The end is near. Time to reveal yourselves. Drum roll, please.

You have experienced over two hundred years of the Jefferson-Hemings controversy step by step, turning after turning. You've had the opportunity to know and think more about it than virtually anybody in the country.

Now consider the following questions: what meaning does the controversy have? what significance does it have? why has it stayed alive for so long? what can we learn from it? should we continue to study it? what impact has it had on you? how have you changed?

A good friend of ours has said, "there is nothing more wonderful than the joy of self-discovery."

What have YOU learned?

What are YOUR final thoughts?

Bring closure.

Make meaning.

Below is a chorus of such final comments from fellow travelers on this journey of historical construction.

1) A love-hate relationship
Before taking this class I saw Thomas Jefferson as this mythical being. A person who helped to write one of the most important documents in the history of the world. A founding father and president of this great nation. A person that I believed could have been nothing but perfect. However, I now see the truth behind this glorified idea of Thomas Jefferson. TJ was not perfect by any means and possibly had more flaws than even an average person. Even though most of Jefferson's "mistakes" are understandable, there is one thing that I still cannot get over. Jefferson wrote in the Declaration that "all men are created equal with certain inalienable rights," and when asked about why he can accept slavery after writing these famous words he never seems to have an answer. In the film [Sally Hemings: An American Scandal] he answered that slavery is necessary and there was nothing he could do about it. It is extremely hypocritical for TJ to write these words then do nothing to stop slavery in the USA. I have a love-hate relationship with TJ after this class.
Brad Alexander

2) Thomas Jefferson is all of us
That the private life of Thomas Jefferson is disputed with so significant an investment of time, energy, and resources 200 years after his presidency is a testament to his centrality in American history. Farmer and scholar, aristocrat and debtor, president and pauper, lover and father, patriarch and single parent, slave master and public servant, and member of a biracial family, Thomas Jefferson is all of us. Thomas Jefferson's "family" is a microcosm of our American family. The objective truth about the relationship between the Hemings and Jefferson families, or between Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson, will probably never be known. The historical vacuum pulls in countless speculations and interpretations, each of which is laden with the prejudices and ambitions of generations. What is so uniquely, ironically, quintessentially American about this "scandal" is that it is, ultimately, a family squabble. In our big, multigenerational, multiracial, dysfunctional American family, Jefferson's legacy is our legacy, and the part of it we claim tells us how we belong to this American family. But whatever our claim is, whatever our angle of approach to this legacy may be, we recognize that this man, Thomas Jefferson, is the man who links us to our American identity. In that sense, no matter how bitter the squabble has been or becomes, it unites us. Our lasting unity is perhaps our greatest tribute to the man who declared us free and independent.
Stephen Molloy

3) Historical evidence isn't always 100% reliable
Jefferson's legacy has been haunted by the first US presidential sex scandal: the charge of an illicit affair with his mulatto slave Sally Hemings. The controversy has stayed alive for over 200 years because it can never truly be solved, since there is evidence that points towards both sides. We can learn from this affair that historical evidence isn't always 100% reliable.
Samantha Gerstein

4) History should have all its cards on the table
Exploring this scandal about our third president was an experience that I did not expect. Throughout my education I found myself simply going with the flow and never questioning anything I had learned. Thomas Jefferson was our president who helped to write the Declaration of Independence and begin to establish equality within our country; Christopher Columbus discovered America and settled the land. And the list goes on. Throughout this examination of history, I begin to wonder about these men who are integral parts of American history. Many view them as heroes who will live on forever. But the fact is that many of these men cannot live up to the name that has been built for them. Yes, Christopher Columbus discovered America, but he also killed many American Indians and stole/pillaged their land. Yes, Jefferson helped to father the Declaration of Independence but he also had an affair with one of his slaves. Why are these things so often left out of the history that we learn? Is it so horrible to teach the youth of American that not everybody is perfect? Does learning that our American heroes may not have been as perfect as we once thought make them any less of a hero or make what they have achieved any less important to the growth and transformation of the American nation? History is full of secrets, which is interesting because history should have all its cards on the table. In order to understand history and utilize it to better the future, there must be no secrets. Nobody is perfect, and that is something that is so misunderstood. Many people have compared former President Clinton to Thomas Jefferson. I don't know if I would go that far but, and I don't mean to compare what the two have done throughout history, do the mistakes made by these men belittle the changes they have made and the impact that all of these men have had on our country? I think it only further solidifies that real people can make a difference and real people make the changes that impact history.
Alexandra Horowitz

5) Sacrificing celebrities to save ourselves
We all have things we hide about ourselves. They might not necessarily be things we are ashamed about but things we are hesitant to share because we do not know how they will be received. Sharing secrets about ourselves makes us uncomfortable because it makes us vulnerable. We preach but do not always practice what we preach -- and that's okay, because it's human nature. The third president of the United States might have written and spoken poorly at times about the African American race but as human nature will have it, we aren't always honest. We don't always say what we mean and often times, we change and grow. We reflect. But the reason we remain so attached to this "controversy" is because as far as history goes, we have lifted celebrities up by virtue of fame and then sacrificed them to save ourselves. What is the meaning of this controversy? We still have a long, long way to go.
Stephanie DeLuca

6) Few conclusions
Thomas Jefferson was a human being. Through everything, good and bad, right and wrong, statutory rape and love -- the Thomas Jefferson we know and love is a human being. He makes mistakes, and he is a hypocrite. And I love him all the more for it. His writings hold more value to me after this study, as they were written by someone to whom I can relate more, knowing he was a guy with problems like the rest of us. Through the study I have come to very few conclusions. Certainly, those historians who go at this scandal with the intent to "defend Jefferson" are misguided and foolish. Those historians who go at it intending to turn the scandal into a beautiful love affair are silly. This was a master and a slave, churning the social expectations and the bedsheets both. To present anything else as "truth" is foolish conjecture.
Greg King

