Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on The Hypocrisy of Thomas Jefferson. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper delves into issues surrounding Jefferson's racism. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RG13_SA944tj.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
some might contend that Jefferson was a hypocrite. He claimed that all men are equal but he would own slaves anyway. Of course, the question can be more carefully evaluated.
The short answer is that one may interpret the dictum in the declaration as true. That is, Jefferson wholly believed that all men are created equal. He simply did not
see slaves as men. Davis, calling Jeffersons actions hypocritical, adds: " Just imagine if Jefferson had actually written, "all men are created equal - except slaves, who are not men."
There probably would have been less support from the northern colonies, at least for the revolution - certainly not from the more liberal abolitionist societies that existed even then" (4).
One can say that it is clear that Thomas Jefferson wrote what he did because he believed it, but he simply did not see slaves as equivalent to white men.
That would be a simple explanation. However, it is not really a simple solution because Jefferson actually gave lip service to freeing the slaves. He was not enamored with the
institution of slavery. He did see equality as important, and believed that slavery was wrong, but he owned slaves. One could argue that people smoke cigarettes and eat buttered popcorn
today even though they know these things are bad for human health. Similarly, Jefferson was born at a time when slavery was the norm. He was a slave owner but
he would eventually realize he was doing the wrong thing. Stopping the bad behavior is not always easy to do. There is much evidence that Jefferson believed that slavery was
wrong. Curtis claims that Jefferson asserted that slavery corrupted the slave owners (89). Jefferson also believed that the master-slave relationship would alter the virtues of benevolence and stewardship (Curtis 89).
...