Episodes

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Alexander, Daryl Royster. "Looking Beyond Jefferson the Icon to a Man and His Slave Mistress." New York Times 29 June 1997: 4.7.

A review of Gordon-Reed's Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.

Allison, Robert J. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 122.3 (1998): 307-9.

This review of Gordon-Reed's book is presented simultaneously with a review of The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 1785-1800 by Conor Cruise O’Brien. Allison looks at these two works in conjunction to highlight their similarities in criticizing historians' presentations of information about Jefferson, specifically Gordon-Reed's argument that historians "'have mishandled' the story, and how they have 'mistreated black people in the process,'" and O'Brien's argument that historians have "misrepresented Jefferson's support for the French Revolution" (307). Allison is most impressed with Gordon-Reed's ability "to shift the focus of inquiry from the Jefferson family to the Hemings family" (307). He focuses mostly on Gordon-Reed's attempts to demonstrate the "'warped view of black people and of the history of the South as well'" presented by historians. He commends her style and directs no criticism towards her.

Brown, Kathleen M. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. American Historical Review104.3 (1999): 900-2.

This review explores the organization and style of argument employed by Gordon-Reed. Her ability to overcome the obstacle of "shaking off unfounded assumptions that contain unscrutinized racial, sexual, and class stereotypes" is credited to her ability to see things from the point of view of an African American and a female. While the book is received well, Gordon-Reed is criticized for using modern common sense to explore the evidence, which could differ from what common sense could have been during the time of Jefferson. She is also criticized for making the generalized assumption that all previous Jefferson scholars interpreted events with the intent "to restrict knowledge as a way of controlling the allowable discourse on this subject." Brown believes modern historians may not have intended to do this but were intimidated by the "difficulty for historians of challenging received wisdom." After the revelation of the DNA results, people may be even more prompted to read Gordon-Reed's book, or re-explore Brodie's history, as suggested by Gordon-Reed.

Burns, Ken. Thomas Jefferson. Alexandria: PBS Home Video: Turner Home Entertainment, 1997.

Burns, one of the major "makers" of history in our time, considers Jefferson "the most important human being born in the last 500 years," and his video is still a prime "go to" source for an introduction to Jefferson. View especially his introduction (the first ten minutes of Part One) and the section on the Hemings controversy (Part Two, minutes 34-40). Note that the film was done before the results of the DNA tests. (See the entry in this bibliography for the collection of "Interview Transcripts" for this film.)

Burstein, Andrew. The Inner Jefferson: Portrait of a Grieving Optimist. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1995.

Camp, Stephanie M. H. “Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson.” Mississippi Quarterly 53.2 (2000): 275-82.

A review of Gordon-Reed’s Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.

Dickson, Charles Ellis. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. Historian 61.3 (1999): 665-66.

A review of Gordon-Reed’s Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.

Egerton, Douglas R. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. Journal of Southern History 64.2 (1998): 348-50.

Egerton compliments Gordon-Reed on the effectiveness of her argumentative tactics but criticizes her for failing to "explain the larger implications of her thesis." She uses her persuasive strategies on "easy prey" and fails to address the legitimate writings of other Jefferson scholars who effectively and persuasively argued against the idea of a Jefferson-Hemings relationship. Her research is incomplete and erroneous at certain points, which shows her lack of background on "slave law or perceptions of race in the early republic," which ultimately undermines her argument. Because of her lack of background knowledge, she does not understand the situation enough to fully consider Jefferson's racism as an obstacle to a Jefferson-Hemings relationship. Egerton remains unconvinced by her arguments.

Ellis, Joseph J. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

Ellis might be thought of as the premier Jefferson scholar at this time. This book, which won a National Book Award the same year Gordon-Reed’s appeared, has as an appendix “A Note on the Sally Hemings Scandal” in which Ellis, though he says that “on the basis of what we know now, we can never know” if there was a Jefferson-Hemings relationship, also says that after mulling over the evidence for five years, “the likelihood of a liaison with Sally Hemings is remote.” It’s ironic that these books appeared in the same year. Like Gordon-Reed, Ellis published a new edition of this book the following year after the DNA results (see episode 13), and he reversed course completely, actually taking the lead in promoting revised thinking on the basis of this new evidence.

Greenberg, David. "Doubting Thomas." Slate Magazine 20 February 1997.

A review of Gordon-Reed’s Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.

