| Episodes |
Jefferson's Port-Folio Love Song
Erin Wildeman
[1] The Port-Folio was a Federalist newspaper based in Philadelphia that distributed political propaganda across the newly formed United States and north into Canada. In 1802, the Port-Folio included a series of poems aimed at satirizing liberal democracy. Some of the poems, influenced by James Thomson Callender's charges that President Thomas Jefferson was engaged in a sexual relationship with slave Sally Hemings, aimed to ruin Jefferson's chances for re-election by portraying him as a hypocrite and invoking fear about the potential development of a mixed race. Specifically, "A Philosophic Love Song to Sally," published on November 6, 1802, was written from Jefferson's perspective, as though he was "under the immediate and omnipotent inspiring of Love." The tone, for instance, is very sarcastic, even in the introduction, stating that Jefferson, known primarily for his great intellect, "possesses the fire and soul of a poet" when declaring such lines as "black's the hue for me." The purpose of "A Philosophic Love Song to Sally," then, was clearly to negatively impact public opinion on both Jefferson and liberal democracy.
[2] In the poem, after first passing off the physical beauty of white women as "paltry," "Jefferson" describes all of Sally's physical qualities. For instance, he admits that Sally's nose may be flat according to white standards, but this is not bad, instead making it "harder . . . to break" during rough intercourse. While many whites would be turned off by the fact that Sally's skin may be sable, this fact is negligible since her skin is as "smooth as oil can make it." It is true that most white men enjoyed white women's hair flowing down their necks; however, Jefferson was fine with the fleece that "adorn[ed] her head." Finally, Jefferson is fine with Sally's "thick pouting lips," since when caught in a moment of passion, it is "impossible to miss them." Jefferson even seems to accept the fact that he has, emotionally and physically, let Sally take the place of his wife. Sally now takes care of the house as well as playing a motherly role in Jefferson's daughters' lives.
[3] The Port-Folio's "A Philosophic Love Song to Sally" attempts to alter public opinion about Jefferson in two ways, first by charging him with hypocrisy and bringing Jefferson's character into question. In regard to hypocrisy, Jefferson describes the African American race in a very negative and racist way in his Notes on the State of Virginia. There, in the section on "Laws," Jefferson states that whites have "superior beauty" and determines that African Americans "secrete less by the kidneys, and more by the glands of the skin, which gives them a very strong and disagreeable odour." After Callender leaked in the Richmond Recorder September 1, 1802 that Jefferson had fathered at least one child by his slave Hemings, it seems odd for a person who feels so strongly about whites as the superior race to engage in a physical relationship with one of his slaves. However, in the poem Jefferson categorizes all of Sally's African American qualities as positives. In fact, it was not the actual act of having a relationship with a slave that bothered the people of Jefferson's time, as much as it was the fact that he was making these tribal, animalistic traits seem more desirable during sex. Furthermore, the poem calls Jefferson's character into question. Sally helps him dry his "widow'd tears," suggesting that he is being unfaithful to the memory of his dead wife. Also, it is suggested that Jefferson was being unfaithful to his daughters, since Sally would essentially be filling in the place in the family vacated by Jefferson's wife.
[4] The second way this poem tries to alter public opinion against Jefferson and the principles of his party is to play upon the fear of a "hybrid" race (Lemire 12). Callender notes that if, like Jefferson, every one of the 80,000 white men in Virginia was to have five children with one of his slaves, there would soon be 400,000 additional mulattos in the country. This, according to Callender, would require a massacre of sorts, or at least a civil war to restore the natural, white-dominated balance back to the country. Obviously, most were fearful of the potential for the white population to be outnumbered. What is worse than mere hypocrisy, then, is that Jefferson's relationship with Sally is not one of casual sex; it is an extended relationship with emotion and "passion." Sally was Jefferson's "more than spouse." Furthermore, there is a powerful irony present in the last stanza of the poem. Jefferson seems to be pleading with Sally to be with him; however, in actuality, Jefferson is the master and could force Sally into being with him.
[5] Clearly, the Port-Folio had a significant impact on the public opinion of Thomas Jefferson, though not significant enough; ultimately, people were willing to look past Callender's charges, and Jefferson was elected to a second term as president. Although Jefferson was a fairly conservative Republican, the Federalists suggested that he was taking his words "all men are created equal" too far. What we must remember about the poem, however, is, after all, that it is just propaganda. Jefferson himself did not write the poem, so we will never know if he truly felt these emotions towards Sally.
