Monticello
5.6.17
Thomas Jefferson
A brilliant man. He read in 7 languages, and made time to read every day.
He defined being a life-long learner.
His interests and expertise were diverse... a true man of the Enlightenment.
Monticello is filled with portraits, busts, architectural genius, natural science, maps,
Native American artifacts, inventions, music, horticulture, letters received and letters written,
and of course, lots of books.
This is our tour guide for the house tour. She was great.
No photos are allowed in the house, but there's a great virtual tour on the Monticello website.
One of our favorite rooms of the house was the Parlor.
Our tour guide told us that Jefferson filled this room with things that would promote conversation.
Portraits are hung in tiers, the top tier including the men Jefferson considered the
"three greatest men that have ever lived," John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Francis Bacon.
There are also portraits of men important to American history,
including Columbus, Washington, Franklin, and his good friends James Madison and John Adams.
And the Marquis de Lafayette!
...and Louis XVI and Napoleon.
One of the portraits that most grabbed the kids' attention was the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
Sparks for good conversation literally surround you in Jefferson's Parlor.
Jefferson was fascinated with horticulture.
He grew 330 vegetable varieties in this 1000-foot long garden terrace.
He was also an avid horseman.
Under the house, the kitchen and a network of storehouses, rooms, and tunnels
allowed Jefferson's house slaves to work without unnecessarily interrupting the family upstairs.
The wine cellar...
Jefferson said that his wine storage was quite depleted after Lafayette's visit. 😉
These floors are original.
Jadan is demonstrating the "dumb waiter" used to bring wine bottles into the dining room.
There's the paradox.
The Declaration of Independence claimed that "all men are created equal."
Jefferson called slavery an "abominable crime."
And yet he "owned" 600 people over the course of his life.
In 1778 he introduced a Virginia law prohibiting the importation of enslaved Africans.
In 1784 he proposed a ban on slavery in the Northwest Territory.
Yet he remained a slaveholder throughout his life.
In fact, 12 of the first 18 American presidents owned slaves.
We also took a tour called "Slavery at Monticello."
Our tour guide was passionate and articulate.
She told us several stories of people who had been enslaved at Monticello
and told us about a current project called "Getting Word"
that is seeking to tell these people's lost stories.
Grace (our guide) told us that some people ask, "Wasn't Jefferson a good slave owner?
The slavery at Monticello must not have been so bad."
Her answer is that there is no such thing as a "good" slave owner.
From the Monticello website:
A single paragraph cannot do justice to the issue of Jefferson's failure to free more than a handful of his slaves. Some of the possible reasons include: the economic value of his human property (at certain times, his slaves were mortgaged and thus could not be freed or sold); his lifelong view that emancipation had to go hand-in-hand with expatriation of the freed slaves; his paternalistic belief that slaves were incapable of supporting themselves in freedom and his fear they would become a burden to society; his belief in gradual measures operating through the legal processes of government; and, after 1806, a state law that required freed slaves to leave Virginia within a year. Jefferson wrote that this law did not "permit" Virginians to free their slaves; he apparently thought that, for an enslaved African American, slavery was preferable to freedom far from one's home and family.
On his grave stone, Thomas Jefferson wanted these accomplishments noted:
"Author of the Declaration of American Independence,
of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom,
and Father of the University of Virginia."
..."because by these, as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered."
Interestingly, nothing about being President.
Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant scholar who lived a life of public service and sacrifice.
His life was a paradox that we don't understand,
but for all that he gave to our country and to its history,
we are indeed most grateful.
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