IMHO, Jefferson debates himself....and a lot of his writings are just ramblings....
I agree. IMHO, Jefferson, so lauded today as the premium founding father, is over-rated. He was brilliant to the point of genius yes, but, so were Franklin, Madison, Hamilton and others.
He was premierely a hypocrite—writing so lavishly about freedom, even while keeping many slaves (and never setting them free, as Washington did in his will).
He repeatedly condemned “miscegenation” (racial mixing) even while keeping a black mistress at the same time.
He was supposed to be a man of high morality—even while rejecting Christianity—and embracing a cold self-made unitarian/deism—along with that slave-mistress.
But for his Danbury Baptists’ letter...and the “separation” phrase, America would be a lot better off.