7) How some voices are passed over
The controversy is significant for a number of reasons. Personally, I'm disappointed that historians did not attempt to validate the truth. It was made apparent through our readings that everyone had an agenda. Having looked closely at Parton, I now wonder why he never managed to validate the information that was passed to him by Randall. He didn't even have Sally's name properly spelled in his chapter addressing the campaign lies of 1800! Gordon-Reed makes this point as well, and she states that his actions are just a small reflection of how some oral histories are ignored. The controversy has given Sally, and therefore African Americans, a voice. The revealed truth of the scandal illuminates how some voices were, and probably still are, passed over today. As AGR says in her conclusion, "The hope is that we, and those of any race who recognize contributions and appreciate blacks' struggle, will never leave their stories to be told by people whose primary interests lie elsewhere" (Gordon-Reed 235). The scandal brings to light that TJ was a hypocrite, and this changes the idea that our country was founded by honorable and honest Americans. This idea intrigues people, and isn't something that can be forgotten.
Alexandra Neumann

8) Why the need to defend Jefferson?
The biggest threat to our estimation of and the reputation of Thomas Jefferson is not in dispute: Thomas Jefferson owned perhaps more than 200 human beings, and he used their labor to relieve his own and to add to his comfort and wealth. How much worse than that is it going to get? Mitigating circumstances such as his moment in history and the idea that he was probably a relatively "good" master should certainly be considered, but this is a charge against which no one is "defending." The charge against which he is defended is the charge that he might have loved one of the human beings he owned, that he might have fathered children by her, and that he might have taken one of them as a "wife." Why would Jefferson need to be defended against the typically inoffensive charges of love, fatherhood, and monogamy? The nature of the defense of Jefferson by most historians springs not from a dispassionate search for the truth but from distaste for the possibility of such a union, and that distaste for such a union springs from racism.
Stephen Molloy

9) Sending an important message
An interracial relationship between one of America's forefathers and his slave sends an important message to a country plagued by racism. It is a spot on the white past recoded in history books. Although the United States has moved forward since the days of slavery and discrimination, there is still a racial gap in much of the country. However, if the country can accept the love between Thomas Jefferson and his mulatto concubine, maybe their relationship would be a model for the acceptance of others.
Sarah Freeman

10) Encouragement to dig deeper
This scandal is significant in that its complexities offer us a microcosm of the larger social realities of the time. The United States was built upon the foundation of slavery, an institution that unjustly brutalized and murdered thousands of innocent African Americans. Simultaneously, the country boasted equality among all men, underscored by Christian values of tolerance and righteousness. Most obviously, values and practices of early Americans did not align. The Jefferson-Hemings controversy provides us with a framework within which we can analyze the contradictions that plague our social system. The black-white dichotomy that it speaks to is just as relevant now as it was 200 years ago. It is safe to say that many maintain we have made significant advances toward a color-blind world; however, those who believe such claims are remiss. If we lived in a post-racial world, then current studies of the Jefferson-Hemings relationship would not ignite such heated debate. That is, if present-day society was truly tolerant of interracial relationships, rumors of a white politician sleeping with a black woman would not be controversial; we would accept the affair without hesitation. Yet, most obviously, allegations of a president sleeping with a slave have sparked centuries of outrage, simply because the idea of miscegenation is abhorrent to many. It is important that we continue to study the controversy since it can teach us many different things. First, it gives us a glimpse inside the reality of slavery, more specifically into the difficulties of interracial couples and their mulatto children. Second, as mentioned above, it reveals perspectives and attitudes about race relations in the 19th century through to the modern day. Third, the lack of Hemings' voice in the official narrative has serious implications for how we construct the history we accept as true. How and why do we put so much trust into official histories that are devoid of entire peoples' perspectives? Examining the scandal reveals biases in our national records, and, if nothing else, it encourages us to dig deeper into our past to discover the voices and experiences of the forgotten.
Erica Prosser

11) The real story is being overlooked
I must admit, I still do not find the controversy of that much importance to me. I would like to say, however, that I think Tina Mion has a point in saying that the "real story is being overlooked." The issue in this controversy is much greater than the relationship between Jefferson and Hemings. Some of the topics we focused on, I felt, were somewhat trivial: Was the relationship real? Did Thomas Jefferson father Sally's children? Did he love her? Did she love him? I do not believe we have the right to pick apart and judge whatever relationship occurred between the two. The existence of the relationship and the belief that Sally's children are also Jefferson's seem somewhat obvious at this point in time. The greater issues in this controversy are the sheer hypocrisy of our third president and the questioning of identity. Sally and the future Hemingses struggled, and still do today, with who they are.
Sabrina Vasquez

12) A vessel for conveying agendas
Virtually nothing is known about the life of Sally Hemings. Born; inherited by Thomas Jefferson; traveled to France and returned to Monticello; gave birth to seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood; died. Everything else is a combination of very little first-hand observation, hearsay, deduction, extrapolation, supposition, educated guesswork, and uneducated guesswork. The individual, the human being, is lost to history and the memory of her name has become a vessel for conveying agendas.
Stephen Molloy

