Random Painful Reminders That Thomas Jefferson Was Kind Of An Awful Person (14 items)

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  (#1) He Pioneered Smear Campaigns To Destroy Alexander Hamilton And John Adams

  Modern politicians are no strangers to smear campaigns and dirty politics, but these weren’t always a part of the American scene. Thomas Jefferson deserves much of the credit for introducing smear campaigns to the American system, thanks to the slanderous campaigns he secretly ran against Alexander Hamilton and John Adams.

  Jefferson hired James Callender as a “pamphleteer,” but in practice Callender was a minister of propaganda, helping to spread scandal and rumor about Jefferson’s opponents. Callender helped the story of Hamilton’s amorous affair get out and launched countless attacks against Adams’s presidency. Ironically, Callender later turned on Jefferson and began spreading tales of his dalliances with Sally Hemings.
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  (#4) Jefferson Refused To Emancipate Sally Hemings

  Over a few decades, Sally Hemings bore Thomas Jefferson seven children, four of whom reached adulthood. Some believe that Hemings maintained her relationship with Jefferson due to a promise that he would eventually grant her children their freedom, a promise that Jefferson later upheld. This sounds mildly commendable, although it should be noted that Jefferson dragged his heels on freeing them for fear of public appearances.

  Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Sally herself. Despite their romance, Sally remained Thomas’ property right up until his death, after which his daughter quietly granted Ms. Hemings her freedom.
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  (#14) Jefferson Falsely Accused His Own Vice President Of Treason

  Presidents and vice presidents rarely engage in direct conflict with one another, but Thomas Jefferson managed to make it happen with one of history’s favorite villains, Aaron Burr. Burr, the man who would one day shoot Alexander Hamilton, was chosen by the electors as Vice President. He was not picked by Jefferson, which is part of the reason the rules were changed.

  Jefferson eventually became convinced that Burr was involved in a treasonous plot and had him brought up on official charges, but Burr was found innocent. Their relationship was forever destroyed, if it had ever existed at all.
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  (#7) He Wanted To End Slavery, But Send Free Blacks Back To Africa

  Thomas Jefferson was a major slave-owner, but he also campaigned in several ways to end slavery. Jefferson attempted to write a passage denouncing slavery in the Declaration of Independence, but was overruled by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. He would go on to make other attempts.

  However, the fact that Jefferson continued to own slaves makes some believe that he only made those attempts for political reasons. Even when he did support freeing the slaves, Jefferson still didn’t want to grant them citizenship and had a plan to ship everyone back to Africa, regardless of their actual origins. Some believe that this was an attempt to get rid of his Black descendants.
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  (#6) Jefferson Owned A Ridiculous Amount Of Slaves

  The fact that, despite his views on liberty and equality, Thomas Jefferson was a slave-owner is well-known. However, the actual number of slaves that he owned isn't often talked about. Jefferson inherited 52 slaves when his father died. He had increased that to over a hundred by the time he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

  At the height of his human-owning days, Jefferson owned 267 slaves, although he would later free some of them. Thomas Jefferson owned more human beings than most libraries at the time contained books.
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  (#10) He Supported The Worst Of The French Revolution

  Thanks to his time in France, Thomas Jefferson was a major Francophile and a major revolutionary. This made Jefferson an obvious fan of the French Revolution, and he continued to hold a high opinion of the event long after it had devolved into a period known as “the Terror.” The Jacobins waged a bloody war on all dissent as they enforced change upon France and Jefferson was there to cheer them on every step of the way. Jefferson spoke fondly of the Jacobins and their methods, which famously included mass executions by guillotine.

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