Jefferson’s material interests required slavery regardless of his stated beliefs

Evidence

In 1809, Jefferson estimated his net worth to be 225,000 (roughly 3.3 million in 2014) based on 10,000 acres of land, a manufacturing mill, 200 slaves, and a mountain of debt. Whether he was proslavery or antislavery, Jefferson needed slavery in 1809 to maintain his financial solvency and life of luxury. — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 378

Categorization

• XREF: A concrete instance of Kendi’s self-interest-before-ideas claim applied to Jefferson himself.