I apologize once again for the vague header that results from my taking
Museum-L in digest form.
 
Just a quick note about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. Lacking any new
evidence, it is unlikely that we will ever know for certain what TJ's
relationship with Hemmings was.  The documents simply do not exist to
establish a sexual relationship between them.  It would be foolish in the
extreme, therefore, for Monticello to "take a position" on the subject.
In anycase, the more important issues about Jefferson and the entire
set of questions surrounding race and slavery do not depend on the character
of his relationship with Sally Hemmings.  There is a HUGE body of
very good scholarship on this subject that the folks at Monticello are
undoubtedly being urged to consult.  From my point of view, at least, it
is these larger questions that deserve attention.  The Sally Hemmings
question can easily distract us from what really matters about Jefferson,
the slave owning racist apostle of liberty.
 
Douglas Greenberg
President and Director
The Chicago Historical Society
Clark Street at North Avenue
Chicago  Il.  60614-6099
Telephone 312 642 5035
FAX 312 266 2077 OR 312 642 1199
Bitnet U27777@UICVM
Internet [log in to unmask]