DOCSLIB.ORG

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings Author(S): Pearl M

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings Author(S): Pearl M Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings Author(s): Pearl M. Graham Source: The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr., 1961), pp. 89-103 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2716715 Accessed: 26-07-2018 16:00 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Association for the Study of African American Life and History, The University of Chicago Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Negro History This content downloaded from 207.62.77.131 on Thu, 26 Jul 2018 16:00:10 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms THOMAS JEFFERSON AND SALLY HEMINGS Thomas Jefferson had been only briefly in the White House when reports, long circulated in the neighborhoods of Richmond and Charlottesville, began to appear in print. Some of Jefferson's own slaves, it was agreed, bore a striking re- semblance to their master. And one name, that of Sally Hem- ings1, appeared as the most favored of the colored mistresses. Jefferson himself took, at least in public, a "No com- ment" attitude. But his own private holograph papers,2 now available for study, are consistent with the supposition that he was the father of all Sally Hemings' children. Sally was born in 1773 to Betty Hemings,3 a slave of John Wayles of Charles City County, whose daughter, Martha, had been married, the preceding year, to Thomas Jefferson of Monticello.4 Jefferson's records make no note of Sally's paternity, and possibly with good reason. For Sally was so much lighter in color than her mulatto mother as to justify the presumption that her father was white. Local gossip assigned her paternity, and that of some of her older sib- lings, to their master, John Wayles. If gossip spoke truth, Sally Hemings was half-sister to Mrs. Thomas Jefferson.6 But John Wayles died within a few months of Sally's birth, and Betty Hemings, with her descendants, became, by right of his wife, the property of Thomas Jefferson.6 From this time forward, Monticello was 'home.' There were interesting hiatuses. The first came during the Revolution. Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, was an inevitable target of the British forces. Twice he, himself, 1 Spelled also, Hemmings. Jefferson used both spellings, but, most often, Henings. 2 Especially his Farm Book. 3 See Jefferson's Farm Book. 4 See R. B. Henry: Genealogies of the Families of the Presidents. 5 See Isaac Jefferson: Memoirs of a Monticello Slave, Univ. of Virginia Press, 1951. Sundry other commentators of the period noted the current belief that one of Jefferson's slave mistresses was Martha Jefferson's half-sister. Not all of them mentioned Sally by name. 6According to the law of the day, a married woman could hold no property, but all of which she might, as maid or widow, have become possessed, became, on her marriage, the absolute property of her husband. 89 This content downloaded from 207.62.77.131 on Thu, 26 Jul 2018 16:00:10 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 90 JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY escaped only by dint of expert horsemanship and the work of a skilled slave blacksmith who had taken the precaution of shoeing his master's horse backwards.7 Jefferson sent a num- ber of his slaves, including several of the Hemingses, to York for safety. The ruse was unsuccessful. Small Sally was among a group captured by the British, who presently con- signed a number of the able-bodied males for sale elsewhere.8 But the British army was in too precarious a position to bother much with little girls, and presently Sally and her mother were again at Monticello. Life was not too hard. Jefferson was a strict discipli- narian, but never a cruel one. There were warm beds and sufficient food.9 There were companions. One can hardly say 'playmates', for a child old enough to play was old enough to run errands. But in the social hierarchy of slavery, the choicest position was that of a competent and trusted house slave. Betty Hemings held this envied place, and trained her daughters in good manners and household management. And if she, and one or more of her daughters, lived in concubinage, it must be remembered that a slave woman had no choice. When Mrs. Jefferson, a few years later, became a con- firmed invalid, Betty Hemings was in charge of the sick room, and Sally, under her mother's supervision, was the little er- rand girl, under call for small services.10 On Mrs. Jefferson's bedside table there stood a little bell, hand-wrought, of iron, at some slave blacksmith's forge. For many months the little girl was wont to come running to her task, at the tinkle of this bell. When Mrs. Jefferson died, nine-year-old Sally was in the room, one of the attendants at her bedside. Jefferson, to mark appreciation of the services rendered his wife, presented to each of her attendants some token of gratitude. To Sally was given the intriguing little bell, at whose call she had so often come running. For the rest of her life, that bell remained a cherished possession, to be handed down to her own daughter, and, in turn, to hers, even unto 7 Tradition of Sally's descendants. 