Too many people of today read history
The way or ways that they’d prefer to have it read.
Take Thomas Jefferson, for instance, all they see
Is …he owned slaves, and made no move to have them freed,
When others, like George Washington, were freeing theirs.
But that mind-set is neither accurate nor fair;
And here are factors history but rarely shares;
Ignored by those who have destructive teeth to bare.
Above all, Thomas Jefferson did value life,
Including lives of others, including those he owned.
He never did like slavery, and hated strife.
But slavery then was legal, needed and condoned,
He tried his best to have them come to love the land,
Which meant he treated them humanely, not as slaves
In bondage, but with values they could understand;
So his slaves gained identity, which bondage craves.
But giving slaves their freedom, moral issues loomed;
Like…how would they be treated—what would they then do?
So Jefferson did something his whole life had groomed—
He called them all together, to ascertain their views.
Please understand, he was allowing them to choose!
So they could leave if they so wanted, or remain;
That Monticello was their home, none could refuse;
And there they had a life they knew and loved, no strain.
So Monticello thrived, long after Jefferson’s death;
Long after Turner’s rebellion, silent to this day.
They may have been the first in feeling freedom’s breath,
For this was of their choosing, given right to stay!
© Richard Williams