(Mucha Gratzi, TJ!)
One problem that you see nowadays, is that people herald him as the father of equality and democracy, shown by his writing in the Declaration of Independence: "Justice, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" (for all). Quite on the contrary, he was an avid slave owner, usually owning up to 200 slaves at a time. Obviously, slavery did not quite fit the 'true democracy' model, even though it was all Thomas Jefferson vowed for. His solution lay in his belief that African Americans' racial inferiority prevented them from gaining the rights of full citizenship. For that, some even refer to him as the "Monster of Monticello".
Therefore, he would be appalled to see that African Americans have assimilated themselves into the 'superior white' society and now enjoy the same rights and equality as every other citizen in the United States. In fact, slavery ended 150 years ago! Times have changed TJ!
An even bigger issue for him would be the substantially large increase in the size and scope of the federal government, taxing us at every moment possible and using it for funding the armed forces. These two issues, and the ever-increasing debt caused by them (which now stands at $16,740,564,105,352.78) encompass three things TJ passionately fought against. He was, after all, an anti-federalist, an opposer of a large republic because he truly believed that it would infringe on the rights of the independent citizen. He wanted it to be "rigorously frugal and simple". Sorry bro, but nowadays the US Gov't is anything but.
Last but not least, let's not forget his obsession with the self-determining farmer. They comprise of everything that America stands for: freedom and 'hard-workingness'. His greatest fear was that America would turn into an industrial power, full of manufacturing that would take away those same farmers' virtues and freedoms.
Instead of me providing a summary TJ's flipping anger, just watch this video. (Disclaimer: language somewhat inappropriate, but content is relevant).
Multimedia References
Favimages.net. "Thomas Jefferson, Best, Quotes, Sayings, Angry, Wisdom, Witty." Favorite Pictures. Favimages.net, 16 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
St. John's School Students. Loss of Workers' rights. Digital image. St. John's AP US History. St. John's School, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Thomas Jefferson Is F**king Pissed. Dir. Stefan Glidden. Perf. Adam Wahlberg. Funny or Die. N.p., 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Great post Wei Wei!
ReplyDeleteI agree that Thomas Jefferson would be unhappy with the fact that minority races have assimilated into modern society, since he was a powerful slave owner. Moreover, I also think that he would be unhappy with the relatively large federal government and its excess taxes, since he believed that it should be "rigorously frugal and simple". And on top of that, the farmer obsession would also cause him to be unhappy nowadays, especially with the strong industrial power currently in the United States.
Overall, awesome blog post and good points!
This is a great post Wei Wei. You make several very valid points about how Jefferson would view our society today, especially since he was very supportive of those who lived in an agrarian lifestyle. If I remember correctly, he based his campaign on that ideal of the farmer so he would be unhappy with how America is today. Additionally, his prejudice against African Americans would definitely invoke his wrath.
ReplyDeleteWell said Jurgen. Jefferson would certainly be astounded by the scope of the government. TJ was a man with a simple vision: America is run by domestic yeoman farmers, and the small government keeps order in the nation. Jefferson would be flabbergasted with the complexity of the economy and government. Sorry TJ, America runs on a lot more than just farming these days. Concerning race and slavery, I'd like to think that Jefferson wouldn't be too disturbed by the assimilation of people of color. After all, it is a very different time, and a lot has happened in several hundred years.
ReplyDeleteInsightful Analysis Wei Wei. I think you did a great job of summarizing Jefferson's key talking points. However, I tend to agree with Kevin. Jefferson, despite his seemingly intractable views, was a very intelligent and savory politician. If he was to be transported to this time, I would think that he would shift the crux of his arguments to ones that are more acceptable to modern society. Would he be a big proponent of Obamacare? Probably not. But I don't think that he would totally rant on and on against the societal institutions we take for granted today. TJ would quickly reinvent himself and somehow manage to always stay on the frontpage of our newspapers.
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