Good day citizens and welcome to what would Jefferson do our weekly opportunity to discuss

current American events with President Thomas Jefferson who is seated across from me now good day to

you sir good day to you my dear citizen

mr jeferson i have a question from one of your listeners a randy kirk patrick

he believe he comes from the state of kansis sir And he was interested to talk to you.

Now, you, sir, are responsible for the existence of Kansas.

Is that overstating things?

Maybe a little.

I bought Kansas from Napoleon Bonaparte.

It was one of the 11 states later carved out of the Louisiana Purchase.

He wants to know, looking at our nation from what you know about it during my time, did freeing the slaves realize

your greatest hope or your greatest fear for our country?

Oh, it actually cuts both ways, I'm afraid to say. I knew that nothing was more certainly

written in the Book of Fate than that this people must and would be free, that we could

not in the long run sustain the outrageous and

abominable institution of slavery. I hope that the emancipation would come

sooner rather than later. I hope that it would somehow happen in a

benign way that wouldn't greatly disrupt the agricultural life of the

South or create race riots or reprisals and so on, but I will tell you this. My biggest

concern was not emancipation, but what comes after emancipation, and I will say,

although I hesitate to say it, that I could not look with any

equanimity on the idea of a biracial republic.

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