8 See Jefferson's letters in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Ed. Dr. Julian Boyd. The Princeton Press. 9 See Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book, Ed. Edwin Betts. 10 Tradition of Sally's descendants. This content downloaded from 207.62.77.131 on Thu, 26 Jul 2018 16:00:10 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms THOMAS JEFFERSON AND SALLY HEMINGS 91 the fourth generation. One hundred seventy years later, this bell was presented, by a great-granddaughter of Sally Hem- ings and Thomas Jefferson,1 to the library of Howard Uni- versity, where it is now to be seen. After Mrs. Jefferson's death, Monticello was deserted of its owners. Jefferson accepted an appointment to France, and with him he carried his eldest daughter, twelve-year-old Martha. His other surviving children, five-year-old Polly, and the baby, Lucy Elizabeth, were left in care of a kindly maternal aunt.l2 But the baby, Lucy, died, and when Polly was nine, Jefferson wrote directions that she be sent to him in France.13 Fourteen-year-old Sally was chosen to accompany Polly Jefferson.14 This, Jefferson had not intended. He had desig- nated an older servant, sensible and reliable, to be Polly's companion, but at sailing time, Isabel was ill. Ships did not sail often, for the Old World, and, almost on the spur of the moment, Sally was substituted.15 It was a heady experience for the little slave girl, wont to be at everybody's beck and call, suddenly to find herself on shipboard, with no one at hand whose orders she must obey, her only companion the shy, pretty little girl who had won her affection. Sally must have issued her own declaration of independence, for good Captain Ramsay, in whose care the two girls had been put, made his laments later.'6 They debarked at London, where they were taken in charge by Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, later to be second President of the United States.17 Jefferson had ar- ranged that, till he could send a courier to escort them to Paris, the girls should be under Mrs. Adams' chaperonage. Moreover, she was to purchase for Polly a wardrobe suitable 11 Mrs. Lucy Williams Coles. 12 Elizabeth, wife of Frances Eppes of Eppington. 13 See Hamilton Pierson: Jefferson at Monticello. See Jefferson's letters in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Ed. Dr. Julian Boyd. Princeton Press. 14 See correspondence of Abigail Adams with T. Jefferson, in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, supra. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. See also, Polly Jefferson and Her Father by Dudley Malone. Vir- ginia Quarterly Review, Vol. VII, Jan. 1931. This content downloaded from 207.62.77.131 on Thu, 26 Jul 2018 16:00:10 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 92 JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY for the small daughter of a minister to the court of Louis XVI. This she did, and we have in her own handwriting the list of purchases, with the prices, for which Jefferson was to reimburse her. The Adams quarters were presently over- flowing with juvenile finery, whose care Sally, no doubt, was expected to assume. But no purchase, not so much as a far- thing's worth, was made for Sally. Sally won no approval from Abigail Adams, beyond the somewhat grudging "she seems good-natured and fond of the child." She wrote Jefferson that Sally required more care than the child, and was wholly incapable of looking after Polly without some supervisor to direct her. Sally at this time looked older than her actual age, else one might wonder just how much Mrs.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mr. Jefferson S Private Life
    Mr. Jefferson s Private Life DUMAS MALONE IHE ATTACHED letter of Ellen Randolph Coolidge is in the Alderman Library at the University of Virginia in a volume containing copies of her letters to Henry S. Randall and other papers relating to her adored grandfather, Thomas Jefferson. It was written to her husband, Joseph Coolidge, Jr., in Boston, while she was visiting her brother in Albemarle County, Vir- ginia, and it has only recently been released for publication by her great-grandson, Harold Jefferson Coolidge. It bears par- ticularly on certain allegations that had been made against the character of her grandfather, and it has immediate relevance since some of these allegations have been recently revived and widely circulated. The story that the third President of the United States had a brood of children by one of his own slaves was first publi- cized in 1802. The distinction of having given it to the world belongs to an embittered journalist, James Thomson Callender, whose title as the most notorious and most unscrupulous scandalmonger of his generation, or indeed of any American generation, would be difficult to contest.^ It was taken up glee- fully by Jefferson's political enemies and occasioned much ridi- cule and obscenity. Rarely has a president been subjected to 'There is an account of the breaking of this story, and of Callender's relations with his former benefactor, in my book, Jefferson the President: First Term (Boston, 1970), ch. XII. 65 66 American Antiquarian Society such vulgarity and rarely have we had so sensitive a president. Nevertheless, Jefferson, following his consistent policy with respect to personal attacks, made no public response of any sort.
