"Thomas Jefferson: Family in Bondage"

The aim of my thesis is to shed some light on the role of slavery at Monticello and President Jefferson's role as a slaveholder. In particular, I will attempt to clarify how some of Jefferson's slaves grew so close to his own family that they were granted freedom¿an unusual act, considering their status as slaves. Yet my final goal is to circumscribe the vast number of slaves to a restrict group of individuals with the aim of attempting to investigate the course of their personal lives, how they were affected by Jefferson's decisions, and how Jefferson's life had been affected by his slaves. In fact, it is extremely important to outline that Jefferson was not only the third President of the United States, from 1801 to 1809, but also that he was a major slaveholder. He owned several plantations in Virginia and an estimated 607 slaves throughout the course of his life.