The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery

The Wolf by the Ears is a book-length treatment of Thomas Jefferson's attitudes toward slavery. Through a close examination of Jefferson's personality and the influences of his social and political environment, John Chester Miller provides clear, well-reasoned answers to such plaguing questions as: Why Jefferson did not play a more forceful role in the antislavery movement? To what extent was the Declaration of Independence intended to serve as a charter of freedom for the slaves? Why did he couple the emancipation of slaves with the removal of the black population from the United States? Why did he insist upon measuring the intelligence of illiterate, disadvantaged black slaves by criteria applicable to free white Americans? And foremost, why did Jefferson remain a slaveholder throughout his lifetime and even fail to direct that his slaves be freed after his death?