Thomas Jefferson is widely regarded as a champion of liberty and an advocate of freedom. However, he also owned slaves. How do you reconcile his public memory with his personal behavior? Does the Declaration of Independence's famous second-paragraph ("We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness") mean anything to you? What do you think Jefferson meant when he wrote that "all men" are created equal? Does "all men" include African American men? Does "all men" include women?

Discuss the extensive planning Lewis conducted prior to beginning his voyage of discovery. Did he plan correctly? What items did he take that he never used? What items should he have taken? After the expedition Lewis remarked that he should...