The real Jefferson

In our history classes we are taught that Thomas Jefferson is a really great man who was the author of the Declaration of Independance, and was a good president. Jefferson accomplished some pretty big things in his lifetime, and we should recognize him for them. The Declaration of Independance is a huge thing, and the fact that he was the author of it is quite amazing. Notes on Virginia brings to light a very different side of Jefferson that most people don't know about. It made me not like Jefferson as much. I found his thoughts on slavery and the treatment of blacks disturbing. The most upsetting part for me was when he talked about wanting to put blacks in their own colony and limit mixing blacks and whites. This is a really wierd opinion since he actually fathered some mixed children himself. He can't talk about wanting to free slaves when he owns slaves, it's contradictory. I still think Jefferson was a great leader, and brilliant, but he had some serious flaws.