Hodes, Martha. "Racism and the Craft of History." Reviews in American History 26.3 (1998): 510-15.

A review of Gordon-Reed's Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Hodes commends Gordon-Reed for her ability to move beyond the controversy itself in order to focus on the "state of the historical profession and the craft of history" by using analytical logic to reveal "the inconsistent assessment of evidence on the part of Jefferson's biographers." Hodes provides a basic overview of the indisputable facts about the Jefferson-Hemings controversy in general and of the topics Gordon-Reed discusses in her book. Hodes includes some of Gordon-Reed's discussions of the major pieces of evidence in the controversy to demonstrate Gordon-Reed's analysis of the shortcomings of modern historical interpretation. Hodes also explores Gordon-Reed's push "for objectivity as an antidote to racist scholarship" and the solutions she provides. Hodes's only major criticism is that she wishes Gordon-Reed "had offered a more direct discussion of the meanings and values of 'objectivity' and 'truth.'"

Interview Transcripts. For the Ken Burns, Thomas Jefferson. PBS Home Video, 1997.

http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/frame5.htm

Transcripts of twenty-four interviews made for the film: Natalie Bober, Julian Bond, Daniel Boorstin, Andrew Burstein, Robert H. Cooley III, James Cox, Joseph Ellis, Timothy Ferris, Paul Finkelman, John Hope Franklin, Gregory Freiden, Peter Hatch, James Horton, Clay Jenkinson, Dan Jordan, Jan Lewis, Stephen Mitchell, Merrill Peterson, Lewis Simpson, Lucia (Cinder) Stanton, Dell Upton, Gore Vidal, George Will, Garry Wills.

Jordan, Winthrop D. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. William and Mary Quarterly 55.2 (1998): 316-18.

Gordon-Reed presents the most persuasive case for the argument that Jefferson and Hemings had a relationship. Her success is attributed to the unique perspective she brings to the controversy as a lawyer, woman, and African-American. The structure and organization of the book is commended, though Jordan has minor conflicts with two of Gordon-Reed’s arguments. He argues that the evidence that Hemings’s children looked like Jefferson is not strong enough to use based on the fact that modern day observations show that “family resemblances do not necessarily follow strictly parental lines” (318). He also says that while Gordon-Reed acknowledges the evidence that Hemings never became pregnant while Jefferson was away as support of the Jefferson-Hemings relationship, she fails to explore the idea that “the excited joy and power of Jefferson's presence at Monticello might possibly have changed usual sleeping or scheduling arrangements in such a way as to leave Sally Hemings more available or more vulnerable for sexual intimacy with others” (318). Overall, Jordan praises Gordon-Reed’s success at providing “a significant lesson about the way America's historians have mangled an emotionally charged matter” (318).

Lewis, Jan, and Peter S. Onuf. “American Synecdoche: Thomas Jefferson as Image, Icon, Character, and Self.” American Historical Review 103.1 (1998): 125-36.

Reviews the Burns film and several recent books about Jefferson, including Gordon-Reed’s.

Mayer, Henry. "My Jefferson Problem -- and Ours." Threepenny Review 69 (Spring 1997), 18-20.

Review of Ellis, Gordon-Reed, O'Brien, Onuf, and Burstein.

Monteith, Sharon. "America's Domestic Aliens: African Americans and the Issue of Citizenship in the Jefferson/Hemings Story in Fiction and Film." Alien Identities: Exploring Difference in Fiction and Film. Ed. Deborah Cartmell et al. Sterling: Pluto Press, 1999. 31-48.

O'Brien, Conor Cruise. “Thomas Jefferson: Radical and Racist.” Atlantic Monthly October 1996: 53-74.

O'Brien, Conor Cruise. The Long Affair: Thomas Jefferson and the French Revolution, 1785-1800. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1996.

Believes that Jefferson did sleep with Sally, and “that is relevant because that relationship is an important part of Jefferson’s relation to the institution of slavery, and because that, in turn is relevant to Jefferson’s relation to the French Revolution.”

Paulk, Virginia Beth. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed.” North Carolina Historical Review 74.3 (1997): 337-38.

A review of Gordon-Reed’s Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.

Rakove, Jack N. “Jefferson Perceived.” Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. Journal of the Early Republic 17.4 (1997): 677-85.

