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Brian Garcia
Mr. Hedgepeth
Honors English Block 2
11 September 2015

Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is often portrayed as one of the greatest americans in the history of the
United States, however he was not as great as people make him out to be. Throughout his life he
had contradicting views on slavery. Thomas Jefferson's views on slavery is the reason why he
shouldn't be considered a man with integrity.
Thomas Jefferson was the second largest slave owner in the world, he owned over two
hundred human beings according to Segment on Race (Ken Burns).Thomas Jefferson would
use these slaves to help build his house that was always under construction. In the Declaration of
Independence Jefferson wrote ...that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their
creator with certain unalienable Rights (The Charters of Freedom). This excerpt from the
Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal but Thomas Jefferson owned
hundreds of slaves.
Even though Thomas Jefferson was a prominent slave owner some people still think that
he is a man with integrity. Some might argue that he was a man with integrity because his first
draft of the Declaration of Independence contained an excerpt against slavery.
Although Thomas Jefferson wrote a passage against slavery, he was the second largest
slaveholder. Another reason that Thomas Jefferson is not a man of integrity is because he had a
child with one of his slaves and didnt acknowledge that it was his child. According to the

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political cartoon Thomas Jefferson had the child work for him as a slave, and didnt give him a
proper place to sleep (Kyle Baker).
Thomas Jefferson was not a man of integrity because of the amount of slaves that he
owned and the way he treated the child he had with one of his slaves. Thomas Jefferson passages
against slavery but he was one of the most prominent slaveholders in the United States. He also
had a child with one of his slaves but failed to treat him like a human being. Therefore Thomas
Jefferson should not be considered a man with integrity.

Works Cited

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Baker, Kyle. Happy Independence Day Political Cartoon July 7, 2007 Salinas Union High
School
District Website n.d Web 22 Sep. 2015
Burns Kenneth American Lives Thomas Jefferson amazon.com Web 22 Sep. 2015
The Charters of Freedom The Declaration of Independence Archives.gov Web 27 September
2015