13) Indifferent to the affair
I think whether or not Jefferson was racist is the real controversy, rather than his affair with Sally Hemings. The investigation of their relationship sparked the analysis of his racial views. It is clear that he had an affair with Sally Hemings through DNA evidence of their children, but it is not clear how Jefferson felt about slavery. Jefferson had a conflicted nature similar to America, "where high minded ideals clash with the reality of racial ambivalence" (Gordon-Reed 173). Jefferson's Declaration of Independence was contradictory to his Notes on the State of Virginia. I think the historians' rejection and questioning of the affair reflects the racism of America. They believed Jefferson was too good of a man to uphold a relationship with a slave for thirty years. It was simply easier to put the blame on the Carrs for the fathering of Hemings' children in order to maintain Jefferson's highly respected reputation. Since I began studying this controversy, it did not make a difference to me whether Jefferson did or did not have an affair with Hemings. What really mattered to me was if our third President of the United States, our founding father, tried to live up to his words in the Declaration of Independence.
Jenna Goldenberg

14) Appreciating oral history
This controversy is significant because of its embodiment of issues that have been and will be present for hundreds of years. During the late 18th century and early 19th century, when the relationship occurred, the issue rested in the slave and slaveowner relationship, particularly because of Jefferson's elevated social and political status; now the controversy remains because of the racial bias that has swayed people into believing whether or not it happened. This is not a controversy that will die as long as the family tree is blooming with new generations/branches of descendants. From this we can, unfortunately, learn the horrible struggle with oppression that faced the slaves of antebellum America. Sally was never able to defend herself, and now we will never know the true nature of the relationship, let alone much about her life and experiences. For the most part, oral history is all we have, and we must appreciate it as a valuable window into a time that we will never witness first-hand.
Samantha Christal

15) More aware of womanhood and feminism
Although we are considered legal adults, grown men and women, at the age of eighteen, I am still slowly discovering what it means to be a woman. Though historians usually discuss the effects of the Jefferson-Hemings controversy on Thomas Jefferson's political and social career, very little is ever said about how it might have affected that "symbol of noxious blackness," Sally Hemings. Even in the beginning of our research on this controversy, I, like everyone else, focused on Jefferson. But after a few weeks, I began to recognize Sally's possible empowerment, and I realized what a desirable trait that is to possess. This controversy has made me more aware of womanhood and feminism. Also, I have become much more aware than I ever was about multiple sides of a story. Now I attempt to see both the male and female sides, the white and black sides, the rich and poor sides, etc. Because of the Jefferson-Hemings controversy, I want to be able to understand and appreciate all sides of humanity, something that everyone should strive towards.
Anonymous

16) People like scandal
This is a difficult question that I have tried to answer many times throughout this course. I think that this topic is extremely interesting, and I found taking a class on it enlightening, but I also questioned why people are still discussing the romantic life of someone who lived so long ago. Why are people still discussing this aspect of his life rather than his accomplishments or failures as a leader of our country. Whether or not Jefferson had a relationship with Sally Hemings is irrelevant in terms of his ability to lead this country. I believe this type of relationship is extremely personal and should remain behind closed doors. It is only the concern of the people involved. Why, when all of the people who were around during that time are deceased, are we still trying to decide if Jefferson slept with one of his slaves. Especially when this was common practice back in that time, why are people so fixated on the possibility of a relationship between these two people? Is it because of the age difference? Is it because of the racial issues? I would think that in our time when couples are not judged based on their race that a controversy such as this one would lose steam. I can only fathom that it has stayed alive because people like scandal. They like to hear that powerful people are acting in a way which others see as unfit. The idea that a President acted in a way that was unbecoming of a man of his time fascinates people and makes them yearn to know the truth.
Caroline Nype

17) Helps us connect with history on a personal level
Jefferson was a torn between doing what he felt was right and doing what he felt was best. He cared for this woman, from what we've gathered, and still kept a relationship going past all the criticism and hardships that came along with this. Jefferson's conflict between his beliefs, love, and own well-being made him . . . human. We seem to place all political figures on a pedestal and sometimes forget that these men and women all felt the pains and burdens of life that we also feel. Although we probably can't fit the same situation Jefferson is in, we can say we've felt similar pains and joys. The Jefferson scandal helps us connect with history on a personal level, and that's what I received from this course.
Nelson Calero

18) Maybe they'll heal
Researching this "Early American Scandal" has been a journey down a road of questions only to come to a fork riddled with more questions. Thomas Jefferson embodies the conflicted and contradictory American statesman. Almost from the beginning of our research, most, if not all of us, stumbled over the man we thought was Jefferson, and trudged through the people closest to him -- his family and his slaves. Outraged by Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia," our marathon seemed rough at times, too many obstacles and inclines, too many dirt roads. We read arguments from different centuries and different cultures and anguished over too many alternate routes and detours. So we arrive at our destination to find a human Jefferson guilty of both the negligence and actions of which human beings can be guilty. After the trek, we bandage up our blisters acknowledging a people metaphorically buried in the little hills of Monticello. Sadly, we cannot bandage up theirs; they've run harder and longer, on rougher roads. We have to listen, and maybe they'll heal.
Teresa Salvatore

19) Stereotypes keep the scandal alive
Whether or not Jefferson and Sally had an affair is irrelevant. The significance of this controversy lies in its after-effects on America. Why is it so hard to imagine that Jefferson and Sally could have loved? The Jefferson defenders are looking to place blame on someone else, while the black side of the controversy is simply looking for recognition. People still cannot see beyond the color of another's skin or think beyond the stereotype of an upper-class white man, a negro, a slave, etc., and that is what is keeping this scandal alive.
Keiko Akamine

20) A microcosmic platform for current issues
The significance of this controversy is that it has evolved to take the form of cultural issues that are significant at the time. For example, in the 1960s, the controversy could be related to civil rights. In a more modern-day setting, there is something to be said for how race is perceived based on the controversy. Different Hemings' relatives have different color skin; some prefer to identify themselves with their ancestor, while others seem to be ashamed of their past. This controversy has afforded us a microcosmic platform for issues that are present in American culture. And because the source is significant (Jefferson was our 3rd President, after all), it carries all the more importance when discussing it.
Brian Cohen

