Sept. 4, 2021

Sally Hemings

Sally Hemings

Tune in as I tackle the mystery surrounding Sally Hemings, the enslaved woman who had a decades long affair with Thomas Jefferson.

While so much of her story remains unknown, the story of Sally Hemings remains a critical piece of the American story. Who was Sally Hemings? How did their relationship begin? And what evidence exists regarding their relationship?

I attempt to tackle all of this and more with this episode.

SOURCES:

Berkes, Anna. “John Wayles.” Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Accessed August 5th, 2021. (LINK)

Bernstein, R.B. Thomas Jefferson. Oxford University Press. New York: 2003. 

Gordon-Reed. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy. University of Virginia Press: 1998. 

Smith, Dinitia & Nicholas Wade. DNA Tests Finds Evidence of Jefferson Child by Slave. The New York Times. Nov. 1, 1998. Accessed August 5th, 2021. (LINK)

“The Life of Sally Hemings.” Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Accessed August 6th, 2021. (LINK)

“The Memoirs of Madison Hemings.” Frontline. PBS. Accessed August 5th, 2021. (LINK)

“To Thomas Jefferson from John Barnes, 31 August 1802,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-38-02-0286. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 38, 1 July–12 November 1802, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011, pp. 323–325.] Accessed August 6th, 2021. (LINK)

Support the show (http://www.buymeacoffee.com/civicscoffeepod)