Quote:
Originally Posted by Subvet642
Jefferson hated the Constitution and the Jay treaty because they exposed him to his creditors. A slave owner, he never freed more than a handful of them and then only his family members; and not even all of them. His free-spending ways in France and at home caused him to have to rent out his slaves in order to pay his debts. It seems that he only hated banks when it was time to pay them back. He also applauded the Terror in France as Robespierre threatened to kill both Thomas Paine and General Lafayette. I'm not a fan.
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Nobody in the US was happy with the Jay Treaty, mainly because Hamilton castrated it before Jay could even leverage Britain into the US's terms.
The "hated the Constitution" comment, I'm not sure what that alluded to. I just can't place use for it in your comment, brother. The results of the Jay treaty caused Jefferson to be exposed to his overseas creditors. Didn't matter, it certainly didn't ruin him.
It didn't much matter who liked the Jay Treaty, or why. It was high time to ease tensions between the colonies and Britain.
When Jefferson wrote the words "all men are equal" in the Declaration of Independence, he also stuffed a good bit of anti-slavery sentiment into the document. Words that absolutely set straight the fact that the States were headed away from slavery, and would be indebted to do so.
At the time, in his young life, it was how he felt and what he believed.
Later on he completely flip-flopped.
His anti-slavery writings dried up completely, and he wrote Washington with his infamous "4 percent" formula, which is regularly mischallenged because people are unread.
But he absolutely was pro-slavery, pro Monticello Industry, and pro making money.
All that was in direct opposition to his earlier leanings and writings on his own brand of Democracy, which I adore.
The younger man just got turned around, Darren.
Whether it was vice or luxury or whatever, I've never hunted up.
I'm okay with "people change". It's odd in his case that he goes so far from good to bad.
The fortunate thing is that it was the best of Thomas Jefferson that was present when our country needed him.
Oh, almost missed something.
Jefferson did not applaud the Terror in France. He applauded the outcome of the French Revolution, and what it meant to a free world.
Here are his own words directly prior to The Terror.
I don't get to a post-Terror letter to refute that as well, I just ran out of time.