21) Skin color is trivial
This controversy and the subsequent racial identity conflicts within the Hemings family descendants just go to show how trivial and irrelevant the color of someone's skin is by almost giving the descendant a choice to be black or white. Even in the early 1800s, Jefferson had a love for a woman that was completely independent of the color of one's skin. However, people to this day will continue to discriminate and stereotype someone on their color of their skin alone. If this relationship is true, and I believe it is, Jefferson, a man that took part in slavery, knew very well that the color of one's skin is a trivial part of who someone really is.
Christopher Hall

22) History should teach us lessons
There are numerous reasons the Jefferson-Hemings controversy is significant and still relevant. The fact that our third President and founding father was one of the biggest advocates of emancipation--while conflictingly writing in his Notes on the State of Virginia that blacks were inferior -- and may have had a relationship with his black slave Sally Hemings clearly presents some contradictions. It has stayed alive for so long because the issue of racial equality and interracial relationships has only become more prevalent, and the fact that one of America's first presidents allegedly had a relationship with a black slave raises numerous questions. I think the most important thing we can learn from this is that history should teach us lessons, and though history may be ambiguous, it may not be the facts that matter, but the questions they raise.
Samantha Feinberg

23) Tossing racial tensions aside
In studying the Jefferson-Hemings controversy through this course, I've come to a much different conclusion on the issue than I had previously expected. Initially, I was very tentative about delving into our nation's "dirty little secret" that is the Jefferson-Hemings relationship. Yet, as I burrowed into the information and learned to see the situation from a truly personal standpoint, the relationship became less about what Jefferson did wrong and more about what he did right. Although Hemings was extremely young, Jefferson's relationship with her showed his character in that he was able to toss racial tensions aside and truly connect with her on some other level than the usual Master to Slave hierarchy. This issue will forever remain a gray area in American History, but I feel that only those who study it in detail will truly understand Jefferson and his views on slavery and race, both of which were ahead of his time.
Dan Carr

24) We have a mixed race American history
I think the significance of the controversy is that it has altered the way America has viewed one of their Founding Fathers. We like to keep this "perfect White" American History completely clean and free of scandal. However, this relationship shows that this cannot be the case. I think that this relationship has stayed alive for so long because it has become a representation of the racial separation in America. I cannot help but wonder why it is so hard for society today to accept that Jefferson had a relationship with an African American woman. I think that this scandal is also a representation of how much we don't know about history. Jefferson kept such a private life, and we continue to learn bits and pieces of it everyday. One can only imagine what we don't know. It also brings to question of when does a political leader's private life affect their public life? What we can learn from this scandal is that we have a mixed race American history. Although we may want to believe that our country was built on a purely white male past, this is not the case. We need to accept this truth, and embrace it.
Abigail Harris-Shea

25) The first step in the right direction
When I first heard that I would be writing about the Jefferson-Hemings controversy for an entire semester, my first thoughts were: "What is there to write about? Who cares if Jefferson had a slave mistress?" I now realize that for the greater part of 200 years this controversy has been a polarizing subject that has been fiercely debated. My initial reaction represents to me the general reaction of my generation; it represents the widespread and genuine acceptance of African Americans into the United States society. Although there is still a long way to go to ensure complete equality and full integration of all races in U.S. society, this ideological acceptance of a relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings is the first step in the right direction.
Adam Baker

26) Calling us all to a higher moral ground
The American culture fosters an understanding and perspective of Thomas Jefferson, along with that of all our founding fathers, as men incapable of immorality or corruption. Jefferson, the author and lyricist behind American Scripture, embodies the history of the United States. So how do we then reconcile a gap between his vision and his achievement as a human being. Do we refuse to see the inconsistencies because no man as idolized and admired as "our Jefferson" could ever have such an incongruence between his actions and his words? Only when we wipe away our mythic understanding of Thomas Jefferson and begin to understand and study Jefferson as a man, capable of mistake and imperfections, can we then evaluate his integrity and the implications behind his actions. Jefferson was calling us all to a higher moral ground along with himself. And perhaps when we begin to view his vision in this light -- that he was not dictating but merely inspiring a country of people to this common goal -- then we can see how the imperfections of his life do not necessarily have to undermine the power of his vision.
Maxine McCoy

27) Culture shock
Throughout the course I learned a lot about the supposed Jefferson/Hemings relationship, especially the racism and bias that still exists in our country. Perhaps I'm lucky that I didn't grow up in a rich white neighborhood. I was not sheltered from diversity. I graduated in a class that had almost as many black people as white. I had close black friends and interracial couples were not uncommon. For a lot of people it's a culture shock to get to the real world and realize that there are other races out there and actually interacting with them. For me, it has been a culture shock in learning of the extreme prejudices people still hold. One race is not inherently different; everyone has a heart and a brain. Every race has good and bad examples to represent it, something so many people have not yet come to grasp. The main thing this course has brought me to realize is that not everyone is as understanding as the people I grew up around. As far as the actual controversy goes, I feel the same way I did in the beginning; what someone does in their private life is their business, as long as they aren't bringing harm to another. The relationship is rumored to have lasted until Jefferson's death, which says it was not rape. If the relationship did happen, as it almost certainly did by all the evidence that exists, then it shows that Jefferson was beyond his time and beyond the senses of even some of the people today.
Brandi Klotz