    [Show full text]
  • Jefferson's Failed Anti-Slavery Priviso of 1784 and the Nascence of Free Soil Constitutionalism
    MERKEL_FINAL 4/3/2008 9:41:47 AM Jefferson’s Failed Anti-Slavery Proviso of 1784 and the Nascence of Free Soil Constitutionalism William G. Merkel∗ ABSTRACT Despite his severe racism and inextricable personal commit- ments to slavery, Thomas Jefferson made profoundly significant con- tributions to the rise of anti-slavery constitutionalism. This Article examines the narrowly defeated anti-slavery plank in the Territorial Governance Act drafted by Jefferson and ratified by Congress in 1784. The provision would have prohibited slavery in all new states carved out of the western territories ceded to the national government estab- lished under the Articles of Confederation. The Act set out the prin- ciple that new states would be admitted to the Union on equal terms with existing members, and provided the blueprint for the Republi- can Guarantee Clause and prohibitions against titles of nobility in the United States Constitution of 1788. The defeated anti-slavery plank inspired the anti-slavery proviso successfully passed into law with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Unlike that Ordinance’s famous anti- slavery clause, Jefferson’s defeated provision would have applied south as well as north of the Ohio River. ∗ Associate Professor of Law, Washburn University; D. Phil., University of Ox- ford, (History); J.D., Columbia University. Thanks to Sarah Barringer Gordon, Thomas Grey, and Larry Kramer for insightful comment and critique at the Yale/Stanford Junior Faculty Forum in June 2006. The paper benefited greatly from probing questions by members of the University of Kansas and Washburn Law facul- ties at faculty lunches. Colin Bonwick, Richard Carwardine, Michael Dorf, Daniel W.
    [Show full text]
  • C:\Documents and Settings\David Carlson\Desktop\SHA97
    1997 SHA Conference on Historical and Underwater SOCIETY FOR HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY Archaeology Corpus Christi, TX 1997 AWARDS OF MERIT January 8 - 12, 1997 to be presented to PILAR LUNA ERREGUERENA Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico Seaports, Ships, and Central Places TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Abstracts TEXAS ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 1997 J.C. HARRINGTON MEDAL JAMES DEETZ University of Virginia Hosted by Texas A&M University Institute of Nautical Archaeology Ships of Discovery ABSTRACTS 1997 CONFERENCE STAFF Conference Chair and Program Coordinator............. David L. Carlson Terrestrial Program Chair .......................Shawn Bonath Carlson Underwater Program Chair ............................. Denise Lakey Registration Chair .............................. Frederick M. Hocker Society for Historical Archaeology Local Arrangements Chair............................... Toni Carrell Volunteer Coordinator.................................Becky Jobling Tours Coordinator .....................................Mary Caruso 30th Conference on Historical and Book Room Coordinator .......................... Lawrence E. Babits Underwater Archaeology Employment Coordinator............................... Sarah Mascia Conference Coordinator................................. Tim Riordan Hosted by: Texas A&M University Institute of Nautical Archaeology Ships of Discovery January 8-12, 1997 Omni Bayfront Hotel Corpus Christi, Texas With financial support provided by: Corpus Christi Omni Bayfront Hotel Corpus Christi Area Convention &
    [Show full text]
  • The Slaves' Stories
    The Slaves’ Stories Biographical Sketches of the Slaves Portrayed in I Ain’t No Three Fifths of a Person William “Billy” Lee George Washington purchased William Lee (also known as Billy or Will) in 1768. Through primary source research, we believe Billy was at least 16 years old at the time. Early records refer to him as Washington’s “huntsman” which means that he would have accompanied Washington on foxhunts and most likely helped manage his hounds. Washington was considered the best horseman in Virginia and several accounts reflect on Billy’s skill as well. Billy eventually became Washington’s body servant or valet d’chambre. This position kept him by Washington’s side throughout the day and responsible for a number of duties including laying out clothes, helping Washington dress, serving meals as needed, delivering personal correspondence as well as a variety of other tasks. Lee was with General