THOMAS JEFFERSON

Among his many many accomplishments, Thomas Jefferson was one of America's early scientists and engineers. Visitors to his home today can view many of his inventions and one of his errors - a clock that was not correctly designed. Jefferson had to cut a hole in the floor to permit its function. Especially interesting is his copying machine which consists of mechanically-linked quill pens that created a duplicate while he was writing.

His greatest accomplishments were, of course, as principal author of the Declaration of Independence and as one of the prime movers behind the establishment of American liberty. His epitaph, which he wrote himself, emphasizes the attainments that he held highest. It does not mention that he was twice President of the United States. Perhaps he thought we would remember (or maybe he anticipated the possibility of William Jefferson Clinton).

(Ten years ago, while looking up Isaac Newton in the rare books section of the Library of Congress, I came upon the only book Newton wrote about the Bible - a study of the Prophecies of Daniel and John. A few minutes after asking to see it, I was handed Thomas Jefferson's personal copy. It still bears his initials. Jefferson sold his books to Congress to pay his debts. These books were the beginning of the Library of Congress. Later, I obtained a microfilm of the book, and we published an exact facsimile of Jefferson's copy. Still in print today, this has been a very popular publication.) Now, I have read how terribly wrong have been my impressions. We may need to go through our entire inventory of books crossing out Jefferson's initials. Written by one Conor Cruise O'Brien, illustrated by Ben Verkaaik, and published by The Atlantic Monthly, October 1996, pp 53-74 is the article "Thomas Jefferson: Radical and Racist'' with the subheading, "In the multiracial American future Jefferson will not be thought of as the Sage of Monticello. His flaws are beyond redemption. The sound you hear is the crashing of a reputation.'' The National Review , April 22, 1996, pp 29-32 and November 25, 1996, pp 67-69, has joined this pogrom with "Liberalism and Terror'' by Conor Cruise O'Brien and "Doubting Thomas'' by Forest McDonald.

Jefferson's flaws? Well, of course, he kept slaves as did George Washington. Both men disliked slavery, sought to end it, and suffered financially from neglecting their slave-owning duties while in public service. This is not, however, O'Brien's primary complaint. His main argument is that Jefferson disliked slavery - all slavery, too much, and was too vigorous and uncompromising in his advocacy of human freedom. Moreover (and this is especially remarkable in view of the difficulties Jefferson endured as a result of his efforts to interpret the Bible himself rather than accepting the precepts of organized religion), O'Brien tells us that Jefferson was too religious.

In a double shot, O'Brien tries simultaneously to dilute Jefferson's contribution to the Declaration of Independence and discredit him as a religious fanatic by pointing to changes others on the committee made in his original text. His prime example is Benjamin Franklin's phrase "We hold these truths to be self-evident'' which replaced Jefferson's original, "We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable.''

O'Brien could better have used Jefferson's statement, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.''

O'Brien admits that Abraham Lincoln quoted extensively from Jef-ferson, but warns that Confederate leaders did also and that Jefferson has even been quoted by the Klu Klux Klan. He is especially disturbedthat "Thomas Jefferson approved keeping the spirit of armed rebellion alive in America and elsewhere - 'refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants'.'' Thus, O'Brien claims, Jefferson serves as justification for every patriot and pseudopatriot regardless of whether or not O'Brien approves their cause. He notes that domestic terrorists have quoted Jefferson, so apparently Jefferson should share the blame for any actions that they take.