Douglas L Wilson Presentism Analysis

Presentism is the the ideal of judging past events based on modern-day morals and values. Author Douglas L. Wilson discusses presentism as a concept that is best used on historical figures due to the drastic changes in social structures and societal expectations. Wilson defends Jefferson, saying that because of certain societal and social notions, Jefferson could not have been expected to free his slaves, and would have actually been doing more harm than good if he had freed them. Wilson definitely has a presentism view on history, since he is able to explain something that, by today’s standards in America, is barbaric, while still believing that the perpetrator is respectable and sophisticated. Author Paul Finkelman also embraces the presentism, …show more content…
I think that due to societal pressures and Jefferson’s social status, it seems fairly standard that he would own slaves. Actually, it seems to me like Jefferson was pretty liberal for his time, given that he wanted a separation between church and state, monopolized corporations to be government controlled, regulated banks, etc. These were all liberal views for his time, but does that make up for the fact that he, one of the main advocators for unalienable human rights, owned humans as property, forcing them into slavery? Another argument could be made in his favor though: he supposedly treated his slaves very well, and didn’t release them for their own good. That still isn’t a good angle because if he truly did believe in the unalienable rights of all people, he would have given his slaves the option to fend for themselves in the harsh reality of that century or stay under his command. So, I guess it is hard for me to take a side on this dilemma owing to the fact that I can see both sides of the argument. I think that Jefferson was a progressive man for his time, but I do not believe he made only progressive and ethically sound