Rewriting History: Jefferson Faces His Slaves

By William "Tommy" McNulty

[1] The largest issue in this scene is the clear and distinct separation of the “reel history” with which we are presented in contrast to what actually happened, the “real history.” The reality of the situation was that, yes, Jefferson’s greatest monetary assets were his slaves, and indeed they had to be sold after his death in order to help clear his debts. During his lifetime, Jefferson did own upwards of 150 slaves, and, as we see in the film, Monticello operated on the basis of slavery. In Sally Hemings, however, writer Tina Andrews chooses to present the issue of selling the slaves as an issue Jefferson had to deal with during his lifetime.

[2] After recognizing that Andrews has made the conscious decision to take her account of history on a separate tangent from what actually happened, we must ask ourselves, “Why does she do this?”

[3] It seems clear that by rearranging the timeline of events, Jefferson is forced to face the reality of his hypocrisy. Early portions of the film seem to suggest that Jefferson was never in favor of slavery or what it stood for, yet as time goes on (even through his tenure as President), he allows his entire estate to be run solely on the principles of slavery. As the scene unfolds, we can see the struggle Jefferson endures as he attempts to tell the slaves that they will all be sold. As he explains what is happening, he even apologizes, placing the blame on himself for allowing this to happen. In Andrews’ fictionalized account of history, Jefferson is not only forced to face his slaves and tell them they will be sold, she also forces him to apologize. Are we to believe that a man who was the master of these slaves and was undoubtedly one of the most highly respected men in America would be reduced to tears while telling his slaves they would be sold? For Andrews, it seems as though this is the way she feels history should have happened, even though we know that in reality this never occurred.

[4] While a majority of the film seems to focus on the title character, this particular scene shifts the focus away from Sally at many points. The camera goes through a cycle of who is the focus: The focus begins with Jefferson, then it moves to a full pan of the slaves, and then to Sally. These three shots, understandably, make up the greatest portion of the scene, yet at many times the camera pans over individual slaves, suggesting that we are to realize that this group of individuals is not supposed to be seen as one large unit, but, rather, they each have specific ties within Monticello. As Jefferson tells them they will all be sold, his emotions seem to be mirrored by the slave population. One might have expected some type of uprising or at least angry agitation, even if only from one person, but, instead, what we see is almost every slave weeping and looking at the ground with a look of defeat. Jefferson’s own incompetency at alleviating the importance of slavery at his home has led to this situation, and everyone seems to know it. As the camera focuses on Sally, we see her gazing at Jefferson, only to have her turn away after a moment. While he has let down the slaves as a whole, Sally especially seems to realize the enormity of Jefferson’s mistake and the price he is paying by admitting his mistake.

[5] Overall, this scene is interesting for many reasons; however, the largest reason is undoubtedly Tina Andrews’ decision to have Thomas Jefferson face his slaves and own up to the fact that he made crucial mistakes that led to this moment. In reality he never had to do this, but it seems as though when Jefferson apologizes to his slaves, Andrews is attempting to create the feeling that Jefferson is in fact apologizing to the viewers as well, especially African American viewers. He is apologizing for and accepting the fact that even as a high-ranking American politician, he never attempted to end slavery when he had the chance. His own actions eventually led to the sale of the slaves that had called Monticello home. Whereas Jefferson never had to face this reality in “real” American history, Andrews forces him to face it in “reel” American history.