owner’s children and as
cooks
All
children of a slave mother were slaves even if the father was a free man
Most
slaves had only one name
They
were forced to work hard, usually without pay. Some were paid a low wage by
owner. They began work early in life. Boys
and girls started at about age ten. Before that they were child caretakers.
Sometimes
trained in trades
House
slaves, laborers, artisans and field hands had different status in black
community—different food and clothing
Slaves
were punished at will, sometimes very cruelly. Jefferson left this to
overseers.
Lived
in poor conditions usually much worse than house of slave owner
Over time Jefferson developed a
paradoxical attitude toward them. He shrank from being identified with
emancipation of slaves because it was such a touchy political subject. He
seemed to write one thing and practice another.
a.
Jefferson
had a strong sense of justice. Slavery is evil. Blacks have natural rights and slavery
denies those rights. Yet he bought
and sold slaves, especially when he needed money.
b.
Blacks
are inferior, he said. They don’t show signs of intelligence and are
incompetent people. They need someone to take care of them. Yet he trained many as artisans (smiths,
coopers, carpenters, skilled farmers) and gave them significant responsibility
and trusted them with big tasks. He even paid some for good work.
c.
He
disliked brutal overseers who punished slaves inhumanely, yet, he said, if they were punished it was their fault for not
being obedient or working hard enough.
d.
All
men are created equal, have natural rights, but if blacks aren’t fully human they aren’t in this category –
“all men” in Declaration of Independence did not mean blacks
e.
Miscegenation
was a problem to him. For a white woman
to bear a “yellow” baby meant staining the blood of the master. But
a white man and black woman – no problem.
f.
Jefferson
owned his own blood relatives, yet when he needed money he sold family
members. Money meant more to him than
family relationships.
g.
Slavery
is a detriment to the nation’s development, he said, yet, on the other hand, America
as a new nation can’t survive without slavery. There was a movement afoot
to exile all slaves, or ship them to parts of America not yet developed. But
since they were too lacking in intelligence, this was impossible for them. Also,
America didn’t have the resources to do this. And was not ready to do this. A slaveless farmer couldn’t compete with one
who owned many slaves.
Why didn’t he free them? “They paid the bills.” “Slavery
in a normal sense is an evil; but as connected with commerce it has important
uses.”
Why haven’t Americans accepted
that Jefferson was a slave owner and sired
children by a slave? They
prefer the version that he wrote about defending the equality of all men to the
one that he lived out in daily life.
Jefferson
“strides across the American stage as a potent, overpowering actor: he built
Monticello, he wrote the Declaration of Independence, he engineered the
Louisiana Purchase. But when it comes to slavery, suddenly Jefferson is not an
active force but the pawn of historical
forces beyond his control; he becomes a victim .... he is trapped by
convention, by society, by laws, by his
family, by debt.” Particularly, by debt incurred by his lifestyle. Money was at the root of his problems.
