What did Alexander Hamilton’s favorite “frenemy” miss? Investigate the alleged crimes and misdemeanors of the contradictory, controversial, and confusing man who owned slaves, yet wrote in the Declaration that “all men are created equal.” Was he a racist or a victim of his times? We’ll look into his past, his passions, his mind, his loves—including his relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings—his leadership in both the American and the French Revolutions, the rumors, the facts, the legend, the impact. No one else has done more to shape the American ethic as Thomas Jefferson and no one else has been as hotly debated. Students will compile evidence, make a charge, prepare a defense and a prosecution case, and we will put him on trial to let the people decide! This course is intended as a companion to the “U.S. Constitution: An Owner’s Manual” course, but can also be taken on its own.