28) A microcosm of American society
I think the controversy over this relationship has been sustained for so long because of the significant departure from Jefferson's typical "known" character that it implies. With a figure as prominent in the American consciousness as Jefferson is, I think much of anything regarding his personal life would easily garner public attention. To then have it be a matter of his sexuality and moral character compounds people's interest significantly. I think the extreme uncertainty surrounding the nature of their relationship and the potential for Jefferson having abused Sally is part of what has kept the controversy alive for so long. The combination of people constantly trying to get to the bottom of it as well as then putting forth their own speculations as to what happened then generates a steady, almost cyclical, sort of scholarship about it. Because of the debate over what actually happened, whoever formulates an opinion on it will then be countered with someone of the opposite viewpoint, and so on and so forth. As for what we can learn from the controversy, I think it serves as almost a microcosm of American society. People's adamant insistence that the relationship did or did not happen reflects how we perceive Jefferson himself, slavery, sex, affairs, marriage, women, African Americans, and more. The fact that the controversy is still alive and well today illustrates how many different view points exist and how different everyone still feels about these issues. Until there is empirical and conclusive evidence that the relationship did or did not happen, I think people will continue to debate this for a long time.
Mary O'Reilly

29) Fond memories
This course was one that in many ways depicted lots of the issues the Southern United States faced throughout its history, and some that still hang in the background to this day. Being from the South gives me a different insight into these issues as well. How do we remember a past which everyone wants to forget? Where I live, there are reminders of this past everywhere. I live in a historically rich, white neighborhood in Nashville, only two miles from a major plantation, Belle Meade, which was one of the better-known plantations in its time. I went to a small, 95% white private school for all twelve years of school in Nashville. But I also have seen the other side of the equation as well; not many people, at least in Nashville, believe that the white and black communities will ever be fully integrated into one, single Nashville. For five years in middle and high school, I ran track for a team with sixty kids and five coaches; every single one was black, except me. The first day I pulled up in my dad's expensive car, the tension and hostility was tangible. After more than a few arguments, fights, and team meetings on whether or not I should be permitted to continue to run with this team, I earned the respect and trust of the entire team. To this day, I still keep in contact with my coach, who faced a similar situation playing baseball at the University of Tennessee on an all-white team. He and I are testaments to the reality that the gap between different races and cultures can be bridged with the appropriate amount of respect, trust, and patience. Studying this course brought back these fond memories; for me, it wasn't as much about whether Thomas Jefferson was "innocent" or "guilty." I'm still not sure. But it did expose to me, again, and the entire class the controversy we still endure today concerning race, and that race alone should not be allowed to dictate history and the genealogy of families. This controversy stemmed from racial issues, continues to involve racial issues, and will always be about race if both white and black sides of the Hemings "family" do not agree to put it by the wayside for the sake of their bond to each other. Proving that they are actually family, to me, is not as important as preserving this accepted historic, biracial bond they believe to share.
Watson Sweat

30) We should learn to be accepting
Jefferson and Hemings's history is still significant today because interracial relationships are still so controversial in present day society. Many people oppose them, believe other races are inferior, or think we should only be with those from our own culture. If this relationship is one of love, it proves that members of different races can be together, even against all odds. It has also stayed alive simply because it is an epic love story: two people, forced to hide their love for one another, but yet make their forbidden romance work. We can learn so much from this controversy. First of all, you can't judge a book by its cover. If Jefferson solely saw an illiterate slave girl in Sally, the relationship never would have worked. Similarly, Sally could have seen Jefferson as a racist man without any ability to be with an African American. They had to look past the surface to be together. It also shows that people don't always say what they mean. Jefferson wrote horrible comments about blacks but yet fathered a mulatto child. He may have thought of Sally as the exception, but he should have realized that his racist comments were inaccurate to all blacks, not just Sally. From this relationship, we should learn to be accepting and realize that all men are created equal, regardless of skin color.
Elizabeth Guzzo

31) Racism deeply engrained
When I first started out taking the class, I thought that I would grow bored of the subject very quickly, but I didn't. The Jefferson-Hemings controversy turned out to be about so much more than just Thomas Jefferson's scandalous affair with his slave. It is about woman's rights and race. I personally found the racism portion to be more interesting. Racism is that thing that no one wants to be real and no majority wants to admit to; however, it plagues our society even now in the twenty-first century. I think that the continuation of racism in American society is the driving force behind what has kept the controversy alive for over 200 years. If there was not the issue of Jefferson being white and Sally being black, the "controversy" would be obsolete. The public would have accepted Sally as Jefferson's lover and replacement for his deceased wife. The racism gets even more interesting as Sally herself was only an eighth black. In my opinion, only in a society where racism is nonexistent will this controversy die. However, racism is so deeply engrained in the American culture that I believe the controversy will continue for a long time.
Erin Wildeman

32) Giving the microphone to different people
This scandal represents a mass of knowledge that the everyday persons don't get in their education. This is a problem to me. I have only recently gravitated away from the scandal itself and am trying to put it into a more profound perspective, for better or worse. Growing up in predominantly white towns and going to mostly white schools, we are most likely given a skewed view of reality. Scandals like this really do serve as an opportunity for us to expand common knowledge and provide perspective. Maybe this is more important than who is right or wrong; the possibility is enough. This is what I will take away from this course of study. All the work both for and against the scandal, including DNA evidence, has left all the experts unsure. What I can be sure about is that while I may believe he is "guilty," I now see that what is important is that he could be guilty. I agree with the likes of Clarence Walker -- acknowledging the possibility of such scandals helps to advance the narrative of American history and gives the microphone to more and more different people. After all, is that not what we all want from history? An unbiased and broad perspective in which we learn as much about human nature as we do about ourselves and our past.
Justin Kloc

