Tom Jeff was checkered. The same law of the creator that gave him permission to buck the king apparently didn’t give his chattel slaves permission to buck him.
I don’t idolize a one of them, although George Washington probably had the most class of all. He knew when young that his temper was short and took great pains to prevent himself from flaring up. And he ended up being the most level headed of them all (I think he succeeded in getting Satan to flee from him).
George Washington- one of the greatest men ever to stride the planet. A good and humble man.
Years ago, when our kids were young, we visited a bunch of the homes of the early Presidents. I spent some time learning about each man. My opinion of Andrew Jackson remained about the same, my opinions of Madison, Monroe, and particularly Jefferson went down, and my opinion of Washington increased. He wasn't perfect by any means but there was a lot to admire in Washington.
I was referring to the Barbary pirates situation.