Monday, January 22, 2007
Thomas Jefferson
Okay, I'm not sure where to begin. Thomas Jefferson's writing was alot more interesting than John smith's. But to get into more depth, as a women of Color I would usually find something of this nature to be insulting, but after our professor explained a little more about Thomas Jefferson and his character, I then just looked past it. Jefferson seemed as if he was the kind of person that couldn't make up his mind on his own opinion. He didn't keep a strong opinion throughout his writing. To be one of our Presidents and someone with Authority and leadership, he was screwed up. He was more of a follower, than a leader. He contradicted himself through the whole thing.One thing that stood out to me was the fact that he was a slave owner, not because he really wanted to, but merely because of his status in society. Most rich white people back then had slaves and other things that determined their palace in society. Probably if he didn't have them, then he would probably face tons of problems politically. Though he dissed the black race, the way that he did it and his word usage was interesting. He mentioned about Phyllis Wheatly and that she was "below the dignity of Criticism" I thought that the way he said it made him sound nicer, at first it was confusing, until i found out what it meant, it means that she's not even worth criticizing, she's not even up to the standards for criticism. It is obviously a rude comment but the way he said it made it not seem as rude. He actually made comments like that throughout his writing. To be quite honest I think that if i was in his position, i would probably be pretty blunt and just come out and say that she sucks and she's not a poet, just because she's black. But I think that Jefferson had to be a little more professional about it. But I haven;t read any of Wheatly's work so I can't actually say anything.The way that Jefferson disses the blacks, was annoying. But it was funny in the sense that when he talks about that they sweat and are angry people and don;t get any sleep. What was funny was that the White man was the reason why the black men were like that. The work that the black people were forced to do is the reason why they sweat, and don;t get any sleep. And if you were a slave, i think that you would be angry too.
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11 comments:
Thomas Jefferson was very contradicting in his writings and real life. He degraded black people in his writings and in real life by owning slaves. He then contradicts himself by having an affair with one of his slaves. Jefferson must have been a very confused (and confusing) person. He was constantly trying to please everyone, which we know is impossible. It seems that he can't make his own decisions. It's hard to believe that he craved a spotlight in politics. Something about him has made him memorable in most American minds.
This is kind of funny, but think about the stereotype of Politicians. They are consider two faced, not to be trusted, smooth talker and double talkers. Would you consider Jefferson to be all of the above? He is your stereotypical politican. They tell you what you want to hear until they get into office and then do what ever they want once they get in.
Good points, Sharae. I think you raise an important and correct thought that Jefferson's pieces of writing are contradictory, but are written in a very skilled and artistic way. He was, without question, a very good writer. This is what he was known for in his day. Imagine writing a document such as the Dec. of Indep. at all, let alone at the age of 33. I also think your discussion on Phyllis Wheatley is quite interesting. I wonder if you might be interested to read her poems and research her further?
I have to say that I agree with you about the fact that Thomas Jefferson’s piece was easier to read then John Smith’s; considering the time periods that these pieces were written and all. I also agree with you when you talk about how he wasn’t so much a thinker of his own but followed other’s ideas and the social norms of the time period. Bring to light that he had Asperger’s make you really wonder if he was at odd with his mind when it came to discussion and the like. You also had to consider that their must have been someone there telling him the norms or society and that all the other wealthy men have this and that and do this and that.
I think it was wrong that he said to the poet Wheatley that she was not even worth criticizing. It was very mean to say that in public. I believe she was a great author. That's very racist that just because she's black she's not even worth critizing. Also I think he should've not had slaves and not supported that no matter how many problems he faced from people because that is just wrong to make people do manual hard labor in the fields for you. If I was him I would never have had a slave. I would want to be different from everybody else. I wouldn't support such a horrible thing.
Ok I see where your coming from he was a follower not a leader. I think he wanted to impress everyone and in doing so he contradicted himself. He wanted to make himself look good for others. He was very indicisive. He talked about the equality of all man kind but he owend slaves. What a guy!
I also agree with you and think that Thomas Jefferson was more of a follower, rather than a leader. As I was reading about him, I had trouble deciding how he truly felt about slaves because he would criticise them, then speak kindly about them. In a way, I think he wanted freedom for everyone, but like you said, he was to concerned about what everyone else thought to speak up. I also think you made a good point when you said that you think Jefferson was being kind to Phyllis Wheatly when he wrote that she was "below the dignity of Criticism." At first I thought that was a really rude comment, but when I think about it more, he could have wrote some really bad things towards her, but instead he left it at that one sentence and moved on. He just wanted to show that he didn't like her poetry.
I liked how on your post, you said that Thomas Jefferson was pretty screwed up to be one of our presidents. Well, with the exception of a few- most of our presidents have been "screwed up", and said some pretty radical things. I could probably write about 3 pages on all the crazy things George W. has said- but I'll spare you and everyone else.
The point you made about him saying Phyllis Weatly was "below the dignity of criticism", I agree with. I had to re-read it to really catch how nasty it was. Personally, I believe Jefferson was jealous of Wheatly, and I have to agree with you- that if I was in such a power position I really wouldn't care what I said either.
Excellent point at the end of your post. Clearly, if we were forced to do manual labor for an obscene amount of hours, with no pay, or gratitude- We would be angry as well.
I would strongly suggest not to take offense to such ignorant writing. What real, first hand experience did Jefferson have with African Americans who were not slaves? I am sure that if he was kept in those conditions he would reek as well. Also, last time I checked, President did not mean MD. What did Thomas Jefferson really know about the secretion of glands?- my guess is nothing at all.
Wow! I did not catch the part that he said Wheatly was bellow criticism. That is a horrible thing! I agree with what you said about being blunt. I think that if someone is going to try to say something so degrading and hurtful, they should just say it because once you figure out what they mean you would have so much more anger built up!
I definetly agree with what you said about Jefferson being more of a follower than a leader. It's a little scary to believe that he was running our country. At the time slavery was a very big issue, today it is still talked about as a big issue, and he couldn't make up his mind about where he stood? Maybe things would have gone a little different if a president had taken a stand against slavery earlier than Lincoln. I also agree that Jefferson defiently mastered the art of writing. He wrote in such a way that you could enjoy what he was saying but once you were finished you still had no idea where he stood. Jefferson used kind words even when he was cutting people down, such as Phyllis Wheatley, like he was trying not to hurt anyones feelings.
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