33) Race matters
If there is one significant point I take away from this course it is this: Race matters. It is interesting that much of society will claim race does not matter in the public eye, but it is because of society that racism exists. Social opinion forms the popular mind and creates the outline for what is wrong and right. Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemings was judged for two reasons: the color of her skin and her rank in society. It was difficult for society of that time period to fathom the third President of the United States sleeping with his negro slave, but who was the first to say it was wrong? Miscegenation was "morally" banned by Americans because it proposed something different and of novelty. Today, it still remains a hot topic of discussion. While watching Frontline: Jefferson's Blood, I was surprised to see two families of the same Jeffersonian descent split over the issue of race. I understood the perspective of the white side, but I could not completely sympathize with that of the "blacks." One family member mentioned that the whites could not possibly relate because her relatives were raised black. I was perplexed with this statement. For someone who is 3/4 or more white genealogically, what specifically about her upbringing would cause her to label it as being "raised black." Perhaps that is the flaw in the way society, including myself, thinks in general. It is easier to take one side than it is to accept both. The pressures of choosing a side is what drove these families apart, and it is what keeps this debate alive. If race did not matter and society did not form general opinion, it would feel wrong to think as exclusively as we do. Controversy would not exist, and the story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings would have been long forgotten by now.
Kristina Gonzalez

34) A strong blow to the racist agenda
I believe this controversy is significant and has remained active for over 200 years for several reasons. The first, I believe, is because the American people have made it so. America is a country where the private lives of politicians is anything but that. Anything and everything is fair game and used in many peoples' judgment of political candidates' ability to govern. The mentality here is that if someone is immoral in his private life, he is just as likely to bring immorality to the decisions he makes that deeply affect the public in everyday life. The more important the person, the more interested the public becomes in their private lives. This implies the humongous impact Jefferson had on America. Because he is so significant and has done so many significant things, his potential involvement in this controversy is all the more significant and carries with it many implications.

The first category of implications help to determine the views and beliefs of Jefferson, something many historians strive to accomplish through a comparison between Jefferson's work and his relationship with Hemings. Jefferson's most famous contribution to America is possibly his crafting of the Declaration of Independence in which he included the clause "all men are created equal" and attempted to include a section arguing the need for emancipation. Through the study of his relationship with Hemings, it becomes clear that the two clauses are completely separate from one another. By reading his section in Notes on Virginia that focuses on classifying whites as a different breed than blacks, it becomes obvious that when he refers to "men," he is exclusively referring to whites. After reading his plans for emancipation, which is essentially the exportation of all blacks to Africa, his intentions of his second attempted addition to the Declaration also become clear. Jefferson's relationship with Hemings works to strengthen these facts. It is generally accepted that Sally Hemings could pass for white and therefore did not possess many of the physical characteristics Jefferson used as evidence to distinguish the white breed from the black breed in Notes on Virginia, even though she was still considered "black." Because of this, it is possible to imagine that Jefferson could mentally separate her from the rest of his slaves and remove the negative characteristics from her that he associated with blacks. I believe it was this mental distinction that allowed Jefferson to free Sally and her children who acquired even more pronounced characteristics of whites. However, Sally wasn't enough to compel Jefferson to free all of his slaves. This leads me to believe that Jefferson remained true to his writings in Notes on Virginia and maintained his racist beliefs until his death. Many Americans struggle to accept that one of the most influential men in the history of our country was a racist, which has spurred the numerous "character defense" writings published by many Jefferson scholars. Because of the reluctance to believe this about Jefferson, another implication is created.

This second implication deals primarily with the work of Annette Gordon-Reed, which highlights the bias and racism that has governed the work of many Jeffersonian Scholars. Blinded by their discomfort with the fact that one of our founding fathers was a racist, many of these scholars ignored the responsibilities of historians to examine facts and infer possible implications from them and, instead, warped their duties to conform to the ends they wanted to achieve, that is, proving Jefferson's innocence and protecting his good name. With the publication of Annette Gordon-Reed's book, America finally sees the work that should have been published all along: work that looks at facts and explores multiple avenues of logical conclusions to determine what their implications may be.

The third and potentially most significant implication is one that most directly affects the African-American community. While the writings and preaching of many, including Jefferson, have been instrumental in inciting and promoting racism towards blacks, the hypocrisy of Jefferson's writings co-existing with his relationship with one of his slaves shows the injustice of these sentiments. Sally stands as a figurehead for all of the injustices wrought upon the African-American community. She is a tangible example that demonstrates even Jefferson, an intellectual genius and one of the most influential actors of history, faltered in his dedication to his racist beliefs. Sally was considered "black" in society, but she had something about her that was enough to captivate one of the most famous American presidents for many decades. Jefferson is strongly and passionately revered, and the fact that he was enchanted with an African-American is a strong blow to the racist agenda. Jefferson's relationship with Sally and their children also demonstrates the robbing of many children of the right to connect with their father, and for a wider population, one of the founding fathers. Understanding and connecting to its history is a major source of American pride. Because of Jefferson's acknowledgement (as reluctant as it may have been) that his work in Notes on Virginia may not have been correct as evidenced through Sally Hemings and his subsequent failure to adapt his ideology and use his immense base of influence to try and change these societal biases, many in the African-American community have been robbed of the ability to connect with this major piece of American history. It is for these reasons that the Jefferson-Hemings controversy has remained active for so long.
Katie Prosswimmer

