A film by Martin Doblmeier
A story that tears at the heart of America, this critically acclaimed film
explores Thomas Jefferson and his personal and public dilemma about race and
slavery.
For centuries people have asked how it was possible that the man who wrote
the creed for America, declaring that "all men are created equal and entitled
to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," could also
live his life as a slaveholder. Saying that Jefferson was simply a man of his
day is too simple for the man whose words both shaped and divided a new nation.
The film explores Jefferson's paradoxical relationship with slavery - he owned
many slaves and wrote that he considered most blacks to be "dull and anomalous,"
yet he believed blacks deserved a position of equality in society, and recent
DNA tests indicate he had an affair and offspring with a house slave, Sally
Hemmings.
The documentary brings Jefferson's words and ideas to life through dozens of
Jefferson's original handwritten letters, excerpts from his original manuscripts,
deeds of slave manumission, period newspapers, his will, political cartoons,
and every known image of Jefferson painted during his lifetime.
A host of acclaimed performers lend their voices to the program including Edward
Herrmann, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, and Robert Prosky. The readings compliment
interviews with noted historians including Pulitzer Prize winner Gordon Wood,
civil rights leader Julian Bond, former congresswoman Barbara Jordan, U.S. Civil
Rights Commissioner Mary Francis Berry and many others.
"Elegant and well-told." - USA Today
"Brings Jefferson somehow closer to us." - Los Angeles Times
"Impressive, deftly handled." - Washington Post
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