Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the Declaration of Independence, and publicly acknowledged that slavery was “a great political and moral evil.” Yet the same man who wrote that all men were entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” acquired and maintained his wealth, status and power from the bondage of others – many others. This, of course, raises the question: was Jefferson a hypocrite who should be condemned, or simply a man in authority who s