[lentulusgracchus]

Actually, I'm not the guy to ping about Jefferson and his slaves. I've tended more to be interested in the attack on his character by revisionists, and less so by his very nuanced, if not hypocritical, views on slavery.

[Gianni]

I've tended more to be interested in the attack on his character by revisionists, and less so by his very nuanced, if not hypocritical, views on slavery.

Jefferson and Washington provide and interesting case-study in revisionism. Rather than modify the facts or omit important details, the revisionists have actually massaged the very conditions in which they lived, retroactively applying a moral standard which did not exist in their day (and oftentimes using their words to do it). Slave ownership carried a stigma, but in their day it was akin to, say, what cigarette smoking has become in the current era.