Thomas Jefferson, The Autobiography

Sanne Bergh
Eng48A
Journal for Jefferson
Nov. 17, 2011

Author Quote
"In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only repeated injuries (655)".

Internet Quote
"The Declaration would eventually become Jefferson's major claim to fame, and his eloquent preamble became an enduring statement of human rights".

Brief Summary
Thomas Jefferson was essentially a founding father because he fought for basic human rights for Americans. The Declaration of Independence basically declared America's independence and triggered the American Revolution. Americans were claiming what they believed to be their freedom.

Reactions to what the Author is Saying
I think that it is ironic that Thomas Jefferson claims to fight for freedom and states that "every man is created equal" when he isn't actually referring to everyone. He is only referring to every white, rich landowner while excluding women, peasants, illiterates, people of color, ect. It's understandable that the people of the 18th century society were meant to think this way, but for a man who is fighting for a progressive movement, it should be expected he's talking about more than a small percentage of the nation's population. The "repeated injuries" that Jefferson refers to "under the most humble of terms" are definitely humble because he's not really talking about the freedom of very many people. In reality, Jefferson is not asking for his human rights. It's hypocritical to say that the British monarchy is affecting Jefferson in manners that are unjust when he is doing the same thing by holding similar prejudices towards his own "inferiors". The man had illegitimate black children with one of his very own slaves, Sally Hemings. The Declaration of Independence was a tiny step towards what America would one day become, a prejudice and an anti-progressive society that lives in the past. For example, the Constitution has been written years and years ago, yet we continue to refer to it as if it still didn't cater to rich, white male landowners. That's why we're fighting for our rights today with the Occupy Wall Street movement.  It might come of as harsh to say that Jefferson's intents were selfish and self-beneficial, but that might be all of which he knew. England was self-catering in that it would extract riches out of the US and it might be considered that the nation served as a bastardized model for what America might one day want to become.