Sally Hemings Research Paper

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Recommended: Sally Hemmings-Thomas Jefferson relationship

Numerous arguments have emerged due to the idea that Thomas Jefferson had an affair with his slave, Sally Hemings. Such idea was thought to silly because in those days nobody thought that a white southern gentleman could have any relationship with his slaves. Could you expect Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers and having such respect among the American people would have a sexual relationship and bear children with his slave. A political journalist of Richmond newspaper named James T Callender put forward allegations that pointed a possibility of a sexual relationship and fathering some or all of Sally Heming’s children in. In this essay, we are going to look at this issue of Jefferson-Hemings controversy with the help of the DNA …show more content…

Firstly, DNA results had shown that the one of the males carrying the Jefferson Y chromosome fathered Eston Hemings. In addition, findings have shown that Sally Heming’s children bore a striking resemblance to Thomas Jefferson in that they had light skin. Moreover, Thomas Jefferson showed compassion towards the Hemings family by freeing all of them from slavery. During those time, no other slave families were given freedom which implies that Thomas Jefferson had connection with the Hemings. Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello visitation patters matched the birth patterns of Sally Heming, which suggests for the claim that Thomas Jefferson fathered Sally Hemings children. Many historical reports have also shown that several people close to Jefferson or the Monticello community like John Hartwell Cocke, Jefferson’s friend, and formal Monticello slave Israel Gillette Jefferson have argued that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings children. Besides that, though there were other Jeffersons in that time carrying the same male Y chromosome, there is no documented presence of them at Monticello during Sally Hemings conception beside Thomas Jefferson. Moreover, Thomas Jefferson being a widow during the time of these events matters. They point to the possible causes of the behaviors of Thomas Jefferson. If Jefferson lacked the company that a wife or female friend would accord a man, then it proves why he behaved this

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