Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings
Subtitle: An American Controversy
Edition: New Ed edition
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Published: April 1998
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 320
ISBN-13: 9780813918334
Subjects: American history: c 1800 to c 1900; Biography: general; POLITICS & GOVERNMENT; United States - 19th Century; History - U.S.; Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - Histor; Biography & Autobiography; Relations with women; Biography/Autobiography; USA; Jefferson, Thomas,; Presidents & Heads of State; History - General History; Historical - General; 1743-1826; Hemings, Sally; Relations with slaves
Description: Rumors of Thomas Jefferson's sexual involvement with his slave Sally Hemings have circulated for two centuries. It remains, among all aspects of Jefferson's renowned life, perhaps the most hotly contested topic. With Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Annette Gordon-Reed promises to intensify this ongoing debate as she identifies glaring inconsistencies in many noted scholars' evaluations of the existing evidence.

She has assembled a fascinating and convincing argument: not that the alleged thirty-eight-year liaison necessarily took place but rather that the evidence for its taking place has been denied a fair hearing.

Possessing both a layperson's unfettered curiosity and a lawyer's logical mind, Annette Gordon-Reed writes with a style and compassion that are irresistible. Her analysis is accessible, with each chapter revolving around a key figure in the Hemings drama. The resulting portraits are engrossing and very personal. Gordon-Reed also brings a keen intuitive sense of the psychological complexities of human relationships - relationships that, in the real world, often develop regardless of status or race.

The most compelling element of all, however, is her extensive and careful research, which often allows the evidence to speak for itself.