Thomas Jefferson made a habit of inspecting his plantation in the afternoon to monitor the work of the 140 enslaved workers who worked at Monticello and his outlying farms. Always interested in measurements and record-keeping, Jefferson made extensive notations about his slaves and their duties in his Farm Book and Memorandum Books. For instance, he noted the rations his overseer distributed, the number of yards he purchased for clothing, the daily task required by particular enslaved individuals, and the cost of items purchased for use in the kitchen.

Jefferson and Slavery

Jefferson's words and deeds are contradictory on the issue of slavery. Although he drafted the words "all men are created equal," he held more than 600 individuals in slavery during his lifetime.
Thomas Jefferson
...we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.

Up Next: "Attending to My Farm"

Monticello was a 5,000-acre agricultural concern with several farms where enslaved workers tended to various crops, including wheat, corn and tobacco for sale at market as well as fruits and vegetables for personal consumption.