When I was in second grade, my teacher had a bookshelf lined with hardback biographies. They were borderline storybooks but had more of a chapter book feel, and because I was a good reader, I started reading those books because they were the books the “better readers” went for.  

I started reading them to impress my classmates and to show off. Look at me.  I’m reading from the big-shot-bookshelf.  

But what started out as a way to make myself look good ended up being the starting point of a lifelong love of the biography genre.  

I’ve loved them ever since.

I was especially enamored by the lives of the presidents, and I’ve been a nut about the history of the presidency for a long time.  I’ve read huge books about the presidents, the first ladies, the White House, and the founding of Washington, D.C.  

Plus all those books from the big shot bookshelf.  My teacher had one for every president – only her books only went up to Lyndon B. Johnson at the time.

Early on, this love of history led me to dive into genealogy, too. I just have a great interest in the past.

My sons gave me a great retirement/Father’s Day/birthday gift last year.  They booked an Air BnB for a few days in Virginia, and we headed over there a few weeks ago to see the homes of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Although my favorite president is John Adams, I’ve always been a fan of one of his best friends, Jefferson. Adams and Madison weren’t close, but Madison and Jefferson were, and within a full day of travel, could visit one another often.

So, off to Jefferson’s home we went…  The grandeur, the attention to detail and architecture, and a first-hand look at what appealed to the brilliant mind of Jefferson is apparent throughout the house and the property. We traveled to all three floors and saw most of the nooks and crannies; even a little attic room off the grand dome room (which wasn’t all that grand inside) that his granddaughters made into their own hideaway.

Jefferson’s inventions, writings, and collections were on display. Detailed information of the grounds and outbuildings were included, as well as maps and research on the many plants Jefferson had experimented with.

We saw information about “The Jefferson Bible” which intrigued us, and which the tour guide talked about. Apparently, Jefferson was only interested in the words of Jesus Christ from the Bible, and so used his own cut-and-paste method to make his own book with Christ’s words and teachings.

This is contrary to what some have reported: that Jefferson was a deist or even an atheist, and who did his own thing completely when it came to religion.  However, I’ve since read from many reputable sources that Jefferson was far more devout than people thought, even though he believed strongly in religious freedom and diversity, which wasn’t the case with many in that day and age.

When we toured Madison’s home, I understood why he was such good buddies with Jefferson.  “Little Madison” shared views with Jefferson, and even had a few busts of people he didn’t necessarily care for in his home, simply to support differing views and the right to complete freedom across the board.  He had a huge painting of Christ in his drawing room, and directly across from it, a painting of characters from pagan mythology. It was a diverse and eclectic “drawing room” which would undoubtedly coerce visitors into interesting discussions and debates with its decor alone.

Two interesting men, both of whom are admired as evidenced by the many visitors. One would think that only fans of the two visit their homes, but some of the questions asked on the tours were in depth and probing; it was evident that folks try to understand these complex men.

And why? Well, these two great men, both of whom made monumental contributions to our country and who each clearly loved it, were flawed. They were complex.  They each owned slaves. Both of their homes were on plantations, built and maintained by slave labor. Despite their great accomplishments and indeed, attitudes about the future of slavery and eventually abolishing it, neither of them gave freedom to most of the slaves they owned.  

It’s puzzling.  It’s hard to wrap your head around it.  Delving further into some of the writings of both men, one finds that their attitudes about African-Americans don’t match up with what our idea of a great man should be.  

They also professed a belief in God and spoke about Christian principles often. How can you be a Christian and condone slavery?  I don’t get it.

During our day at Monticello (Jefferson’s home), we toured the cemetery for the enslaved population of the property. It was sobering. Not at all distinct or even an honorable place.  No tombstones. No inscriptions.  Just large rocks in a few spots. There had been extensive archaeology work done there; but still, I doubt it was ever a real, well-kept cemetery.  

Really, it looked like a big space of flat land with a few stones here and there.  As I said, sobering and disturbing.

Now, I have always been against those folks who have tried to basically rewrite history. Those same folks want to talk about how we should just write off all our Founding Fathers as racists who founded this country with hypocritical ideals. I don’t think we can go to that extreme. There is an extraordinary amount of writing that proves the contrary: many people, including some of the leaders of the day, had the right, biblical attitudes about equality and the institution of slavery from the get-go, and there were many who felt this way long before some of our Founding Fathers were born. 

Many of these same people were working throughout their lives, passing on this work to generations of their family members.  Many folks were planting seeds and leading the charge for equality when you would have thought people in that day and time had set attitudes across the board.

What a shame that it took so long to make even a small amount of progress.

So, what are we supposed to do with men like Jefferson and Madison?  Completely write them off because they were flawed and had opinions people found and still find unacceptable?  

I stood in the same room where the Constitution was drafted, and I thought about the man who sat there and pondered. I wondered if he was conflicted in any way, as maybe his friend an hour away? Is it possible to have good ideals and do good work, yet also have incredible flaws? Is it possible to have such solid, level-headed foresight and be able to write a document that has stood the test of time, yet still be part of the monstrous institution of slavery?

Regardless of how we feel about history or the people who have been regarded as great history makers, it’s important to tell the truth. I don’t think we can “cancel” anyone, rewrite history or dismiss anything. I think we need to look at history and have conversations. I think children need to be talked to about history, and I don’t think things can be sugarcoated.  

I liked to talk about all of it when I taught history: the good, the bad and the ugly.  

And let’s face it:  history is full of the ugly.