Jefferson was seen as a conservative for his time. But would he be considered the same during the secession and civil war crisis? Historians have argued over this issue for a long time stating that Jefferson was a major advocate for a weaker central government and as prostate rights as can be while others argued the times were different and his feelings about slavery would make him hesitant towards the secession movement in his beloved south.
This first section will discuss the points that would potentially make him help and influence the south into secession.
1. State rights
One of the political ideas that defined Jefferson so strongly was his devotion to a smaller weaker federal government that gave way to state rights. He constantly battled with Alexander Hamilton over an agrarian society based in the south to Hamilton's capitalist commercial economy. Jefferson always felt that Hamilton's system allowed the government to have too much power which would eventually lead to restricted rights for the people. This can be seen in his support of the articles of confederation which was the predecessor to the constitution. It called for a weaker central government. When we look at the common values shared among the states who wanted to form the confederacy they were very similar prompting the feeling that Jefferson may want to succeed. The objective for the south in the secession was to form a confederacy where the central government was weaker which gives room for more state rights. Specifically slavery and less regulation on the farms which were their basis of the economy. Which leads me to the next point.
2. Economy
Thomas Jefferson was always known for wanting an agrarian-based economy. He was a man from Virginia who stuck to his southern roots. One of the main battles between the north and south was the debate over slavery. The north wanted to abolish slavery however the south saw it as a cornerstone in their agrarian production which happened to be the basis of their economy. Jefferson also would have seen how the growth of an industrial economy in the north was gradually taking away the agrarian economy. For Jefferson, a loyal southerner he would have sided with the secession side so they would be able to have their own economy the way Jefferson had always envisioned it. However, in the next couple of sections, Jefferson fundamental views will show us something different
This next section will discuss why he would have sided with the Union
1. Founding father
Although Jefferson's ideas were almost all similar to that of the Confederates he was a founding father. He had fought very hard in the political arena to help the US leave England. Would he really have just help split the country he had fought so much to form? In their dying days, political and economic rivals for so many years, Hamilton and Jefferson, had advocated in their dying years to do as much as possible to keep the country together. At such an early stage they had seen how the political battles beginning with them were growing bigger and bigger. This alone really counteracts Jefferson's reasons for leaving. He has great loyalty to his causes and origins. Would he really completely dismantle something he fought so hard to create?
2. The issue on slavery
One of the main issues that was causing the split between the north and south was slavery. In the south slavery was a fundemental tool for the plantations. And before the major debates rang out, if we go back to when the abolitionist movement began, we see Jefferson supporting the abolition of slavery. Some may argue that he had slaves making him a hypocrite and that he only sided for slavery for political means and that he would turn back on his point once the issue became a real threat. But we will never know, and from his speeches and documents we see him strongly speeking against slavery. He had an affair with a slave after all, so he must value them. Overall I think when it would have come down to slavey he would be torn between the moral injustices that slavery brings and his beliefs in a strong agrarian society which at the time relied heavily on slavery, making him hesitant on wether or not to side with secession.
Answering the Question:
There are strong cases for both arguments. However I feel like he would not seceed because of how strongly he advocated against it before his death when he and even is biggest rival Hamilton saw how divided the nation was becoming. Instead of pushing for secession I believe he would have looked for other compromises. He would have fought on the issues of slavery agrarian economy and the role of the central government just as he had when he was alive against Hamilton. Attempting to fill the government with as many politicians that were on his side. For Jefferson would not have supported secession but would have looked for a better solution that would keep the nation together.
http://thehistoryhacker.com/2013/01/22/if-thomas-jefferson-had-lived-in-the-time-of-the-civil-war/
https://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings-brief-account
Mateo, I really like you post because it is very long and detailed and you analyze all the different viewpoints. I agree with your claim that he would have decided against secession and would have instead searched for a compromise. To support your argument that Jefferson wanted to abolish slavery, I looked at the source https://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/thomas-jefferson-and-slavery. This source argues that Jefferson disliked the concept of slavery and even called it a "moral depravity." However, he saw the economic benefit that slaves provided and thought of slavery as a "necessary evil." One possibility why Jefferson may have owned slaves was that it was very hard to free slaves and he wanted freed slaves to be sent back to Africa https://wallbuilders.com/george-washington-thomas-jefferson-slavery-virginia/; he did not see a place for them in America. In conclusion, Jefferson may have supported slavery, but this was just because he wanted to preserve the southern culture as you mentioned and because he wanted to avoid the economic effects that would come with abolishing slavery. However as my additional sources show, Jefferson was not a racist man and he truly did believe that all men are created equal. As shown by Confederate vice-president Stephan's cornerstone speech, white supremacy was the leading cause of the civil war. Without white supremacy it would not have escalated the way it did. Since Jefferson is not a white supremacist, I agree that he would not have seceded.
ReplyDeleteMateo, I appreciate how your post was able to argue both sides of a controversial issue and provide some insight on how Jefferson would have reacted by looking at his views and beliefs. I completely agree with your conclusion that Jefferson would have been against secession because I believe preserving the Union would have been much more important to him compared to preserving state's rights or an agrarian society. I also agree that Jefferson would have wanted to fight politically to promote an agrarian way of life without seceding and dividing the Union. One thing I would like to note is that the Civil War didn't start as a war against slavery but rather a war to bring back the rebelling Southern states. This means that at the start of the war Jefferson would have definitely supported the North because he would have wanted the South to return to the Union and negotiate rather than declare independence.
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