|
|
Article: The trouble with Thomas Jefferson: the eloquent founder's original sin.(The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family)(Book review)
- Article from:
- Reason
- Article date:
- January 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Reason Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 800 pages, $35
IN 1775 the English essayist and lexicographer Samuel Johnson wrote a spirited political pamphlet rifled Taxation No Tyranny. His subject was the loud and increasingly aggressive rhetoric coming from the American colonies, where criticism of British economic policy was giving way to calls for popular revolution. "How is it," Johnson retorted, "that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?"
It's still a good question. Perhaps no one illustrates the paradox better than Thomas Jefferson. The celebrated author of ...