[greymule]

Jefferson owned slaves didn't he?

Yes. There was slavery on the North American continent when Jefferson lived. There was also slavery everywhere else in the world except Europe, which didn't need it since it had a feudal system that accomplished the same thing. Slavery still exists in, among other places, Africa and the Arab world. So it turns out that America actually was among the very least offenders when it came to slavery.

Though the founders of the country had neither the political nor the military power to abolish slavery, Jefferson helped create a Constitution that was instrumental in ending it.

While we're bashing Jefferson, let's remember that he

a. did nothing to advance the cause of gay rights
b. nominated no women, blacks, or Latinos either to his cabinet or to the U.S. Supreme Court
c. did nothing to protect the rain forest or reduce carbon dioxide emissions
d. favored the death penalty
e. saw nothing wrong with prayer in school
f. created no government agency to protect workers from environmental hazards on the job
g. is not on record for ever having supported any labor union
h. believed in God
i. helped found a nation that has become the envy of the world, and crafted the principles that have produced wealth and liberty beyond anything that anyone had dreamed of in his lifetime

Yeah. What a rat.