#28: Sally Hemings – Emancipator of Her Children, Part II

Love what you hear? Send us fan mail!In 1998, genetic scientific evidence confirmed nearly two centuries of rumors: Sally Hemings' children were, in fact, fathered by Thomas Jefferson. After her return to the United States, Sally bore seven children with four surviving to adulthood. The births of her children coincided with the times Jefferson returned to Monticello over the years. Sally's four surviving children were all freed by age 21, giving us evidence that Jefferson kept the promise he made to her in Paris. Sally left Monticello after Jefferson's death, living with her sons in Virginia until her death in 1835. She wasn't formally freed until 1836.In agreeing to return to the United States, she gifted her children freedom some forty years before the Emancipation Proclamation. Come along with us as we discuss the release of the DNA evidence confirming Sally and Jefferson's relationship, how her children felt about Jefferson, and her legacy through history and astrology! This episode contains discussions of slavery, non-consensual sex, coercion,     graphic violence, and abuse.                                                                  Sources                 Articles: “Sally Hemings: Writing the Life of an Enslaved Woman” by Anette Gordon-Reed in The Routledge Companion to Black Women’s Cultural Histories"Slavery Legalized" by Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia (https://vascw.org/cool_timeline/slavery-legalized/) "The Slaves' Story" (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/slaves/)  “Statement on the TJMF Research Committee Report on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings” by Daniel P. Jordan, Ph.D. (https://monticello-www.s3.amazonaws.com/files/old/inline-pdfs/jefferson-hemings_report.pdf) "Thomas Jefferson as Governor of Virginia" in Encyclopedia Virginia (https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/jefferson-thomas-as-governor-of-virginia/) "When the Past Speaks to the Present: Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings" by Annette Gordon-Reed (https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/when-past-speaks-present-thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings) Books:Many Thousands Gone by Ira Berlin Reclamation by Gayle Jessup White Sally Hemings: Given Her Time by Leigh Fought Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Anette Gordon-Reed Digital Media:"The Founding Mothers, 2: Martha Jefferson & Sally Hemings" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDh5pWqBIxs) "Unearthing Sally Hemings' legacy at Monticello" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gm3HtijrMQ)Primary Sources:"An act concerning Servants and Slaves" (1705) (https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/an-act-concerning-servants-and-slaves-1705/) The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson"Jefferson Condemns the Slave Trade in the Declaration of Independence" (https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/jefferson-condemns-slave-trade-declaration-independence) “Laws of Virginia, Act XII (1662)” (https://www.gilderlehrman.org/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/origins-enslavement/laws-virginia-act-xii-1662) “The Memoirs of Madison Hemings” (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/cron/1873march.html) Websites:“The Life of Sally Hemings” (https://www.monticello.org/sallyhemings/) “Reproduction and Resistance” (https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/hidden-voices/resisting-enslavement/reproduction-and-resistance) "Sally Hemings" (https://jamesedwardmills.substack.com/p/sally-hemmings)     Support Us!Patreon: patreon.com/MakingMythPodcastKofi: https://ko-fi.com/makingmythpodcast