Washington throughout the eight years of the Revolutionary War. Revolutionary War veterans visiting Mount Vernon after the war often stopped to talk with Billy: By all accounts, he enjoyed reminiscing about battles, encampments, and the camaraderie of army life. Billy was with Washington throughout the Constitutional Convention; however, disability kept him from serving President Washington. Several years earlier, Billy broke his kneecap while on a surveying trip with Washington. He broke his second kneecap during an errand to the post office in Alexandria. Despite his disabilities, he was determined to travel to New York for the inauguration. Washington paid to send him; however, Billy fell ill in Philadelphia and was cared for by friends of the Washingtons until he was well enough to travel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jefferson-Hemings Controversy Report of the Scholars Commission
    turner 00 fmt auto cx 3 3/17/11 10:54 AM Page iii The Jefferson-Hemings Controversy Report of the Scholars Commission Edited by Robert F. Turner Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina turner 00 fmt auto cx 3 4/15/11 5:36 AM Page iv Copyright © 2001, 2011 Robert F. Turner All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Scholars Commission on the Jefferson-Hemings Matter. The Jefferson-Hemings controversy : report of the Scholars Commission / edited by Robert F. Turner. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-89089-085-1 (alk. paper) 1. Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826--Relations with women. 2. Hemings, Sally. 3. Jef- ferson, Thomas, 1743–1826--Relations with slaves. 4. Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826-- Family. I. Turner, Robert F. II. Title. E332.2.S35 2010 973.4'6092--dc22 2010031551 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, NC 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America turner 00 fmt auto cx 3 3/17/11 10:54 AM Page v This book is dedicated to the memory of our beloved colleagues Professor Lance Banning Hallam Professor of History University of Kentucky (January 24, 1942–January 31, 2006) and Professor Alf J. Mapp, Jr. Eminent Scholar, Emeritus and Louis I. Jaffe Professor of History, Emeritus Old Dominion University (February 17, 1925–January 23, 2011) turner 00 fmt auto cx 3 3/17/11 10:54 AM Page vii Contents Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Members of the Scholars Commission xvii Scholars Commission on The Jefferson-Hemings Matter, Report 12 April 2001 3 Summary
    [Show full text]
  • Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology Annual Meeting CNEHA Annual Meeting, Oct
    June 2008 NUMBER 70 CONTENTS Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology Annual Meeting CNEHA Annual Meeting, Oct. 24-26, 2008 1 UPDATE--Northeast Historical Archaeology 3 NEWSLETTER EDITOR'S REPORT 3 MINUTES OF THE 2007 ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING 4 LATE BREAKING NEWS: ED LENIK FETED IN TRENTON 6 NEW EXHIBITION: FRANCE, NEW FRANCE 7 CURRENT RESEARCH New Hampshire 9 Massachusetts 9 Rhode Island 9 New York 10 Maryland 11 Virginia 15 NEW PUBLICATION 24 2008 CNEHA MEMBERS 25 2008 DRA ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD SCHOOL 27 CNEHA Has a Permanent Address for Its Website: October 24-26, 2008 http://www.smcm.edu/cneha St. Mary’s City, Maryland COUNCIL FOR NORTHEAST Plans for the 2008 Council for Northeast Histori c a l HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY Archaeology Conference are being finalized and a first Call for Papers has been sent to members. A pre-conference reg- Chairman: Karen Metheny istration fee of $50 for CNEHA members and $25 for Newsletter Editor: David Starbuck CNEHA student members has been set. Students are encour- P.O. Box 492 aged to apply for the student paper competition. A plenary Chestertown, New York 12817-0492 session focused on the subject of the Archaeology of the Tel. & Fax: (518) 494-5583 Atlantic World has been scheduled for Saturday morning fea- Email: [email protected] turing Henry Miller, Julia King, and Mary Beaudry as prin- cipal speakers. The opening reception Friday night will be Northeast Historical Archaeology seeks manuscripts dealing held at the new St. John’s Archaeological exhibit, a 5,500- with historical archaeology in the Northeast region, including square-foot museum of history and archaeology built around field reports, artifact studies, and analytical presentations (e.g., the remains of a 1638 house.
