Jefferson is customarily castigated for being racist. Yet in 1817 and after an inquiry by a free black man, Patrick Henry, to rent a parcel of land on the 157-acre tract with the Natural Bridge that Jefferson owns, Jefferson agrees not only to allow Henry to rent out and farm some 10 acres near the Natural Bridge, but also to allow Henry free use of his land so long as he watch over the land by the bridge and pay its yearly taxes--some 93 cents/year. Yet Jefferson becomes so pleased with Henry, watching over his land, that he even pays the taxes for Henry. This episode, which is told on Col. Holowchak's new book, THOMAS JEFFERSON: GUARDIAN OF THE NATURAL BRIDGE, has been overlooked by nearly all Jeffersonian biographers, perhaps because it fails to accord with the woke narratives most create.
30 май 2024
