Thomas Jefferson - Was he a traitor?

[peaccenicked]

''"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson to Charles Yancey, 1816.

[antieverything]

Well, I'm sure the rest of the "founding fathers" saw ole TJ as a dangerous man. Sure, he was a racist who wanted to conquer the hemisphere...but so was everyone else. He was, however, a believer in the limits of property rights (perhaps not a socialist but a social democrat certainly) and was sympathetic to the plight of the poor. I sort of see him as a Tom Paine inhibited by wealth and status as a slave owner. He knew it was wrong...but as they say, wealth averts the eyes and inhibits the heart...ok, they don't say that, but I made it up and it sounds pretty cool.

So, despite the fact that he was technically "one of them" and still shared some of the same ideological flaws, it was very fortunate for America's ruling class (then and today) that Thomas Jefferson wasn't present at the writing of the constitution.