35) No good reason to hold tightly to your race
This class opened my eyes to another side of racial struggles, no easy feat for a Southerner who grew up with racial tension all around him. To be honest, it isn't all that important to me whether a man dead almost two hundred years had relations with a slave. If he did and it was a loving relationship, good for them for breaching a racial divide even stronger than today's. If it was more in the nature of a slave master taking advantage of his power, then that's disgusting, but nothing can be done about it now, so worrying over it doesn't do anything. What's important now is the tension between the descendants. It's amazing how wrapped up they are in racial identity. The story of one "white" woman and her sisters trying to reconnect with their "black" relatives [in the PBS documentary Jefferson's Blood] is most disturbing. The "white" family effectively disowns her, and it will, of course, take time before she can be accepted into the "black" family, which is full of relative strangers. The "black" family is impressively welcoming, given that they are strangers, but there is an argument over whether the grandfather of the woman and her sisters, the link between the families, is black or white. When interviewed separately, a member of the "black" family seems offended that the women would insist that he, the grandfather, was white; she seems to be saying that the women are stubbornly ignorant and can't accept that the man was black. Why is it, though, that she is not the stubbornly ignorant one; this man had enough white and black ancestors to make no difference -- he could safely be said to be black or white. I have a friend from Africa, his mother grew up in Africa, and is black, his father is white, he and his sister both look very black. It took me about three years and a comment from my father to realize that his father was white. Their racial identity was never important; their family never made a big deal of whether they were black or white, and they simply enjoy themselves, so everyone around them became more or less color-blind. While one shouldn't necessarily forget his or her culture, I have never seen, even in the South, a good reason to hold tightly to your race.
Chris McHugh

36) A greater sense of gratitude
This course provided me with a greater sense of gratitude for all the work established and done for us by our predecessors. Since I came into the course knowing the basics of the scandal and with an already formed and somewhat shrewd opinion of Jefferson, I wasn't hit with the initial shock and disbelief which seemed evident in some of my classmates' blogs. However, there was a great element of the unknown throughout the course with some of Jefferson's personal writings and entries by other parties on their feelings about the scandal. Now, I say that I was provided with a greater sense of gratitude because this course really brought out how life gets easier with the work and passing of every generation. Thomas Jefferson was a human, and every human is a hypocrite at some point in his or her life. Yes, he's easier to judge because he was a founding father who penned the most defining words of our nation's past, present, and future, but he's also the hardest to judge because of the sheer ambiguity of both himself and his personal scandal. However, throughout the entire course, I made sure to remember just what Jefferson left to legacy, and that is not his character, not his actions, and not his personal escapades. Rather, it is his words which defined America and separated her from the world in future generations. Therefore, I am eternally grateful to all of our founding fathers for establishing such an admirable written base for the past progress and continued progress of America.
Ruslana Makarenko

37) It's about family
When this course began, I honestly didn't think there would be enough material from this controversy to fill all fourteen weeks of the semester. I mean, DNA all but proved that Thomas Jefferson did have an affair with his slave Sally Hemings, so what's the point in arguing the issue? But with every week that went by, the more and more surprised I was at the amount of depth there is to this 200-year-old American scandal. I was ill-informed on the subject, having thought the main question was "if," when the real issue has so much more meaning. It's about family. The PBS Frontline video fleshed out the idea most openly. While it's fascinating to try to analyze the possible dynamics of the relationship, debating whether it was love or lust, sensuous or forceful, the bottom line is that those arguments can't be proven in any case simply because the answer is in the past with no comprehensive records. What can be explored more deeply is the present situation -- the people involved. The "black" and "white" descendants fighting over the acceptance of each other as part of the same interracial family is the truly captivating issue to me. I include those words in quotations because they're only descriptors here. For the living Hemingses, the physicalities of either race don't exist, yet the identifying ties live on, dividing their family. Whether Jefferson and Sally realized it at the time or not, they created a non-visible color boundary, ripping apart their children's families. They left a schism that only a momentous family effort can bridge. And, hopefully, one day, it will be bridged.
Greg Jakes

38) The controversy provides hope
The Jefferson-Hemings relationship is significant because of the message it sends Americans about race relations. The existence of the relationship is still a point of disagreement between family members, and it is racial tensions which amplify this disagreement. Even now, almost forty years since the Civil Rights Movement, some who self-identify as white are still unwilling to admit their family ties to those who self-identify as black. This ignorance and hatred is what the controversy brings to the forefront. The meaning of the controversy is that it can provide hope for these race relations which it has brought to the attention of Americans everywhere. If these sorts of issues do still exist, they must be considered, and peace and tolerance must be the ultimate goal of all parties involved. The controversy has mobilized historians and scholars to speak out and work for the proper recognition of the family, but the amount of time it has taken for the public to fully come around (which arguably still hasn't happened) is a testament to the fact that there is still work to be done to continue to improve race relations in America today. The controversy has stayed alive for over 200 years because of the message it sends concerning race relations. The contemporary issues this controversy is still dealing with are proof that we must not stay quiet, and we can use the relationship and the controversy as an example for the fact that hard work and persistence (on the part of the public, historians, and the Hemingses themselves) will get one's story heard.
Kimbrilee Weber

39) Again, again, and again
Studying this whole controversy deeply and looking at various aspects of it was a lot more than just analyzing an American President's love affair. It was a deep analysis of history, racism, sexism, politics, social injustice, and more. What I observed from the controversy is the fact that history repeats itself under any circumstances in any culture and country. While studying Jefferson, I realized a lot of similarities between Turkish (I'm Turkish) and American history. I realized that the same conflicts are going back and forth throughout the history as E. L. Doctorow also indicated by saying "History is the present. That's why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth." However, as history continues repeating itself, it comes up with new and more complicated problems as the time changes. Jefferson's private life had been a subject of a public discussion for two-hundred years and is still going to be in the future. Ataturk, the creator of Turkey has been criticized with his religious views for hundred years and still people are in a dilemma between what he said about religion and what he did in his private life about religion. Nowadays, French president Nicolas Sarkozy is in sight with his relation with Carla Bruni after getting divorced from his ex-wife. These three leaders are great examples of how history continues repeating itself again and again with new people but with the same concept. The public discussed their leader's private life two-hundred years ago, and they are still discussing it in the 21st century. This means, no matter how antiracist or antisexist our society becomes in the future, we will still remember the old days and discuss all these over and over again in order to get a better place to live where all humans are equal, as Thomas Jefferson said.
Emre Turan

