> One of the reasons given by Thomas Jefferson for the separation from Great Britain was a desire to rid America of the evil of slavery imposed on them by the B

> One of the reasons given by Thomas Jefferson for the separation from Great Britain was a desire to rid America of the evil of slavery imposed on them by the British. That is blatantly false. Jefferson wrote several times about possibly supporting gradual emancipation if it included deportation of former slaves, but his actions speak much louder than his words. Not only did he refuse to support actual plans for gradual emancipation several times in his career, but Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves in his lifetime, even bringing them with him while he lived in France and to the White House during his presidency (which truthfully was not uncommon for presidents of the time). Jefferson viewed slavery as part of the Southern way of life. At the time of his death, he had freed a grand total of about 7 slaves, but 130 slaves were sold from Monticello after his death. Compare that to other wealthy slaveowners like George Washington, who freed all of their slaves upon their death. Here's Jefferson, writing on freed African-Americans: > "For men probably of any color, but of this color we know, brought from their infancy without necessity for thought or forecast, are by their habits rendered as incapable as children of taking care of themselves, and are extinguished promptly wherever industry is necessary for raising young. In the mean time they are pests in society by their idleness, and the depredations to which this leads them." [1] [1] http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=JefLett.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=230&division=div1 http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=JefLett....