| Episodes |
Adair Meets Gordon-Reed [AGR 185-91]
Dallas Gage
[1] The purpose of historian Douglass Adair's "The Jefferson Scandals" was to convince us that Thomas Jefferson would have had no reason to want anything romantically to do with lowly Sally Hemings when he had the "delectable" Maria Cosway. Adair did this by "contrasting Cosway's exalted state with Sally's degraded one" (186). Adair defends Jefferson by attacking Sally. Annette Gordon-Reed's Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy criticizes Adair's reasoning for this claim, along with that of many other historians who've studied the scandal (185-91). Gordon-Reed's defense of Sally is much more believable and more logical than Adair's arguments against the relationship. Some of Gordon-Reed's defenses, however, aren't all as convincing as others, but when compared to Adair's reasoning they seem more plausible.
[2] The first reason Adair gives to support his idea that Jefferson did not have a romantic relationship with Sally is that she is a liar. Adair makes "Sally Hemings seem as low as possible and Maria Cosway as high" by saying Sally lied to her son Madison about her relationship with Jefferson (186). This charge was based on Madison's memoirs--"Adair believed that Madison Hemings thought he was telling the truth," but that was because Sally lied (186).
[3] Ironically, as Gordon-Reed points out, Adair was so concerned about making Sally Hemings look bad he forgot to mention or even acknowledge the fact that Maria is the one who is "lying" to her husband about her relationship with Jefferson and "who may as well have been committing adultery with [him]" (186-87). Also, Maria "abandoned her three-month-old daughter to run off with an Italian opera singer a year after Jefferson left Paris" (187). Therefore, not only is Cosway a liar, but she is not as dignified as Adair makes her out to be. Gordon-Reed stands up for Sally by calling attention to Cosway's lies and acts of adultery more than once. These actions by Cosway make her guiltier because she is freely making these decisions. Gordon-Reed has examples and hard evidence to persuade the reader into believing her position. Therefore, Gordon-Reed's rebuttal is stronger than Adair's, making a more convincing argument in this instance.
[4] Second, Adair argues that Jefferson would not have wanted a romantic relationship with Sally because she is immature and inexperienced sexually. The idea of Jefferson "turn[ing] his back on the delectable Cosway to seduce a markedly immature, semi-educated, teen-age virgin" is inconceivable to Adair (186). It is not fair or logical for Adair to compare the maturity level of Cosway, who is a grown woman, and Sally, who is a teenager, because it is her nature to be immature at times. Addressing the maturity claim, however, Gordon-Reed states that Cosway was not any more mature than Sally--for instance, "Cosway showed her friends the love letters Jefferson wrote her" (187). This gives the image of Cosway and her friends acting like little gossiping school girls, which clearly shows her low maturity level. And Gordon-Reed points out that leading Jefferson scholar Dumas Malone says that "Jefferson saw [Cosway] as a ‘lovely, talented, capricious creature--half women and half child' and that was part of her appeal" (187).
[5] Also, third, Adair tries to convince his readers that "Jefferson would not have been attracted to [Sally Hemings] because he had a penchant for women . . . who were sexually experienced" (190). On the other hand, Gordon-Reed concludes that Jefferson "was attracted to married women because they were safe" (191). He knew that involvement with married women would not oblige him to get married, since he promised his wife on her death bed that he would never get married again. This is a more convincing argument because Jefferson did have relationships with two different married women with no intention of anything more. Even though Sally was not married, this idea would not exclude Jefferson's attraction to her because he had no intent on marrying her either--she was his slave. Gordon-Reed's point could be just as valid as Adair's. They both are saying the same thing, except Adair is excluding Sally as possibly having a relationship with Jefferson while Gordon-Reed is including Sally as part of her argument. Which argument is right is dependent on whether or not you believe that Jefferson did have a relationship with Sally Hemings.
[6] Lastly, Adair makes the point that Jefferson would not give Sally a second thought romantically because she doesn't fit the description of Jefferson's ideal woman--"those with some artistic, musical, or literary sophistication who offered intellectual as well as physical communion" (187). Adair argues that Martha Wayles and Maria Cosway are "exemplars" of Jefferson's perfect type and "Sally Hemings could never have been" (187). As it could be true that Sally did not fit into the description of Jefferson's ideal woman, it is not fair to judge Sally according to a description or definition of Jefferson's ideal woman that Adair comes up with.
[7] In response to Adair's theory of Jefferson's ideal woman, Gordon-Reed acknowledges that there is no historical evidence of Sally's level of musical or literacy intelligence, but she argues that Sally "may have [had] other attributes besides her beauty--femininity, natural intelligence, good humor, submissiveness, and kindness--that were of greater importance to [Jefferson]" (188). This statement is plausible and also helps support reasoning for the historical evidence of Jefferson's relationship with Sally. Also, in defense of Adair's "perfect woman" image, Gordon-Reed identifies the irony of Adair saying Sally has no musical talent "when blacks are stereotypically portrayed as naturally proficient in music" (187). This isn't a strong justification because it is not known whether this stereotype applies to Sally or not.
[8] In addition, Gordon-Reed logically defends Sally by justifying her education because of her variety of experiences while in France: "These experiences would have been her education" (189). Traveling around Europe and going on social outings with Jefferson's daughters not only gives Sally a social sophistication, but there is no doubt that she picked up the French language, contributing to her education. According to Gordon-Reed, "who is to say these aspects of Hemings--when added to her appearance and reported good nature--would not have been enough to overcome the fact that she did not share polite education of most women in Virginia" (190). Gordon-Reed further contradicts Adair by calling attention to Martha's -- Jefferson's wife -- lack of literary sophistication--"Jefferson checked and corrected her spelling" when Martha made household supply lists, and he also "made literary allusions in his letters to her that went over her head, as her replies demonstrate" (187). It is easy to agree with Gordon-Reed and her defenses here because it is logical to argue that Sally would have gained a great deal of education throughout her experiences in France and because she brings in evidence that Jefferson's wife was not as literarily sophisticated as Adair suggests she should be to fit the description of Jefferson's ideal woman.
[9] Also, Gordon-Reed challenges Adair by addressing Jefferson's plan of education. Jefferson explained in an answer to a query, "A plan of female education has never been a subject of systematic contemplation with me" (188). Jefferson educated his daughters for the purpose of being "more qualified than the common" and to be able to "fulfill their maternal duties" (188); however, nowhere does Jefferson suggest "a women should be educated so that she could have serious political or philosophical discussions or debates with her husband" (189). This means that Jefferson's ideal woman does not need to be as educated as Adair's depiction states. Lastly, Gordon-Reed states, "Jefferson thought that women's educations should be geared to making them amiable companions for men" (189). These accounts made by Gordon-Reed negate Adair's claim that Jefferson's ideal women needs to be educated enough to have intellectual conversation -- which means Sally Hemings could have had a relationship with Jefferson.
[10] In conclusion, when comparing Adair's arguments against Gordon-Reed's defenses, Gordon-Reed is more convincing. Not all, but the majority of her ideas are logical and are backed by historical evidence. Adair's arguments are mostly made to try to strengthen his idea that Jefferson would have no reason to want a romantic relationship with Sally Hemings. His ideas seem to be his own biases against the relationship written down in a convincing manner, except when confronted with Gordon-Reed's contradictions.
