Thomas Jefferson

One Fatal Stain On this 275th occasion of Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, it seems fitting to highlight some of the most poignant lessons from the Sage of Monticello’s life.

Thomas Jefferson wrote nearly 20,000 letters throughout his lifetime. Jefferson often had young men requesting advice on their studies. On three occasions Jefferson wrote a “decalogue of canons for observation in practical life” to help guide these young men. The last—and most coherent version—reads as such:

1. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do to-day.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened!
9. Take things always by their smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, an [sic] hundred. This Decalogue offers a nice, crisp reference of Jefferson’s general philosophy towards life. But this is not the most profound lesson he affords us. This distinction belongs to his complicated relationship with slavery and his sense of obligation. Slavery is America’s original sin. The deplorable institution that, as Jefferson noted, was the wolf that the United States had by the ears. In the 50 years after he wrote “we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal,” Thomas Jefferson emancipated only a handful of slaves. This strikes us as hypocritical. How could Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, convince himself that keeping enslaved people was justified? This is the lesson buried in Jefferson’s life: why was he unable to rid himself of slavery? Why would Jefferson, a man who cared deeply about how posterity would view him, not tackle the problem of slavery—if only in his own personal life? Truth be told, the answer is complicated. But succinctly put, slavery was convenient for Jefferson. Slavery afforded Jefferson his affluent and eccentric lifestyle. He designed both a primary and retreat residency—Monticello and Poplar Forest—as well as the Virginia State Capitol and University of Virginia. He had a voracious appetite for reading and knowledge, purchasing books from both local and overseas bookstores. He wrote a book titled Notes on the State of Virginia. As a public servant, he spent many days, months, and years away from Monticello. His crop of choice, tobacco, never provided much monetary value. On the backs of African American slaves, Thomas Jefferson was able to live the life of a mountaintop sage and serve the United States in comfort while attending his to own projects. Had he attempted to emancipate his slaves, he would be unable to afford his ambitious lifestyle. For all of Jefferson’s faults on slavery, he was a man who spoke of universal truths. On his gravestone, he requested only three achievements be listed: Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of the Declaration of American Independence of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom & Father of the University of Virginia

These three achievements constitute the hallmarks of Jefferson’s felt obligation—and gift—to future generations: natural rights, religious freedom, and public education “Because by these,” Jefferson wrote, “as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered.” Jefferson was adamant that generations should not shackle the next with their debts. He asserted the need for intergenerational obligation in a letter to James Madison during the debate on a Bill of Rights, with the premise that intergenerational debt was a violation of natural rights:

I set out on this ground, which I suppose to be self-evident, ‘that the earth beings in usufruct to the living’; that the dead have neither powers nor rights over it… no man can by natural right oblige the lands he occupied, or the persons who succeed him in that occupation, to the paiment [sic] of debts contracted by him. For if he could, he might during his own life, eat up the usufruct of the lands for several generations to come, and then the lands would belong to the dead, and not to the living The fact that Jefferson labeled intergenerational obligation as self-evident is significant. “Self-evident” was the term applied in the Declaration of Independence to frame a person’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Also, Jefferson’s usage of usufruct is careful framing. The term derives from the Latin words usus (use) and fructus (fruits). It is “the temporary right to the use and enjoyment of the property of another, without changing the character of the property.” As temporary tenants upon this earth, we are in a perfect situation to practice usufructuary rights in terms of the environment. With each new rising generation there are challenges it must face. For Jefferson’s generation, creating a fledging nation and the plight of slavery stand out. For our own, it is facing the perilous task of combating global climate change. Complacency enabled slavery to persist well into the 19 th century. Like Jefferson and his cohorts, most Americans are satisfied to continue a “business as usual” attitude towards climate change. How can we abdicate our moral responsibility? It is both a shame and a disgrace that we are willing to throw away our freedoms, our sacred obligation to our children, for such a shortsighted goal as our own temporary happiness. We are currently witnessing one of the most damning betrayals that mankind has faced. Our generation and our forebears have allowed for the creation of irreversible climate change. It is time to break our own silence on climate change. It is time that we acknowledge the legacy of destruction that will almost certainly prevail if this generation does not take action. It is not only unethical to damn future generations to a life of constraint, but it is un-American according to the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson spent his life dedicated to establishing freedom and liberty for the fledging United States. He felt a deep sense of obligation to future generations, with his gravestone bearing the evidence. In the face of catastrophic climate change, we must learn from Jefferson’s reluctance to solve slavery. We must learn from his mistakes, and carry on his legacy of duty to fellow man. Each time we make an ethical decision—be it action or inaction, for better or worse— we cast a vote on the ballot of justice. But justice alone does not have the strength to hold. It requires active participation by you and me. We must act as the points of change, or else we will befall the very fate of Jefferson and his generation as they evaded their duty to ameliorate the lives of African-Americans by emancipation.