    [Show full text]
  • Slavery on Exhibition: Display Practices in Selected Modern American Museums
    Slavery on Exhibition: Display Practices in Selected Modern American Museums by Kym Snyder Rice B.A. in Art History, May 1974, Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane University M.A. in American Studies, May 1979, University of Hawaii-Manoa A Dissertation submitted to The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 31, 2015 Dissertation directed by Teresa Anne Murphy Associate Professor of American Studies The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University Certifies that Kym Snyder Rice has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of November 22, 2014. This is the final approved form of the dissertation. Slavery on Exhibition: Display Practices in Selected Modern American Museums Kym Snyder Rice Dissertation Research Committee: Teresa Anne Murphy, Associate Professor of American Studies, Dissertation Director Barney Mergen, Professor Emeritus of American Studies, Committee Member Nancy Davis, Professorial Lecturer of American Studies, Committee Member ii © Copyright 2015 by Kym Snyder Rice All rights reserved iii Acknowledgements This dissertation has taken many years to complete and I have accrued many debts. I remain very grateful for the ongoing support of all my friends, family, Museum Studies Program staff, faculty, and students. Thanks to each of you for your encouragement and time, especially during the last year. Many people contributed directly to my work with their suggestions, materials, and documents. Special thanks to Fath Davis Ruffins and Elizabeth Chew for their generosity, although they undoubtedly will not agree with all my conclusions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Architecture of Slavery: Art, Language, and Society in Early Virginia
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1991 The architecture of slavery: Art, language, and society in early Virginia Alexander Ormond Boulton College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the African History Commons, Architecture Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Boulton, Alexander Ormond, "The architecture of slavery: Art, language, and society in early Virginia" (1991). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623813. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-3sgp-s483 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. Hie quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps.
    [Show full text]
  • Deed of Manumission Fro Robert Hemings
    Educational materials were developed through the Making Master Teachers in Howard County Program, a partnership between Howard County Public School System and the Center for History Education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Resource Sheet #13 Source: Deed of Manumission for Robert Hemings, December 24, 1794. From Free Some Day: The African-American families of Monticello, by Lucia Stanton, and Courtesy of the University of Virginia Library. Note: Robert Hemings was the son of Betty Hemings and brother of Sally Hemings. "This indenture witnesseth that I Thomas Jefferson of the county of Albemarle have manumitted and made free Robert Hemings, son of Betty Hemmings: so that in future he shall be free and of free condition, with all his goods and chattels and shall be discharged of all obligation of bondage or servitude whatsoever: and that neither myself, my heirs executors or administrators shall have any right to exact from him hereafter any services or duties whatsoever. In witness whereof, I have put seal to this present deed of manumission. Given in Albemarle County, this twenty-fourth day of December, one thousand, seventeen and ninety-four." Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of D. Carr Th. Jefferson Document Analysis: 1. Define or describe exactly what the term manumitted means to a slave. 2. When Robert was freed, what happened to his possessions? 3. If Jefferson were to die, what would Robert’s obligation be to the Jefferson family? 4. Explain how this document could be used to help answer the question, “Where Did Thomas Jefferson Stand on the Issue of Slavery?” .
