How do you explain Thomas Jefferson’s views in his Notes on the State of Virginia, and how did anti-racists like Benjamin Banneker respond to Jefferson?

The Development of Racist Theory

The Open Stax text discusses the racism common among European Americans (and the “founding fathers”) at the end of the Revolution. Documents in our coursepack also explore this subject.

How do you explain Thomas Jefferson’s views in his Notes on the State of Virginia (see the course pack, p.164), and how did anti-racists like Benjamin Banneker respond to Jefferson?