Re: The power of an Idea - The Long View.
Maybe--I certainly don't know--maybe Jefferson, in that day and age, actually viewed blacks as being somewhat subhuman? I'm not excusing his ownership, but could it be that he genuinely thought they weren't capable of ruling themselves, and that they weren't fully human? If so, that could partially explain the apparent contradiction between his noble words and his selfish actions. If this is the case, part of the fault would lie with his erroneous view of blacks as inherently inferior beings--which might have not been an uncommon view at the time.
I do think your last line is particularly apropos: "Saddles on their backs indeed."
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