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    Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves
    Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves
    Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves
    Audiobook11 hours

    Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves

    Written by Henry Wiencek

    Narrated by Brian Holsopple

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Is there anything new to say about Thomas Jefferson and slavery? The answer is a resounding yes. Henry Wiencek#8217;s eloquent, persuasive book-based on new information coming from archaeological work at Monticello and on hitherto overlooked or disregarded evidence in Jefferson#8217;s papers-opens up a huge, poorly understood dimension of Jefferson#8217;s world. We must, Wiencek suggests, follow the money.#160;So far historians have offered only easy irony or paradox to explain this extraordinary Founding Father who was an emancipationist in his youth and then recoiled from his own inspiring rhetoric and equivocated about slavery, who enjoyed his renown as a revolutionary leader yet kept some of his own children as slaves. But Wiencek#8217;s Jefferson is a man of business and public affairs who makes a success of his debt-ridden plantation thanks to what he calls the #8220;silent profits#8221; gained from his slaves-and thanks to a skewed moral universe that he and thousands of others readily inhabited.#160;Many people of Jefferson#8217;s time saw a catastrophe coming and tried to stop it, but not Jefferson. The pursuit of happiness had been badly distorted, and an oligarchy was getting very rich. Is this the quintessential American story?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateOct 16, 2012
    ISBN9781611749908
    Author

    Henry Wiencek

    Henry Wiencek, a nationally prominent historian and writer, is the author of several books, including The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999, and, most recently, Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves.

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    Reviews for Master of the Mountain

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    • 5/5
      I don't have any original thoughts to share on the subject of this book, I think it's all been said. Every American should read it; every American should have the understanding that our founding fathers were flawed human beings, who despite themselves created a form of government--or better yet, the ideal of a form of representative government--that may or may not stand the test of time. That they were able to do so AT ALL is a tribute to their determination. Jefferson understood that the peculiar institution he at first wanted to eradicate, but was unable to, would one day exact a tragically heavy price from those who finally did eradicate it. Because he later ignored this fact both personally and politically blackens his reputation irretrievably, in my opinion.

      Intelligence and rationality are no innate antidotes to bigotry and racism.
    • 4/5
      One of the best books on Thomas Jefferson I've encountered, which furthermore tackles the tough issue of slavery and how Jefferson thought about and treated his slaves. The author thoroughly discusses Jefferson contradictory writings on slavery and brings in numerous stories about Jefferson's slaves and how their lives were lived. Sally Hemings, Jefferson's most well-known slave, is discussed but takes a backseat to the rest of the slaves on Jefferson's plantation, and the author gives a much more wider depiction of slavery under Jefferson than some other works.
    • 4/5
      The author does a great job throughout most of the book describing the life of the slave at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's plantation home. The first 75% of the book draws a great picture of Jefferson's ability to separate himself from the cruelty that is imposed on those whom he owns. Though it was interesting reading, the last 25% of the book digresses into a discussion of whether or not Jefferson fathered a child with Sally Hemings. I would rather the author continue with the original discussion. Regardless of this detour, it was still a keen insight into one of the nation's founding fathers.
    • 4/5
      This book has forever changed the way I will think of the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence. It's a compelling and utterly damning picture of a man we have been taught to admire on the most lofty plain. When it came to slavery, he said one thing and did quite the opposite. History books, especially those used in classrooms, need to be revised to show his true beliefs about the economy and commerce of slavery.
      This is a very good book, well-researched and written in a very accessible manner. Recommended for folks interested in American history and the lives of the 'founding fathers'.
    • 5/5
      A much more jaundiced view of Jefferson than unusual, but it certainly made sense of the contradiction between his principled statements against slavery and his failure to free his slaves. He profited from their labor and, indeed, wouldn't live the life he did without them. They were his main asset and their progeny represented his return on capital. He used them as he needed to to maximize what profit he could find. It did change my view of Jefferson, but mainly to add more complexity, not to diminish him.