Description
Book SynopsisRumours 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.
Trade ReviewThis is the definitive work on the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemings issue. Gordon-Reed has produced an extraordinarily fine piece of historical research on a subject loaded with minefields for even the most cautious of historians." —Charles B. Dew, author of
Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge"Short of digging up Jefferson and doing DNA testing on him and Hemings' descendants, Gordon-Reed's account gets us as close to the truth as the available evidence allows." —Joseph J. Ellis, author of
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson"In this lucid and compelling book, Annette Gordon-Reed confronts the tale of a Jefferson- Hemings liaison neither to prove nor disprove it. Instead her goal is to weigh the evidence, to evaluate its possibility. In doing so, she provides a meticulous review of primary documents and looks at the way in which the best historians can fall prey to unreasoned predispositions." —Patricia J. Williams, author of
The Alchemy of Race and Rights
