Our journey to Monticello took us from Wilmington through a slice of Baltimore, Maryland and then through Washington DC where we saw the Washington Monument in the distance. I would have liked to stop but I have been there many times and we had to keep moving to meet the deadlines we had set for our trip. I had to just imagine the “feels” that I always get whenever I see the Lincoln Memorial or the Vietnam Wall. 

Soon we were back in Virginia driving through some of the most scenic areas in the United States. Along the route we saw many signs pointing to national park areas where Civil War battles had been fought. Since Mike reads historical books as a hobby he entertained me with stories of each conflict as we moved deeper and deeper into terrain that undoubtedly had changed little from the time that Thomas Jefferson lived there. 

Jefferson often claimed that he was most proud of being the author of the Declaration of Independence, writing the Virginia laws protecting the freedom of religious choice, and founding the University of Virginia. His time as President of the United States and in the political world was more of an onerous responsibility than a joyful experience for him and had no doubtedly delayed the completion of his beloved home. 

Monticello is perched on a hill that allowed Jefferson to view the mountains in the distance. It’s familiar domed roof is featured on the nickel. It was a busy place where Jefferson lived with his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren along with over a hundred slaves, including many from the Hemmings family, as well as free craftsmen. It was the place where he read philosophy and studied science and engineering. In fact he spent so much time thinking and learning that his business enterprises never seemed to provide enough income to keep him out of debt. Producing funds was a necessity that he never mastered or enjoyed.

Jefferson had inherited five thousand acres from his father who died owing money to countless creditors. Thomas would do little better than his father. With his tastes for books, art and the accoutrements of a gentleman he was almost always in debt. His wife died young and only two of the children he sired with with her lived to adulthood. Daughter, Martha Randolph was the only child to survive past her twenties. Jefferson fathered more children with Sally Hemmings but never referred to them as his own. He did however free his progeny upon his death, fulfilling a promise that he made to Sally when the two of them were living in Paris. Because slavery was illegal in France, Sally was technically free while she was there and could have walked away without repercussions. Instead she brokered the freedom of her children and returned to Monticello with Jefferson. 

Monticello is impressive by any standards. Jefferson used the entry hall to showcase items that he felt would educate his many visitors. It holds a seven day clock that he designed to keep track not only of the hours but also the days of the week. Unfortunately when he attempted to set it up the mechanism he discovered that there was only room for six days from the ceiling to the floor so he had to cut a hole and use the basement to register Sundays. 

The room is filled with animal hides, maps, fossils and other interesting objects but there is no sweeping staircase leading to the upper rooms because Jefferson thought such decor was tacky. It is a quirky fun area that has so many wonderful things to see. 

The next room was Jefferson’s library. He was an avid collector and had acquired over two thousand tomes when he decided to donate them to the Library of Congress. Unfortunately his gifts to our nation were ultimately destroyed by a fire.  After giving the country with his prize collection Jefferson began purchasing volumes again and eventually had over two thousand volumes upon his death. Some of those originals are showcased at Monticello to this day.

Next came a room where Jefferson met with his guests for serious conversations. It is a delightfully sunny space with wonderful furnishings and paintings of Jefferson’s favorite philosophers like Isaac Newton and John Locke. He was a student of the enlightenment and patterned much of his thinking on the ideas of such men. Many of the ideas  he included in the Declaration of Independence reflected his belief in the rights of all men, a revolutionary thought at the time. Sadly his freedoms only included white men who owned land, making Jefferson an interesting enigma. It is difficult to reconcile his ownership of humans with his brilliant thinking, and yet such was the case. If only we might talk with him now to learn what he thinks of the evolution of the democratic republic that he helped to create.

Next to Jefferson’s salon was his bedroom. He created a cubby hole for sleeping inside an alcove and It was there that he  died on July 4, fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. By the time of his death he had become great friends with his once opponent, John Adams. The two men corresponded frequently and made peace with one another over their differences of opinion that had once made them enemies. Ironically they died within hours of each other on the same day. 

The bedroom leads to the dining room where Jefferson often entertained both locals and those who travelled to see him. Off to the side is a steep stairway to the second floor. and one from the kitchen which was in another building to prevent fires from breaking out in the main house. 

Thomas Jefferson owed almost two hundred thousand dollars to creditors when he died. His daughter who was his heir had to sell all of the slaves save for five that he had freed in his will. The house also had be sold to pay off the many debtors, including his son-in-law who had baled Jefferson out many times. A couple of years after Jefferson’s death the home was purchased by the Levy family and kept in good repair until it was finally donated as a national historic treasure in the nineteen twenties. Interestingly Mr. Levy, a Jew, had wanted to keep the house as it was in Jefferson’s time to honor the man whose legislation had insured religious freedom for people of all faiths including Mr. Levy and his family. 

Jefferson is buried on the grounds of Monticello. Today those who preserve his memory also tackle with the reality of his enslavement of humans. It seems to some to be the ultimate hypocrisy to speak of the unalienable rites to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness while justifying the reality that Jefferson denied so many those rights. It will forever be a mar on his intellect and reputation that is difficult to accept given that many of the signers of the Declaration were already confirmed abolitionists and even advocated for women as well.  

The right to freedoms in our nation has evolved enough that the tour now includes a stop at a contemplative garden to honor those who lived alongside Jefferson as slaves. Much study is being done to bring their voices to life as part of the tour as well. The journey to freedom and democracy for all continues in the United States as we strive to live up to those words indelibly written into the experiment in democracy unlike anything the world had seen. Fortunately we have been able to face our wrongs with honesty and make changes that had to be made. Perhaps one day we may even get closer and closer to perfection as we grapple with the reality that we are not yet there.