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by vonzeppelin 2879 days ago
- Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence

- He drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

- He served as the third President of the United States

- United States Military Academy was established during his presidency

- Jefferson doubled the size of the United States during his presidency

- He made sure US presence was established in the Louisiana territory

- President Jefferson abolished the slave trade

- He made an important contribution to the Library of Congress

- Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia

- He wrote a book titled Notes on the State of Virginia

https://learnodo-newtonic.com/thomas-jefferson-accomplishmen...

3 comments

- Historical figures are rarely fully known quantities, and are often more sketch than photograph. They are a gestalt of poorly recorded memory.

- Historical figures are people and are capable of both horrible acts of cruelty and cowardice, just as much as they are simultaneously capable of exalted acts of kindness and insight.

- Historical figures are not gods nor are they devils, they are, foremost, human; they, if they existed, were as complex as you or I.

- It follows then that notable historical figures are just as flawed as the rest of us in every respect.

- Notable historical figures worthy to be held to account for their failings as well as their successes.

- In general, those with power have obtained it by taking it from others. Rarely, there are exceptions.

- The stories of life are always abridged; minor characters are removed. Those silent partners are often where the balance of the equation of power lies. Watch for the shadows of the forgotten.

- In evaluating the merit of an achievement, the means by which the ends are achieved often better reflect the toll the end exacts.

- In evaluating the merit of morals and means against ends, one must understand the measures of the time and place in which the price was paid. Often, the price is still being paid; the interest on debt must be considered.

- In determining if an action is worthy of praise now and worth repeating in the future, the measures of the time and place the action was committed must be weighed against the measures of the present.

- Foremost, tread cautiously - you tread a path which no longer exists; indeed, the path may never have existed.

Thomas Jefferson also:

- Invented an encryption device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_disk

- Participated in writing the first draft of the "Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen of 1789": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Rights_of_t...

None of that rebuts how he lived his personal life. He decided that emancipation was not as important as keeping humans as slaves for labor and pleasure.
True, and how is it relevant? He did good, he did non good. As does everyone.