• BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee
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    8 days ago

    No. Even his contemporaries called him on his bullshit. Jefferson’s was hugely influential to the French revolution, and a lot of his French buddies constantly asked him how he could write about the equality of all men, etc. and still keep slaves. He used the same excuses that you’re using. Besides that, there was a reasonably broad social awareness that slavery was wrong and it was a point of contention from the outset. People were calling out racism and white supremacy centuries ago and Jefferson was aware. That alone makes what you’re saying a moot point, let alone the numerous times he’s had to directly confront that reality.

    He was a fully cognizant hypocrital dirt bag who knew how to write good. He also kept a teenager as a sex slave, which even back then was incredibly fucked up.