| Episodes |
COVERING THE SALLY STORY
Apparently another newspaper had the Sally story several months before Callender broke it but decided not to run it. There was almost, then, another version that might have been quite different in approach. If you were a newspaper editor or writer in Jefferson's Virginia locale, how would you have written the story? What would your "purpose" have been? What would your "politics" have been? What would your "slant" have been? What would your "style" have been?
Callender broke the story with this now famous opening paragraph in the September 1, 1802, Richmond Recorder:
It is well known that the man, whom it delighteth the people to honor, keeps and for many years has kept as his concubine, one of his own slaves. Her name is SALLY. The name of her eldest son is TOM. His features are said to bear a striking although sable resemblance to those of the President himself. The boy is ten or twelve years of age. His mother went to France in the same vessel with Mr. Jefferson and his two daughters. The delicacy of this arrangement must strike every person of common sensibility. What a sublime pattern for an American ambassador to place before the eyes of two young ladies.
Writing as yourself or adopting a different persona for a fun exercise, write the first installment of the "Sally Story" or, at least, the first paragraph.
