| Episodes |
Jefferson made no public explanations of or defenses against Callender's charges. There are, however, a series of private letters relating to the Hemings controversy in which Jefferson tells his side of the story.
Find these six letters in our chronological list of primary sources in the Jefferson on Race and Slavery section of the JHC web site.
Letter to James Monroe, May 29, 1801
Letter to James Monroe, July 15, 1802
Letter to James Monroe, July 17, 1802
Letter to Robert Livingston, October 10, 1802
Letter to Robert Smith, July 1, 1805
Letter to George Logan, June 20, 1816
What is Jefferson's side of the story? What aspects of Callender's story did he address, what not? What did he talk about, what not? Where did he agree with Callender, where not? Where did he see Callender's motivation? How did he characterize his relationship with Callender? What do you think of Jefferson's strategy not to address the scandal in public? What "name" would you give to his strategy -- how would you label it? What are the pros and cons of that strategy? Are there strategies in other scandals -- past or present -- that provide useful points of comparison here? Are there any contemporary incidents like this that are relevant?
