rginia, Jefferson outlined his plan of gradual emancipation. This provided that all slaves born after the passing of the slavery abolition act should be freed, that they should remain with their parents for a time, that they should be trained at public expense for useful employment, and that they should be colonized as soon as they reached maturity. He proposed to send them somewhere, probably into the vast interior of the continent, and to aid them in the establishment of a free and independent society. They were to remain in alliance with the white man's state, however, until they were strong enough to stand alone. Meanwhile, an equal number of white settlers would be brought from Europe to replace them. He regarded this as a humane and realistic plan.
It is interesting to note that despite Jefferson's belief that slavery was immoral, he still believed that people of black and white races should not live together. For the rest of his life he was to insist that those blacks who gained their liberty by operation of the laws, emancipation or otherwise must, within a specified period of time, depart the state or lose their newly acquired liberty. In addition, a white woman with child
...