Episode 569: Thomas Jefferson: The Worst Founding Father
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On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we travel back in time and talk about one of the most famous of the Founding Fathers: Thomas Jefferson. To some historians, Jefferson was the most important member of the revolution. He drafted the constitution on his own, and his writings inspired troops and helped forge a government. He rose in rank from a lawyer to Secretary of State and then from Vice President to the 3rd President of the United States. But, he was a man of his times. He owned over 600 slaves, and most historians say he raped his 14 year old slave Sally Hemmings and forced her to father 6 slave children with him.
Jefferson was born to wealth on his father’s plantation. He had an amazing education and was truly a renaissance man, dabbling in everything from music to architecture and even paleontology and of course politics. He became a lawyer and politician just as the Revolutionary war broke out, and he became the writer and mouthpiece for the Congressional Congress.
He fought for religious freedoms, built the University of Virginia, and did many amazing things. He also almost made the newly formed America go nearly bankrupt, said the worst things about blacks you can imagine, and let’s not forget the raping the slaves thing. He’s an interesting man from an interesting time, so if you’re into history (and bad jokes) give this one a listen.
Visit Our Sources
https://www.biography.com/us-president/thomas-jefferson
https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/brief-biography-of-jefferson/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-dark-side-of-thomas-jefferson-35976004/
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-facts-about-thomas-jefferson-for-his-birthday#:~:text=He%20was%20born%20on%20April,face%20on%20the%20modern%20nickel.
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/04/11/10-facts-thomas-jefferson-slavery-at-jeffersons-monticello-national-constitution-center/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/thomas-jefferson-dark-side
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