"So, tell me, Mr. Jefferson, about Sally Hemings . . ." Of course,
I wouldn't ask that the first few days that Tom Jefferson and I
were stranded on that desert island. I'd want to get to know the
author of the Declaration of Independence first, and there are
many other questions I'd ask before that one, but we would get
there eventually because the subject is so titillating on a
personal level and so profound politically.
The Hemings/slavery issues are merely two of many fascinating
contradictions about our third president. He defined liberty and
equality, yet owned slaves. He believed in small republics, yet
doubled the size of the U.S. He decried federalism, yet nudged us
toward centralization. He spoke eloquently about press freedom,
yet sought to censor opposing newspapers. He wrote so well and so
much and was open enough to new ideas and thought that today he
can be quoted--like the Bible--on all sides of all political
debates.
One's desert island companion also should be useful, and Jefferson
was a skilled architect, a practical inventor, and a successful
farmer. He was apparently neither funny nor witty, but he was
musical and he was very well read.
One could be marooned for a long time with Jefferson without fear
of the conversational well drying up. I would want him to be about
age 70, when he had had time to reflect on his life but still had
his vigor.
