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A Child, Sally Hemings -- An Unsuccessful Gordon-Reed [AGR 160-66]

Kathryn Martin

with comment by Michelle Juarez

[1] For decades, historians have argued whether or not a controversial scandal between Thomas Jefferson and one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, took place. Once again, another historian explores this long-debated issue. However, this female African-American lawyer-cum historian does not want to dwell on whether or not the relationship might have happened. Annette Gordon-Reed desires to revisit the controversy by focusing on what she really believes is at stake -- the "proper regard for the humanity and integrity of blacks who were enslaved at Monticello" (vii). And by this, she is referring to historians' inability to see Sally as anything but Callender's "Dusky Sally." Gordon-Reed wishes to prove that Sally could have been more than, in Callender's words, "a slut as common as the pavement" and, instead, a strong, mature, beautiful women who could have been in a relationship with Jefferson. However, there are historians who believe Jefferson would have never been attracted to one of his simple, dumb slaves.

[2] Two such historians are Douglass Adair and John C. Miller, who believe it would have been "impossible for Jefferson to have been attracted to Hemings because he would have seen her as little more than a child" (161). However, Gordon-Reed states that their accusation is supported by only two sources, Abigail Adams and Captain Ramsey, a ship captain. Both of these sources encountered Sally Hemings while she was bringing Polly, Jefferson's youngest daughter, overseas to live with him in France. Adams described Sally as "quite a child" and "as wanting more care than Jefferson's child" when they first met each other (160-61). Gordon-Reed believes this is only the case because Adams was expecting Polly to arrive with a middle-aged woman, not a young slave girl. Therefore, no matter how responsible Sally might have been, Adams would compare her to the different kind of woman whom she had envisioned as Polly's companion. Adair and Miller's second source was the ship captain, Ramsey, who had offered to take Sally back to the United States because he didn't believe she would be very helpful or useful to Jefferson (161). Gordon-Reed believes this suggestion was improper for a ship captain to make; it was not up to him to decide who would be useful to Jefferson. She also believes Ramsey had an alternative, sexual agenda. Gordon-Reed believes if Jefferson had sent her back on the ship, Sally would have been taken advantage of sexually by Ramsey and his sailors (161).

[3] Adair and Miller use Abigail Adams and Captain Ramsey as their primary sources to create a child-like version of Sally Hemings. Because neither Adams nor Ramsey was close to Jefferson, his family, or Sally, Gordon-Reed determines that these sources are invalid and could not accurately evaluate Sally's maturity. Yet Abigail Adams was a very intelligent woman, best known in the popular mind for the letters exchanged with her husband John. Abigail Adams seems too reputable a source for Gordon-Reed to slight so easily. And not only would Ramsay have had day-to-day contact with Sally on the long voyage, virtually accusing him of lascivious intentions without any proof seems quite uncalled for. Therefore these sources for Sally's immaturity are more reliable than Gordon-Reed gives them credit to be.

[4] Gordon-Reed defends Sally's maturity with two other sources -- Jefferson himself and the Eppeses, the family who took care of Polly. Jefferson's writing never discloses any concern about Sally's age or maturity. In Paris, Jefferson didn't require any more servants than he already had. Instead, Sally stayed as a companion to Polly and Patsy, as well as a friend for her brother James who was already there (161). But doesn't that prove that because Sally was considered only worthy enough of being a playmate, that she might not have been responsible enough to have a larger task in the household? Can that be proof that she was considered "mature." Again, Gordon-Reed's argument seems weak.

[5] Another weak argument is based on Sally's family status. Gordon-Reed states that all we know about the "Hemings family suggests that they were intelligent, creative and capable individuals" (162). But just because older members of Sally's family were capable, doesn't mean that she, a young girl, was too.

[6] Gordon-Reed is most successful in establishing Sally's maturity, however, by defending the Eppeses family decision to send her on such a significant mission. She doesn't believe the Eppeses family would have been "so careless as to pick an abnormally immature girl as her [Polly's] traveling companion--one who could have hurt Polly more than helped her." To think so would be "unfair to them" (162). This is very true. Adair and Miller's belief "that Sally Hemings was an abnormally immature child, [was], in effect, charging Francis and Elizabeth Eppes with both extreme negligence and callous defiance of Jefferson's wishes with regard to his daughter" (162). It seems to be quite true that the Eppes family wouldn't have chosen an incapable slave to accompany Polly across the seas. Gordon-Reed very successfully uses the Eppes family as a reliable source to defend Sally's possible level of maturity.

[7] Gordon-Reed's next use of evidence to support a mature Sally Hemings is very confusing and seemingly disconnected to her first. Gordon-Reed discusses Sally's beauty: she was "beautiful in a city where beauty was of extreme importance" (164). While Sally was in France, "Paris was fashion mad." Everyone was dressed in the latest fashions, including servants, for if Jefferson's servants were dressed unfashionably, it would reflect poorly on him and the country he represented. Gordon-Reed believes Sally would have seen herself as being special, dressed in expensive clothing. And by "seeing herself differently may have changed the way others, including Thomas Jefferson, saw her" (164). Gordon-Reed believes this might have been a reason why Jefferson could have been attracted to Sally. Yet this entire passage of Gordon-Reed's argument barely connects to her original aim of proving Sally shouldn't be considered child-like, other than the fact she might have physically appeared prettier and older. (see comment by Michelle Juarez)

[8] The final argument Gordon-Reed puts forth to defend Sally's maturity level seems to do the exact opposite. One of the main reasons many people tend not to believe the relationship between Jefferson and Sally took place is because it is perceived that it would have been a forced relationship. Instead, Gordon-Reed believes Sally Hemings might have welcomed and/or encouraged any advances from Jefferson, because she expected it to happen. All women role models in her family had been mistresses of their masters. Because of the special relationship the Hemings family had with the Jeffersons, they received the special benefits of working inside and getting the opportunities to travel with Jefferson (165). Sally identifies herself with her white family because "her father and both her grandfathers were white men. Why assume that this young girl would not see a white man as her most likely mate?" (166) Sally Hemings grew up in the environment in which it was normal to have a bi-racial family. She was exposed to the idea of a white master as a mate for her entire life. Yet, if Sally was educated in Paris and was a "mature" woman, why would she fall in love with her master when she knew her future would be as a slave? Sally Hemings, if she was truly mature and independent, wouldn't have relied on her slave-childhood experiences to create her future, if she knew that in France she could be free.

[9] Although Annette Gordon-Reed attempts to demonstrate Sally Hemings was a mature and beautiful woman with whom Thomas Jefferson could have been interested in having a serious relationship, she falls short multiple times. It might be her underlying desire to believe the Jefferson-Hemings relationship was one of equality and love that causes her to stretch evidence. She wishes to believe that Sally Hemings was beautiful, intelligent, and powerful enough to encourage a relationship with Jefferson -- a belief can never been confirmed nor refuted.

Comment

Michelle Juarez

I think Gordon-Reed's true motive for including this unrelated piece of evidence is to disprove and debase the Jefferson scholars, historians, and supporters that have so long bashed the alleged affair. In fact, I think that by including a piece of evidence that is so disconnected from her topic, Gordon-Reed exposes her own biases and highlights the weaknesses in her argument. Gordon-Reed introduces this evidence as a means for her to refute the Jefferson scholars that deem the relationship as highly improbable, not to prove Sally's maturity. While Martin views this piece of evidence merely as proof of Gordon's weak argument, I think she could have taken Gordon-Reed's claim further and could have added to her essay by further highlighting Gordon-Reed's true flaw: her inconspicuous bias toward debasing the Jefferson scholars.