On the Steps of the Jefferson Memorial

We invent our gods

the way the Greeks did,

in our own image—but magnified.

Athena, the very mother of wisdom,

squabbled with Poseidon

like any human sibling

until their furious tempers

made the sea writhe.

Zeus wore a crown

of lightning bolts one minute,

a cloak of feathers the next,

as driven by earthly lust

he prepared to swoop

down on Leda.

Despite their power,

frailty ran through them

like the darker veins

in the marble of these temples

we call monuments.

Looking at Jefferson now,

I think of the language

he left for us to live by.

I think of the slave

in the kitchen downstairs.

by Linda Pastan

So we place our heroes on pedestals and then discover that, like the Greek gods on Mount Olympus, they are not perfect. Like marble with its veined colorations, people are not purely one thing. They are shot through with human weakness large and small, full of contradictions and moral failings.

Prominent on the interior frieze below the dome of the Jefferson memorial are his words from an 1800 letter defending the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.

I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

The context makes it clear that the kind of tyranny Jefferson feared most was religious tyranny. Absent from this statement is any indication that he objected to the ultimate tyranny – that of slavery. He noted that slavery diminished both master and slave but he was unable to call for equality. That was best left, he said, to God.

For the eradication of slavery we must await with patience the workings of an overruling Providence..

So Jefferson – the great liberator, egalitarian and crafter of the Declaration of Independence – had a morally blind definition of man. His wealth, power and prestige were – literally – built on the backs of others.

Poseidon, The Sea God Collage. Romare Beardon 1977

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi
Hero as Riddle, 1963

René Magritte
The False Mirror
1928

Marble Form
Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975)

Marble Rocks, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
Marianne North (1830–1890)

It’s a provocative juxtaposition that raises a question about the relationship between the two subjects. Her hair is covered while her partially shown shoulder and leg are bare. She is brown-skinned with an indeterminable gaze. She evokes both assertion and alarm.
Titled “Beyond the Myth of Benevolence” (2014), the painting by Titus Kaphar was inspired by a Rembrandt Peale portrait of Jefferson made in 1800.

Featured image: Marble Effect Alfred Worthington (1834–1927)

Actually, you might want to research to whole Thomas Jefferson slave issue. The conventional wisdom couldn't be further from the truth...there's a lot of complexities involved, but the truth is we would all be slaves right now without Jefferson's Second Revolution of 1800 [destroying the Federalist Party and tyrant John Adams/predecessors to the plutocratic GOP and tyrant Trump of today]. Why this specific sentence...?

"For the eradication of slavery we must await with patience the workings of an overruling Providence..."

Because is was going to take a Civil War, whether 1776 or 1865--the large plantation owners is the South rejected Jefferson's early drafts with the slaves being declared free...and would fight against the American Revolution if required to give up their slaves. That's why the specific language was written in the D of I as would certainly be invoked at a later time ["ALL MEN", 'Pursuit of Happiness' instead of 'Enjoyment of Property'}, as Lincoln did in his Gettysburg Address:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ALL MEN are created equal."

Jefferson Fought Slavery Throughout His Life [just a little summary to get you started, source documents best from here]
https://thejeffersoncouncil.com/jefferson-fought-slavery-throughout-his-life

Best,
Hans

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Hans says:

December 9, 2024 at 9:03 pm

Actually, you might want to research to whole Thomas Jefferson slave issue. The conventional wisdom couldn't be further from the truth...there's a lot of complexities involved, but the truth is we would all be slaves right now without Jefferson's Second Revolution of 1800 [destroying the Federalist Party and tyrant John Adams/predecessors to the plutocratic GOP and tyrant Trump of today]. Why this specific sentence...?

"For the eradication of slavery we must await with patience the workings of an overruling Providence..."

Because is was going to take a Civil War, whether 1776 or 1865--the large plantation owners is the South rejected Jefferson's early drafts with the slaves being declared free...and would fight against the American Revolution if required to give up their slaves. That's why the specific language was written in the D of I as would certainly be invoked at a later time ["ALL MEN", 'Pursuit of Happiness' instead of 'Enjoyment of Property'}, as Lincoln did in his Gettysburg Address:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ALL MEN are created equal."

Jefferson Fought Slavery Throughout His Life [just a little summary to get you started, source documents best from here]
https://thejeffersoncouncil.com/jefferson-fought-slavery-throughout-his-life

Best,
Hans

On the Steps of the Jefferson Memorial