Jefferson's Blood, PBS Documentary

Sanne Bergh
Eng48A
Journal for "Jefferson's Blood Documentary"
Nov. 22, 2011

Author Quote
"Almost from the beginning he has been a symbol, a touchstone, of what we as a people are--someone invented, manipulated, turned into something we Americans like or dislike, fear or yearn for, within ourselves."

Internet Quote
"Now, the new scientific evidence has been correlated with the existing documentary record, and a consensus of historians and other experts who have examined the issue agree that the question has largely been answered: Thomas Jefferson fathered at least one of Sally Hemings's children, and quite probably all six. The language of "proof" does not translate perfectly from science and the law to the historian's craft, however. And the DNA findings in this case are only one piece of a complicated puzzle that many in previous generations worked hard to make sure we might never solve".

Brief Summary
The Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings affair brought about much controversy because of the customs of the 18th century. Thomas Jefferson was not able to give Sally Hemings affection the same way he were to give a white woman. The emphasis lays truly in the inconsistency and contradiction in Jefferson's character.

Reaction/Response
It is interesting that Sally Hemings' children were considered black under Virgina law. The affair almost represents a shame that embodies the entire humanity of the white man. We bring Africans over, we force them to work, we give them little rights, and father children that we do not claim as our own. They were not humanized to people like Thomas Jefferson; a man who claims all men are created equal, even after he has fathered six mixed-race children. Although, perhaps to Jefferson, the affair with Sally Hemings could have been an experiment. Perhaps he was simply attesting the notion that "all men are created equal" and was testing law with his slave children. The children were almost completely white, and maybe Jefferson wanted to simply see what would happen. Although cruel and unsupported, maybe in Jefferson's mind he thought he was creating a more equal nation by going against the status quo and indulging in his "African Vixon". Thomas Jefferson was supposed to be a progressive man who was ahead of his times. It's terrible that he was forced to live by the customs of the 18th century and was "forced" to segregate his slaves. However, I find it weak and small-minded of him to do so due to the fact that he was actually exposed to a slave-free nation that fostered progressive thinking and behavior (Paris, France). As a Southern aristocrat and a man who should have actually lived by the principles that he preached, he did not practice the art of moral value. The Hemings' family identity brought about a great burden because the children struggled with the idea of "choosing" a race.There was no identity for mixed race in a time when you have "one drop" of African blood, you were automatically African.