I’m looking forward to reading the entire article. I agree with you regarding Jefferson’s finances dictating his position on slavery. Having visited Monticello, I came to the conclusion that for all his genius, Jefferson was a narcissistic ass with zero sense of responsiblity or accountability to his fellow man.
He lived, literally and figuratively, above others and disregarded what we today would consider common decency.
I was heartened to see the John Adams miniseries depict Jefferson as almost exactly what I had imagined.
Of course, my opinions are only mine, and they are informed by life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. But I consider Jefferson the least of the founders, as a man.
I was surprised to learn a few years ago that many slaves were bought on credit — somewhat like having a mortgage on your home. The slave owner could not sell (or free) the slave until he’d repaid the bank, or other lender, the price of the slave, plus interest. Jefferson inherited his slaves from his wife’s father, and later from his wife. They were still heavily “mortgaged”, and since he spent much of his time serving the colonies and later the nation (rather than making Monticello a viable operation) he could not “free” them.
It was a dreadful system, and the banks had a lot to do with it. However, without slaves, the great plantations could never have been developed. No single family could have put all that land to the plow. Furthermore, without the cheap cotton, linen, wool from the South, the Northern mills would not have prospered. So the North benefited from the evil system too, as much as they would deny it.
Jefferson left behind thousands of letters. Perhaps you should read those if you want to know the man.