Description
The author of this text sets out to intensify the debate around the possibility that Thomas Jefferson had a sexual relationship with his slave Sally Hemings. They argue that the evidence for this relationship has not been given a fair hearing and that the evidence points to a possible liaison between the two. Gordon-Reed does not take a position on the matter, instead examining the evidence both for and against the proposition. One of the strongest pieces of evidence is the fact that Jefferson's time in public life was limited and that Hemings's six children were born after he had left Virginia.
Rumours of Jefferson's sexual involvement with his slave Sally Hemings have circulated for two centuries. In this text, the author sets out to intensify the debate, arguing not that the events necessarily took place, but that the evidence for their taking place has been denied a fair hearing.
Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor of law at New York Law School, doesn't take a position for or against the proposition that Thomas Jefferson may have had a liaison of nearly 40 years with a slave named Sally Hemings, and that Hemings may have borne him several children. Instead, in this scrupulously researched book, Gordon-Reed examines the evidence both for and against Jefferson's liasion with Hemings. Among the strongest evidence in this provocative book is the fact that though Jefferson's time in Virginia was limited when he was in public life, Hemings's six children--born over 15 years--were delivered with months after each of Jefferson's stays at Monticello.
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