the hemingses of monticello by annette gordon reed

It is easy to apply political correctness to the knowledge now widely acknowledged that Jefferson not only owned slaves but had 6 children with the poor beleaguered Sally Hemings, but Annette Gordon-Reed doesn't bring political correctness, she brings scholarship and the stories of individuals who made individual decisions. There is no excuse for slavery, but there was nuance this book explores.

Both received special allowances that made it their choice to live as slaves at Monticello rather than stay in France as free people. Since France had no slavery, Sally and her brother James were legally free, yet they worked with Jefferson to make a deal to return to Virginia. On a 5 year trip to Paris, Jefferson pays her and her brother salaries, pays for medical expenses including small-pox inoculation as well as education and experiences that would give them a taste of life as international diplomats. Sally would have been 3/4 white and the half sister of his dead wife. It is fascinating to learn the details of so many aspects of Jefferson's relationship to slavery and the Hemings family. After 250 years the relationship between Jefferson and his slave Sally Heming are presented in the context of Jefferson's relationship with her whole family - it's complicated. This is not historical fiction, it is a straight historical study of documents, diaries, letters and archeology. After the death of his wife, Jefferson becomes involved with one of Elizabeth's children, Sally. She is the author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, which won the. In her new book Gordon-Reed has not abandoned her incisive legal approach to evidence, but here she has essentially become a historian, and a superb one. When John Wayles dies, Jefferson inherits farms and slaves including the remaining Hemings family members. When Jefferson marries Martha Wayles, her father John gave Jefferson several Hemings family members. Elizabeth was purchased by John Wayles who had several children with her. The story begins with Elizabeth Hemings, Sally's mother. This is the story of the Hemings family whom Thomas Jefferson famously owned for 5 decades.

The hemingses of monticello by annette gordon reed