| For years, I’ve been interested in solving a mystery: why were Thomas Jefferson’s words about slavery at his memorial in Washington doctored in a way that makes him seem like an abolitionist? Millions of people have gazed at a giant plaque at the memorial that reads, “Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.” But it leaves out the next sentence that Jefferson wrote: “Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government.” Nor does it mention that Jefferson, who enslaved more than 600 people in his lifetime, said Black people should face “deportation.” As a Jefferson scholar and investigative reporter, I wanted to find out why these statements had been omitted. I tracked down leads and, at a University of Virginia archive, I found answers in meeting minutes and a diary written by the man who played a key role in choosing the plaque’s language: Jefferson’s great-great-grandson, Jefferson Randolph Kean. My research became this series examining the president’s life, from his many justly celebrated achievements as the author of the revolution’s founding document to the contradictions of his convictions — and why his story continues to be important as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary. | 
