Thomas Jefferson's Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. Most remember not only for his presidency, for writing the Declaration of Independence, or even for his help on the Constitution, he was known as a hypocrite. A man who included that abolishment of slavery in the Constitution but owned slaves. A man who believed in strict construction but was behind the Louisiana Purchase. A man who despised aristocracy but he himself indulged in the luxury. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These very words were written by Jefferson himself. Of course, he really meant to add in that the men needed to be white males because African-Americans and women surely were not included. He wrote these words and even wanted to add abolishing slavery into the Constitution but it was removed. Jefferson owned slaves! He even was said to have fathered six children with a black woman named Sally Hemings. Despite this relationship he did not free her, and only agreed to free their children when they …show more content…
Jefferson had a fear of consolidated power, this is why he hated aristocracies and they way they lived. Despite his so called fear, he lived like they did. He owned a large plantation called Monticello, where he housed dozens of slaves. He spent tons of money on building projects, he lived well above his means. He even went so far into debt that after he died his family had to sell parts of Monticello. Some could argue that he was given this land and that it the reason he seemed to be hypocritical, but if he despised the luxury lifestyle, why did he spend so much extra? He could have lived on his nice land and been wealthy in that sense but he went above and beyond for personal