Theory of mind
Theory of mind can also help historians to more properly understand historical figures' character, e.g. Thomas Jefferson, who emancipationists, like Douglas L. Wilson and scholars at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, view as an opponent of slavery all his life, noting that Jefferson did what he could within the limited range of options available to him to undermine it, his many attempts at abolition legislation, the manner in which he provided for slaves, and his advocacy of their more humane treatment. This is in contrast to the revisionists like Paul Finkelman, criticizes Jefferson for racism, slavery, and hypocrisy. Emancipationist views on this hypocrisy recognize that if he tried to be true to his word, it would have alienated his fellow Virginians. Franklin D. Roosevelt did not join NAACP leaders in pushing for federal anti-lynching legislation, as he believed that such legislation was unlikely to pass and that his support for it would alienate Southern congressmen, including many of Roosevelt's fellow Democrats.