    [Show full text]
  • HIS 100: Introduction to Historical Methods: the World of Thomas Jefferson Fall 2010 Professor T. Slaughter Tuesday and Thursday
    HIS 100: Introduction to Historical Methods: The World of Thomas Jefferson Fall 2010 Professor T. Slaughter Tuesday and Thursday RR Library 456, 9:40-10:55. Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 11-noon, and by appointment. 369B RR; 273-2799 [email protected] Thomas Jefferson is an ideal focus for discussions of the range of subjects that fascinated him, from gardening to food, wine, women, education, politics, philosophy, architecture, and plantation management. He provides an exquisite example of Enlightenment culture during the age of revolutions, and of a Founding Father who, as Secretary of State, Vice President, and President attempted to implement the revolutionary and constitutional principles on which the United States was founded. His private correspondence and public papers, his published writings and private musings, give access to Jefferson’s inner landscape as well as the world in which he lived. Through films, non-fiction and fiction, and primary source documents relating to case studies—The Declaration of Independence and its contrast to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense; the Burr Conspiracy; and Jefferson’s relationship with his slave Sally Hemings—we will explore historical research and interpretation, both our own and that of other historians. In particular, we will look at some of the ways that historical research can go wrong, and how historical writing is always a reflection of perspectives rather than of gathered facts, of interpretations rather than recovery, of creativity rather than objective engagement with sources. Your grades will be based on attendance; active, knowledgeable participation in class discussions; and three papers that you will re-write after the first drafts are returned to you.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legend of Sally Hemings
    Acad. Quest. (2012) 25:218–227 DOI 10.1007/s12129-012-9287-6 SPECIAL SECTION: FRAUDS, FALLACIES, FADS, AND FICTIONS The Legend of Sally Hemings Herman Belz Published online: 5 May 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 The part played by Sally Hemings in the life of Thomas Jefferson has been regarded as provocatively dubious since political enemy James Callender claimed in 1802 that Jefferson was the father of several of Hemings’s children. Historian Merrill Peterson, observing that paternity is hard to prove, wrote in 1960 that no concrete evidence was ever produced to support the accusation. Peterson also noted that Jefferson never issued a public denial of the charge. The legend of Sally Hemings has invited endless speculation while remaining apparently impervious to disproof. Perhaps most notably, the story has been periodically recycled to illustrate Jefferson’s moral hypocrisy and white society’s oppression of blacks. In recent years Annette Gordon-Reed’s 1997 study, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy, stands out as the most vigorous and determined effort to defend the legend.1 Gordon-Reed, a professor of law at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, argued that historians treated the story as “too impossible to believe,” on the assumption that Jefferson was “so high as to have been something more than human” and Hemings “so low as to have been something less than human.”2 Gordon- Reed wrote, “It is not my goal to prove that the story is true or that it is false. I suspect that if that is ever done, it will be the result of miracles of 1Annette Gordon-Reed, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy (Charlottesville and London: University of Virginia Press, 1997).
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Jefferson & Community Life at Monticello and the University Of
    NEH LANDMARKS WORKSHOP: All Men are Created Equal? Thomas Jefferson & Community Life at Monticello and the University of Virginia What were the key What were Teacher How did aspects of bios Lesson Ideas Jefferson’s the key space define public aspects of Jefferson’s family? Jefferson’s relationship private with his family? “family”? Room Two Room Three Classroom Room One application Add Picture Here Name of Museum Teacher bios Mary Bailey: Teaches 9th grade English in Virginia. She is a teacher-consultant for the National Writing Project, author of a historical fiction/time travel novel, and an avid hiker/camper with her family. Victoria Berger: Teaches Special Education in New York City. She enjoys learning more about historical events and different perspectives throughout history. She enjoys traveling, seeing broadway shows, and spending time with friends and family. Zharmile’ Ford: Teaches 7th grade Civics and 8th grade U.S. History in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is her 17th year in the field of education. She considers herself a lifelong learner and enjoys her family, reading and swimming. Joe Haber: Teaches at Horizon Middle School at Osceola County in Kissimmee, Florida. This is his third year teaching. He teaches Civics and is a fellow of the Justice Teaching Institute with the Florida Supreme Court. Alexandra Kilhoffer: Teaches 9th and 10th grade English in rural Kansas, where she lives with her husband of eight years. Marianne Santo: Teaches social studies at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park, CA. She enjoys traveling and sharing her experiences (and photos) with her students. Back to Lobby Note: Virtual museums were first introduced by educators at Keith Valley Middle School in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
    [Show full text]