40) Racism still permeates our society
This controversy is proof that racial tension still exists in our country today. The reason it was such a scandalous ordeal is because it was an issue involving race. The reason it remains a living controversy is the same. Sadly, the Jefferson-Hemings affair is still an issue because people in America are still uncomfortable with the intermingling of races. Slavery has been gone for hundreds of years, but racism still permeates our society. If this were untrue, the Jefferson Hemings controversy would have brought Americans together, knowing that we as individuals can not be defined by one race but as a combination of many. The hostility among living Jefferson Hemings descendants is a sad reminder that citizens today still do not believe that "all men are created equal."
Elaina Kelly

41) Jefferson no longer untouchable
From the time of comprehension, most have been taught about the greatness that is Thomas Jefferson. We were taught how pure, noble, and just he was. In a many ways, he was raised above the rest of us, raised above anything that a human being can truly be. Studying the Jefferson-Hemings controversy showed me that Jefferson was a real person, just like anyone else. Just has he had his triumphs and successes, so too did he have his flaws and drawbacks. He is no doubt still a man of great importance, and still a great man, but he is no longer untouchable or even divine in nature. In a way, it makes me respect the man that Jefferson was even more. To think that a man, the same as me or anyone else, could bring about as much change as Jefferson is a thought that fills me with something close to ambition. It is impossible to put everything that I have brought out of this course into a single paragraph. I doubt I could fit everything on my mind into a twenty-page paper. The real nutshell of what I learned and what conclusions I have drawn are thus: Jefferson was a great man, but a man not unlike me or anyone else. He was a man far ahead of his time in regards to race relations. This controversy goes on for the defenders because they feel that admitting there was an affair belittles Jefferson when really it only makes him a greater man. The controversy goes on for the attackers of Jefferson because they believe that he should have done more, such as abolishing slavery, or setting all his slaves free, when the reality is that if he had done so he would have ruined his own life in a futile attempt to bring about change around 100 years too soon. My final thought on this controversy is that Jefferson has been made to be more than a man, but studying this controversy brings him back down to being a man like any other. This process has shaped Jefferson into an even greater visionary and achiever in my mind. If our founding father was an ordinary man just like anyone else, why can't I do something just as great as him?
Kevin Campbell

42) We still have not learned how to exist as human beings
The significance of the controversy is that it is still a relevant subject over 200 years later. It has become not only a part of Thomas Jefferson's legacy, but of America's as well. It encompasses deep issues like sex and race and family, which are just as important now because it helps to form an identity, whether that be a national identity, individual identity, or family identity. These themes are reoccurring in today's society, which make it important for scholars and historians to study and research as modern-day culture in America continues to evolve. How can we know where we're going if we don't know where we came from? This is the case for many Americans today, and it remains a close-to-the-chest issue, if not a barrier that prevents us from moving forward. The biggest thing we can learn from this story is in how we analyze it and whether or not historians can address the faults and lies that were perpetuated as fact. Why was this so for such a long time? More than anything, it tells us about human behavior and that some things we haven't learned from. Prejudice and racism and stereotyping still exist in our culture today, whether we choose to feel the undercurrent of our country's actions or not. We still have not learned how to exist as human beings. Perhaps this is the greatest lesson we have yet to learn.
Kristen Dalton

43) Neither side had any conclusive arguments
The Jefferson-Hemings controversy raises a number of interesting points about how "history" is constructed. Even the most prominent historians cannot help but inject their own partiality towards Jefferson into their account of the scandal. They cannot accept the possibility that Jefferson could have done something that would make him anything less than immaculate. At the opposite end of the argument are the authors and movie producers that assume that there must have been a long-lasting relationship between them simply because they view these historical accounts as racially biased. The truth is that neither side had any conclusive arguments. In my opinion, what each person thought about the issue was entirely based on preconceived notions, and history is being formed before taking into account the validity of the facts involved. There were very few facts involved in the controversy and none of them can definitively prove anything, allowing anyone to frame the controversy in such a way to prove their point. That is why, in my opinion, the DNA test is the only thing that proves anything. The DNA almost undoubtedly proves that Jefferson fathered the children of Sally Hemings, finally ending the controversy. Learning about this controversy only reaffirms my feelings that the formation of history says far more about the people who write it and the times they live in than about that truth.
Brian Levy

44) Time to cry, but we shall overcome
After familiarizing oneself with the truth of our founding father, one can no longer look at the back of a nickel without picturing Thomas Jefferson cavorting about with Sally Hemings, neglecting his love children, and doing nothing to rectify the depravity of the peculiar institution. Sure, it was a different time, and we cannot be presentist, but, the Louisiana purchaser himself intellectualized that slavery was evil. Bottom line, cogitating about the estranged Jefferson, whether or not in love, copulating with his own slave and continuing to bring bastards into the world, bleached by his whiteness, is unforgivable. Maybe if Master would have led the way for emancipation, he could keep his lofty perch, but he took advantage of Sally Hemings whether mutually consenting or not. We all need some time to cry for this uniquely American situation and try to glean some understanding. It hurts. Our hero has let us down. Forever, our consciousness will be marred by the flowering contradictions of our national framer. If we take a moment to digest these repercussions for a fleeting moment, Jefferson lives again in our consciousness, and we all empathize with his plight. We shall overcome.
Kiernan McGinnis