Week 12: Ethical Use of Information

Original Text: Thomas Jefferson was many things, but mostly he was a creature of paradox: the wealthy Virgina aristocrat who wrote the most famous statement of equality in American history; the sincere advocate of agrarian simplicity who worshipped at the art and architecture of Paris; above all, the fervent believer in human freedom who lived his entire life as a slave owner. The last paradox has always seemed the most poignant, is part because Jefferson himself acknowledged the massive gap between is principled ideal and his personal reality, and in part because the paradox Jefferson lived was emblematic of the larger disjunction in American society- now generally regarded as the central dilemma of American history- between the promise of liberty and the fact of racial discrimination.

Ellis, Joseph j. “Jefferson’s Cop-out.” Civilization 3: (December/January, 1996-97): p 46.

1. F: Correct Documentation: Distorted Value Added

Kids don’t have any heroes to look up to in contemporary society, so we need to look to the past to find examples of leaders who approached perfection. We need to remember our Founding Fathers as men of unblemished good character and important accomplishments. For example, Joseph J. Ellis calls Thomas Jefferson a “fervent believer in human freedom,” a “sincere advocate of agrarian simplicity,” a man of “principled ideals,” and the author of “the most famous statement of equality in American history” (46).

WORKS CITED Ellis, Joseph j. “Jefferson’s Cop-out.” Civilization 3: (December/January, 1996-97): p 46-53.

The author of this paragraph takes specific phrases from the original source to support a statement that distorts the original document. The original statement says that Jefferson was a paradox of human, who was the author of the greatest freedom giving document in the world but was also a slave owner. This paragraph attempts to portray Jefferson as a perfect man who did everything for the good of others.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        2. H: Correct Documentation: Synthesis and Value Added

Joseph J. Ellis argues that Jefferson inhabited throughout his life a series of contradictions between his beliefs, which were liberal and far ahead of their time, and his own behavior and position in society, which forced him into a much more conservative position (46). But Jefferson was not the only one who had to face the disjunction between a belief in freedom and the reality of being an owner of slaves. George Washington, for example, never expressed abolitionist sentiments, but he freed his slaves in his will.

WORKS CITED Ellis, Joseph j. “Jefferson’s Cop-out.” Civilization 3: (December/January, 1996-97): p 46-53

The author of this paragraph has a clear grasp of the concepts presented by the original source and synthesizes them very well by saying that Jefferson’s beliefs were far ahead of his time, but he was forced into a conservative life due to his position in life. They add value to these concepts by showing that Jefferson wasn’t the only person with conflicting beliefs and life choices, this is done by bringing up George Washington who also was a highly influential politician that despite owning slaves, released them after his death allowing them their freedom.

3. C: Inadequate Documentation: General Acknowledgements

Now that DNA tests have established that Thomas Jefferson almost certainly was the father of at least on child by his slave Sally Hemmings, we can add yet another layer to the paradox Jefferson lived. He was an aristocrat who believed in equality, a slave owner who advocated abolition, a man wo loved the simple rural life but was also a sophisticated connoisseur of European architecture. Now we find out that he was also a man who denounced black women as inherently unattractive in his Notes on the State of Virginia, yet he was sleeping with one himself.

WORKS CITED Ellis, Joseph j. “Jefferson’s Cop-out.” Civilization 3: (December/January, 1996-97): p 46. Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia

                The author of this paragraph refers the original document's ideas but does not quote them. Even though the author briefly mentions that Jefferson was a paradox, the lack of quotes and specifics seems to brush off the source material.

4. B: Fraud: Paraphrasing

If we look at history more closely, it becomes harder and harder to find anybody who is an unblemished hero. One famous American, Thomas Jefferson, was many things, but mostly he was a creature of paradox: a wealthy Virginian who wrote a famous statement of equality, a sincere advocate of simplicity who worshiped the art and architecture of Paris; above all, a strong believer in human freedom who lived his entire life as a slave owner. Jefferson himself acknowledged the massive gap between his principled ideals and his personal reality. We may not like to think so, but our whole American society is caught in that same central dilemma: between the promise of liberty and the fact of racial discrimination.

                This paragraph is an example of verbatim because the author paraphrases the original document, doesn’t include any quotations and does not cite the author of the original source thus discrediting the author.

5. H. Correct Documentation: Synthesis and Value Added

Joseph J. Ellis portrays Thomas Jefferson as a man who embodied, in his life and in his beliefs, “the central dilemma of American history: (46). For Ellis, the “most poignant” aspect of Jefferson as a creature of paradox: (46) was that he believed deeply in freedom, yet he couldn’t quite bring himself to free is slaves. Ellis calls attention to other important tensions as well: although Jefferson believed n living a simple rural life, he spent years living a cosmopolitan life in Paris, and served two terms in the White House at the center of American power; although he believed in equity he considered himself an aristocrat. Ellis’s portrait makes this central figure in American history more complex, and he suggests that American history as a whole is hard to get a grasp on, because it, too, is riddled with paradoxes. Ellis’s argument about American historical paradoxes is even more valid today than it was in Jefferson’s time. We live in a country of freedom and oppression, of ideals and cynicism, of opportunity and hopelessness. Which America you live in depends on who you are. Jefferson is particularly interesting because, as Ellis demonstrates, he managed to have one foot in two of these Americas at the same time, and it almost tore him apart. Whether the problems of post-9/11 America will now tear this society apart remains an open question, but an examination of Jefferson can help to point us to an answer.

WORKS CITED Ellis, Joseph j. “Jefferson’s Cop-out.” Civilization 3: (December/January, 1996-97): p 46-53.

                The author of this paragraph does an excellent job of forming the source material into the structure of their own paragraph and into their own ideas. Added value comes when the author explains how the original document shows how complex Jefferson was and how American history is hard to grasp due to the complexities of the people and of the events that took place, and that by unraveling these complexities we can come up with answers on how  to deal with modern-day issues in our own society.