Gordon-Reed’s book is reviewed in the context of a larger review of Jefferson’s character that explores multiple sources. Rakove commends Gordon-Reed for her strategic and persuasive style of evaluating evidence and says that if her claims are to be believed, then a thorough re-evaluation of Jefferson’s character and motives must be pursued. He applauds her for forcing this information to be re-evaluated in a much different way but also has two major criticisms of her book. The first is that the historians that she criticizes are antiquated and from a different time and that the “reluctance to believe that Jefferson and Hemings could have been an item is hardly a mark of the current generation of scholars” (684). The second major criticism is that Gordon-Reed fails to address the question of “how did the casual dismissal of the possibility of the Jefferson-Hemings relationship give way to its nearly as casual acceptance (by scholars and citizens alike) today?” (685). Rakove appreciates Gordon-Reed’s book but is ultimately disappointed that she chooses not to definitively say whether the Jefferson-Hemings relationship did or did not happen.

Randall, Willard Sterne. Thomas Jefferson: A Life. New York: Henry Holt, 1993.

Rothman, Joshua. “Can the ‘Character Defense’ Survive? Measuring Polar Positions in the Jefferson-Hemings Controversy by the Standards of History.” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 89 (2001): 219-33.

A review of Gordon-Reed’s Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy and related books.

Rutland, Robert A. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. Journal of American History 84.3 (1997): 1051-52.

Gordon-Reed’s book is reviewed in conjunction with American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis. Rutland compares the two sources’ attempts at evaluating Jefferson. Ellis’s work is seen as successful and compelling, while Gordon-Reed’s book is seen as a vengeful work that “borders on contempt” (1052). Her main arguments are explained as accusing Jefferson historians of creating a series of “cover-ups,” specifically in regard to the Madison Hemings testimony. Rutland sees her arguments as redundant and only works to further the already proven point that “Jefferson was no saint” (1052). Overall, Gordon-Reed’s book is seen as ineffective because of her vengeful approach motivated by anger and frustration, especially in comparison to the work of Ellis.

Sloan, Herbert. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. Indiana Magazine of History 94.1 (1998): 61-62.

Gordon-Reed’s book is presented as a means of proving a relationship existed between Jefferson and Hemings. Though Sloan discusses Gordon-Reed’s personal reluctance to commit to believing in the existence of this relationship, he goes on to describe the most compelling parts of Gordon-Reed’s arguments. He specifically mentions the acceptance of the Jefferson family history over the Hemings family history and the “remarkable set of circumstances surrounding the births of Sally Hemings's children and the fate of the Hemings family generally” -- including the pattern of Sally’s pregnancies during Jefferson’s visits to Monticello and the freeing of all of Hemings’s children after Jefferson’s death (61). Sloan concludes by asserting the importance of the work for students of Jefferson and American race relations.

Spangler, Jewel L. Review of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 105.4 (1997): 476-77.

Spangler commends Gordon-Reed’s success at forcing “a reconsideration not only of Jefferson's life, but also of the unconscious, and at times racist, assumptions that have long tainted interpretation of the historical record in this case.” She focuses specifically on Gordon-Reed’s discussion of Madison Hemings’s memoir as an example of Gordon-Reed’s argument style. Her only criticism is that “Gordon-Reed often attempts to second-guess the motives and feelings of men and women long dead, when it might have been wiser to avoid insupportable conjecture in favor of her stronger suit, the lawyerly marshaling of hard evidence (especially because she takes Jefferson's defenders to task for their flights of fancy).” Overall, Spangler conveys an appreciation for Gordon-Reed’s academic contribution and says, “We must take her message seriously if we are someday to understand fully the intricacies of southern race relations.”

Stevenson, Brenda. “Founding Father’s Folly?” Washington Post 15 June 1997: X4.

A review of Gordon-Reed’s Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.

Vivian, Bradford. “Jefferson’s Other.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 88.3 (2002): 284-302.

Vivian divides representations of the Jefferson-Hemings relationship into three categories: the desire for judgment (Annette Gordon-Reed, the DNA), the desire for romance (Fawn Brodie, Jefferson in Paris, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Sally Hemings: An American Scandal), and inversion of the romantic interpretations by contemplating the horrible (Steve Erickson).

Wilentz, Sean. Review of Annette Gordon-Reed's Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy. New Republic 10 March 1997.

Wilson, Douglas L. “Thomas Jefferson and the Character Issue.” Atlantic Monthly November 1992: 57-74.

Influential article -- Gordon-Reed confronts it -- warning of the dangers of “presentism” in assessing Jefferson’s character.