Did you know that Thomas Jefferson was a President of the United States? Did you know he wrote the Declaration of Independence? If you went to the Smithsonian recently, you may not remember anything more than the fact that he was a slave owner.
Watch the film below:
The Smithsonian film said:
“Over time physical difference mattered. And with the development of the trans Atlantic slave trade, landowners began replacing their temporary European laborers with enslaved Africans who were held in permanent bondage. Soon a new social structure emerged based primarily on skin color, with those of English ancestry at the top and African slaves and American Indians at the bottom. By 1776 when "All men are created equal" was written into the Declaration of Independence by a slave holder named Thomas Jefferson...”
“That's how you are going to describe one of the greatest men in history?” Pat asked.
Glenn pointed out that yes, Jefferson did own slaves, but that was not the sum total of all the things he did when it came to the founding of the country or laying the groundwork for the end of slavery in America.
Aside from attacking Jefferson and the Founders, the Smithsonian has also selectively chosen what facts to share about progressives.
“The rise of race science supported the common belief that people who were not white were biologically inferior,” the film says.
“How come they didn't mention that that was the progressive movement that did that?” Glenn asked.
Glenn then addressed some of the radical progressive (and racist) actions of the past, including Woodrow Wilson screening KKK lauded “Birth of a Nation” film in the White House, FDR’s Japanese internment camps, and Andrew Jackson’s rounding up of the Indians. For some reason, none of these were mentioned in the Smithsonian film.
For more on the Smithsonian exhibit, click here to read about The Blaze's visit to the exhibit.