Negro President: Jefferson and the Slave Power

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: Wills peels away each generation's gloss on Jefferson historiagraphy to reveal a truth larger than any blot on Jefferson's character. Using the federal ratio that allowed slave "property" to be counted toward the congressional representation alloted to the state as a sort of divining rod, Wills locates the hidden pockets of greed behind the Northwest Ordinance, the Louisiana purchase, and Manifest Destiny. I can only hope that Wills' views will be looked back on as the start of a much needed revision to the story of slavery in America presented in our schools and in the popular media.