Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, has been turned into a left-wing propaganda center.  There is more emphasis placed on the fact that he owned slaves than his moral accomplishments.  Throughout the plantation there are boards that link Jefferson to slavery.  During tours (one of which is called the "Slavery at Monticello Tour"), half of the comments about Jefferson are negative, and signage throughout the estate includes the word "enslaved" for every job description such as "enslaved cook."  There is an entire section on the Monticello website dedicated to slavery that starts out with this statement: "Thomas Jefferson wrote that 'all men are created equal,' and yet enslaved more than 600 people over the course of his life."

This is the letter that I sent to Monticello:

I see that you have caved in to the lies about Thomas Jefferson, one of the greatest men that ever lived.  You slander him because he owned slaves. Have you read history?  Slavery existed world-wide at the beginning of our country, it was not unique to us, nor was it our fault that it existed. But it was Jefferson's famous words "all men are created equal" that led to the end of slavery in this country.

When Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he included banning slavery, but the southern states would not agree.  The Founders thought that without the south they wouldn't have a country so they decided to delete it and deal with the problem later.  Indeed, it was dealt with later — the Civil War.  Also, don't forget that it was Jefferson who promoted Article 1 section 9 of the Constitution which prohibited the importation of slaves into the country starting on January 1, 1808.

Jefferson's idea that all men are equal was a radical idea, and it took time for people to change their attitudes about slavery. However, some people have not changed their attitude about it as there are countries that still have slavery today.  But our country got rid of it.

Why didn't he free his slaves even though he was opposed to slavery? Because it was unlawful in the state of Virginia at that time.

It is unforgivable that you are smearing Thomas Jefferson. You should be ashamed of yourselves for denigrating the man whose words eventually led to the abolition of slavery.

Slander against Thomas Jefferson is slander against the Declaration of Independence, the very document that provides the foundation for freedom for all people.  It is defamation against America and her founding in general.  It is Critical Race Theory and the 1619 project brought despicably into Jefferson's own home, a home he built.  If he is so terrible, stop touring his house.  Don't make his house into a shrine against him and everything he achieved.

Obsessing about slavery in Jefferson's own house is a slap in the face of a great man who worked hard and risked everything for all our freedoms, including black Americans.  Could these ignorant and cowardly critics write the Declaration themselves?  Would they even have the courage and wisdom to abhor slavery amidst a dominant culture that accepted it, as Jefferson did?

We should all stand up and defend this great man and our Founders, even the slaveholding ones, who changed history.  Instead, Monticello is questioning the goodness of this giant and his compatriots, and even the goodness and effectiveness of the Declaration of Independence: "Is 'all men created equal' being lived up to in our country today?  When will we know when it is?"

Ayn Rand said, "I want you to look at the birth of a miracle: the United States of America.  If it is ever proper for men to kneel, we should kneel when we read the Declaration of Independence.  The concept of individual rights is so prodigious a feat of political thinking that few men grasp it fully" (A Nation's Unity).

Not only do the people at Monticello not grasp it fully, but they don't grasp it at all and are therefore not worthy of the man whose house and legacy are entrusted to them.  Let the people running Monticello know what you think about their betrayal of America and her heroes.  Let them know what you think about their traitorous actions toward the document of freedom and the man who wrote it.  It is time to speak up before it is too late.

Charlotte Cushman is a Montessori educator who taught for over 40 years and co-owned and operated two Montessori schools.  She authored Montessori: Why It Matters for Your Child's Success and Happiness, Effective Discipline the Montessori Way, and Your Life Belongs to You.  She has been involved in the study of Ayn Rand's philosophy since 1970.  Her book website is Cushmanbooks.com, and her opposition to social justice in Montessori website is authenticmontessorieducation.com.