I know this is kind of a historical side note but it is relevant in the respect that it sheds light on subject of Thomas Jefferson's inner turmoil concerning slavery and racism. Jefferson struggled with the notion of slavery in the context of his time and the story of he and Sally Hemings is one that is still controversial and hotly debated today. Talk about something having legs, this issue has surpassed and outlasted long forgotten scandal of the day. Of late, there have been many studies both scientific and genealogical conducted on the relationship of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Many books have been written and it has graced the national news more than once. The story of the two who allegedly had an affair for thirty-eight years is one not to be overlooked. It demonstrates the complexity of its time and the unfaltering viewpoint of Jefferson himself that his racist viewpoint may be wrong.
Jefferson's wife, Martha died in 1782 and Jefferson was devastated by the loss. His appointment in Paris in 1784 during this tumultuous time in his life confounded his grief. An outbreak of epidemic disease in Virginia prompted him to send for his daughter, Maria. Her travelling companion was one of his slaves left to the estate by Martha, Sally Hemings. Sally Hemings was thought to be the youngest half sister of Thomas Jefferson's wife Martha through her father and one of his slaves, Elizabeth Hemings. Upon his death, all of the Hemings family became the property of Martha and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson requested that a companion be sent with the child and since the preferred companion, Isabel had recently given birth, Sally Hemings was to be her substitute. As rumor has it, at some point during her two year stay in France, Sally Hemings became pregnant by Jefferson and under new French law could have petitioned for her freedom and stayed in France instead of returning with Jefferson to the United States and a continued life of servitude for her and her unborn child. The story goes that she refused to return with Jefferson unless he would agree to free her children. Jefferson agreed and they returned to the States where two of Sally's children were "given their time" and five more were freed upon Jefferson's death. For a widower such as Thomas Jefferson, the taking of a slave for companionship was a fairly common practice, at least in the southern states of America during the 1600, 1700 and 1800's.
Unfortunately, during the election of 1804, the Federalist party got wind of the illicit affair (alleged) and did a bit of media mudslinging. The 1804 campaign became known for this juicy tidbit but it had little effect on the election and Jefferson still won by leaps and bounds, carrying fifteen of the seventeen states.
At the end of the day, the story about Jefferson and Hemings is a propos to the great American contradiction, the dichotomy of "all men are created equal" and the peculiar institution on which the life and fortune of Jefferson were built. Almost all Anglo-Saxon people of the day, even the abolitionists, were of the opinion that African-Americans were racially inferior. Jefferson agonized over this and even though he was inclined toward racism, he held out the possibility that he might be wrong. He was a revolutionary in his thinking at that time.
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