A Lawyer’s New Jefferson Memorial

Mrs Gordon-Reed is badly mistaken in claiming that Thomas Jefferson fathered seven of Sally Hemings children in her latest book, of which she recently won a major book award. Her first book was in error also by completely rearranging the meaning of Thomas Jefferson's granddaughter's letter to her husband. This act was noted in the Scholars Commission Report (13 scholars) working under agreement with the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society (www.tjheritage.org). The first book, used as a "sort of road map" by Monticello in their study, states also that DNA did not prove that the Eston Hemings descendant was a descendant of Thomas Jefferson. So may we now ask Mrs. Gordon-Reed WHERE she obtained proof for her new book that TJ fathered all 7 of Sally's children. Her BOLDNESS in making these claims is amazing and it seems that she has a clear UNCOMPROMISED challenge ahead. I ask that Newsweek contact me for FULL details of this fiasco and they owe it to the public to give further details. To the public I say........let's challenge these unsubstantiated and willful charges.........I have the inside proof and will assist researchers interested in reclaiming the legacy of Thomas Jefferson..

I ask all citizens to DEMAND some answers from Mrs. Gordon-Reed, Monticello, Prof. Peter Onuf, UVA, Prof. Joseph Ellis, and many others PUSHING this false theory (NO PROOF), and ask WHY and what is their agenda?
In my opinion they are ruining the public's image of Mr. Jefferson and their FALSE charges cannot stand the light of day.

Herb Barger
Jefferswon Family Historian
www.jeffersondna.com

this article definitely is worth sharing. (wish it were possible to e-mail it, without the hassle of cutting and pasting.

The fact that they sustained a relationship for 38 years speaks volumns. There has been nothing written of Jefferson being overly friendly with any other slaves and from what I have read of Ms Hemmings she kept only unto the Pres. They lived in a time when it was not appropriate. If it had been acceptable, who's to say they wouldn't haven't married and lived happily ever after??

The fact that they sustained a relationship for 38 years speaks volumns. There has been nothing written of Jefferson being overly friendly with any other slaves and from what I have read of Ms Hemmings she kept only unto the Pres. They lived in a time when it was not appropriate. If it had been acceptable, who's to say they wouldn't haven't married and lived happily ever after??

Becayuse the morals of freedom are as clear today as they were 200 years ago. No black child is ever born wanting to be a slave. And no black person livivng a slave has any doubts about the immorality of it. For that matter, no white person would accept his own race to be relegated to slavery as morally sound and just. It's arrogant to excuse the immoral hypocritical slavery of those days. She was good enough to sleep with but not good enough to treat with equal respect? Please, Jefferson knew in his mind and heart, with all of his insights, he knew what he was doing was immoral, but again like so many whites of that day, they reasoned it away.

No it is not arrogant. It was arrogant to invent an anti-black slavery society in the first place.

Yes. Becayuse the morals of freedom are as clear today as they were 200 years ago. No black child is ever born wanting to be a slave. And no black person livivng a slave has any doubts about the immorality of it. For that matter, no white person would accept his own race to be relegated to slavery as morally sound and just. It's arrogant to excuse the immoral hypocritical slavery of those days. She was good enough to sleep with but not good enough to treat with equal respect? Please, Jefferson knew in his mind and heart, with all of his insights, he knew what he was doing was immoral, but again like so many whites of that day, they reasoned it away.

No it is not arrogant.

It is important to realize that Jefferson and all the founding fathers believed themselves to be social equal to the landed aristocracy in England. With their land holdings, the Americans could be considered as wealthy as their political counterparts in Europe. With the limitless American frontier, it was impossible to retain a servant class in America. So Jefferson was placed in a precarious position, he was a wealthy man who required servants in order to maintain his social stature. However, the only way to maintain that stature would be through the slave system. With this explanation, it is easy to see why Jefferson chose to ignore his convictions and continue owning slaves. As an ex-president and member of Virginia elite, he simply could not maintain his position in society in their absence.

I know Professor Gordon-Reed, she taught at my law school. I believe that you are missing a major point about the contradiction that was Thomas Jefferson. While simultaneously writing "that all men are created equal" he was a willing participant in a system which subordinated an entire class of human beings. Whether he would have remained faithful to a new wife is irrelevant. He had a relationship with a woman whom he "owned", a woman who lacked the authority to say "no" even if she wanted to. Yes, she had the opportunity to remain a "free" woman in Paris, but that appears to have come after he imposed his legally authorized will upon her. I'm not sure that this fact demonizes Jefferson, I don't think that that is what Professor Gordon-Reed is trying to do. I think that she was addressing the deity that had become Jefferson and showing his human limitations. Two totally contradictory traits can live in the same person at the same time. One can be both revered and reviled at the same time. Adolf Hilter was reportedly never unfaithful to his wife. Yet, on the other hand......

Jefferson was NOT a lifelong proponent of emancipation. He freed only five slaves upon his death and the rest of them (some three dozen) were sold as part of his estate. His idea as to the future of southern slaves was that they be shipped back to Africa and manage their own way if they could. He also prosecuted the return of slaves emancipated by the British during the Revolutionary War (or that the British pay compensation).

Always missing from this discussion is the fascinating fact that Jefferson's wife died when he was 39, and she forced him to swear (on her deathbed) never to re-marry. It was a selfish thing to do, and without it Jefferson might well have married again and never have been tempted by Hemmings. It is incredible to think that for the second half of his life, 39 years, he foreswore marriage in order to fulfill a promise that could never have been known (except to him) to have been broken. That's a scrupulously moral man, at least in that regard; it is reasonable to suspect that he would have been faithful to a new wife. Anyone who makes quick judgements about Jefferson being hypocritical are speaking out of ignorance or bias.

Always missing from this discussion is the fascinating fact that Jefferson's wife died when he was 39, and she forced him to swear (on her deathbed) never to re-marry. It was a selfish thing to do, and without it Jefferson might well have married again and never have been tempted by Hemmings. It is incredible to think that for the second half of his life, 39 years, he foreswore marriage in order to fulfill a promise that could never have been known (except to him) to have been broken. That's a scrupulously moral man, at least in that regard; it is reasonable to suspect that he would have been faithful to a new wife. Anyone who makes quick judgements about Jefferson being hypocritical are speaking out of ignorance or bias.