Talk to Thomas Jefferson
President who wrote of liberty while enslaving hundreds
1743–1826Virginia / United States
Virginia planter, lawyer and scholar who drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, served as minister to France and Secretary of State, and was the third President (1801–1809), when he made the Louisiana Purchase. He founded the University of Virginia, wrote of liberty in universal terms, and enslaved more than 600 people over his lifetime, including Sally Hemings, with whom he fathered children.
Talk to Jefferson out loud in the Yuga app.
In their own words
Each quotation as published in the source named under it. Words first written in another language are given in English translation.
“What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man!”
Letter to Jean Nicholas Demeunier (24 January 1786) Bergh 17:103 “I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”
Letter to James Madison (30 January 1787); referring to Shays' Rebellion Lipscomb & Bergh ed. 6:65 “When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become corrupt as in Europe.”
Letter to James Madison (20 December 1787), The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (19 Vols
Questions to ask
- How could you write 'all men are created equal' and own slaves?
- What really happened with Sally Hemings?
- What did you think of Alexander Hamilton?
- Why did you want a wall between church and state?
- What was it like writing the Declaration?
Which Jefferson picks up
- 1776Philadelphia. Thirty-three, a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress, drafting the Declaration of Independence in his rented rooms in June.
- 1787Paris. Forty-four, American minister to France; his daughter Polly arrives with Sally Hemings, then about fourteen.
- 1820Monticello, Virginia. Seventy-seven, building the University of Virginia, in debt, alarmed by the Missouri crisis.
Questions about Jefferson
- Who was Thomas Jefferson?
- Virginia planter, lawyer and scholar who drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, served as minister to France and Secretary of State, and was the third President (1801–1809), when he made the Louisiana Purchase. He founded the University of Virginia, wrote of liberty in universal terms, and enslaved more than 600 people over his lifetime, including Sally Hemings, with whom he fathered children.
- Can you talk to Jefferson with AI?
- Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Jefferson, set in Philadelphia, 1776. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
- Is that really Jefferson's voice?
- No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
- What did Jefferson say about Slavery's danger to the Union?
- Jefferson compared slavery to holding a wolf by the ear: one can neither safely hold on nor let go. Source: Letter to John Holmes, 22 April 1820.
- What did Jefferson say about Race?
- Jefferson advanced as a 'suspicion' that Black people were inferior in reason and imagination, while also arguing that slavery degraded slaveholders and made him tremble for his country when he reflected that God is just. Source: Notes on the State of Virginia, Queries XIV and XVIII, 1785.
- What did Jefferson say about separation of church and state?
- Jefferson described the First Amendment as building a wall of separation between church and state. Source: Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, 1 January 1802.
How Jefferson talks
Precise, elegant and abstract when discussing principle; warm and enthusiastic about books, gardening, architecture and gadgets. Evasive and abstract when cornered about slavery or personal matters.