Customer Reviews

Mr. Jefferson's Women

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Just when you thought you had read everything...Jon Kukla presents a very readable portrait of Jefferson's "relationships" with women--which leads to new insights about this great man--and, more interestingly, his attitudes towards women in general. The final chapters about his broader view of women as a threat to republican government place Jefferson in the context of his time. There is a remarkable discussion of Jefferson and Abigail Adams' letters. The book is eminently fair about Sally Hemings and gives a new meaning to the notion that "all men are created equal". Thank you, Jon Kukla, for beginning a lively conversation that is well worth your engagement.

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most troubling characters among America's founding fathers. He penned the immortal ideals of freedom and equality in the Declaration of Independence. We, from our modern perspective, also like the fact that he was an intellectual and that he brought refreshing informality to the White House. In recent years, his reputation has been tarnished by re-examination of his disturbing political tendencies. (See for example, John Adams and Negro President: Jefferson and the Slave Power). This book provides additional insights into Jefferson's character by examining his relation to the women in his life, and the insights add more tarnish to Jefferson's reputation that go beyond the understandably archaic attitudes that might belong to a man of his time. As clearly documented here, "all men created equal" applied no more to women than to blacks in Jefferson's mind. Each woman discussed here provides additional perspective. As to the Sally Hemings controversy, Kukla carefully lays out enough circumstantial details to undermine the most strident doubter.

A fine book, worthy of a wider audience.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The author wrote it in a way that both educates and compells you to read more. I found it hard to put down. My favorite parts were very personal, real-life events that made Mr. Jefferson even more real to me. My favorite is, during his presidency, an account of his chosen attire while welcoming a Rep. of the British King. He was wearing well worn slippers that he tossed around on his toes (priceless!). I also found the additional quotes and excerpts of letters from people such as Abigail Adams and others a welcome addition. Kudos to the author for such an insighful, wonderful, well thought out book about Jefferson and the various forms of relationships with women during his life.

This is the earlier (first published in 2007) of two recent studies on Jefferson and Women, the more recent volume being Virginia Scharff's "The Women Jefferson Loved" (also reviewed on Amazon). The author is a distinguished historian who, among other posts, between 1973 and 1990, directed historical research and publishing at the Library of Virginia. He really knows how to conduct documentary research and is very conversant with the Jefferson literature. He also spent a period working with Virginius Dabney in subjecting Fawn Brodie's explosive bio of TJ to critical (but professional) analysis and scrutiny. This does not mean that the author never, on occasion, engages in some historical speculation that far outruns the established evidence. Nonetheless, this is a superior effort, even though I do not necessarily accept his thesis.

The book focuses on a number of women who interacted with Jefferson, including several not covered in the Scharff book. First up is Rebecca Burwell, who rejected TJ's youthful proposal of marriage. The author believes that this extremely painful rejection negatively affected TJ's interactions with women for the rest of his life, rendering him a permanent misogynist. The author next turns to Elizabeth Moore Walker, the wife of a close TJ friend. Three years after assuming the presidency (1803), it was alleged by his political enemies that TJ had tried to force his affections onto this married lady back in the late 1760's. While this blew over, Kukla's masterful research skills have unearthed some pretty convincing evidence supporting this allegation. For once, we have a fully-developed professional analysis of this issue based on solid command of pertinent documents.

A chapter is devoted to Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, which the author contends supports his thesis because of TJ's total domination of her until she died. Whether one accept this argument, the author has well removed Martha from the darkness of the historical record and made her come alive as a person. Jefferson's supposed paramour while in Paris, Maria Cosway, undergoes a valuable examination. Kukla ends up deflating the significance of this brief relationship, even given the famous dialogue between "head and heart" TJ wrote her. Finally, Sally Hemings is discussed, the author's point being that their alleged romantic relationship arose because TJ could fully control and subordinate her since she was a slave.

The final chapters I found extremely interesting. The author discusses TJ's disagreement with Abigail Adams ("remember the ladies") over enhancing the role of women in the new American republic. Kukla argues that his period in Paris, with the upcoming French revolution just around the corner, convinced Jefferson that women and politics did not meld; that such "amazons" would represent "active threats" to sound government. Rather, the role of women was limited to be helpmates, focusing on domesticity and moterhood, and America should remain a white male polity. This misogynist attitude Jefferson installed in his own two adult daughters, much to their detriment.

So, obviously, there is much to "chew over" in this book. The author supports her theories with 49 pages of notes, referencing the Jefferson Papers, books, letters, manuscript collections, and additional sources. Three appendices are included, among them the pertinent documents relating to the Walker affair, as well as the famous "head and heart" dialogue. Whether one agrees wholly, partially, or not at all with the author's arguments, the richness of this volume stands out for those seriously interested in Jefferson and his life.

We all know the accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson. He helped form our country and set us down the path of becoming a great nation. However, most of us don't know what helped form the foundation of his personality and how the stops along his personal path affected who he was and the decisions he made. Mr. Jefferson's Women takes a look at how several women crossed his path and how these women affected Thomas Jefferson is profound and life-altering ways.

Thomas Jefferson's interactions with the women in his family, his first love, wives of fellow politicians, and his slaves, all combined to form his opinion of women and their roles in society. This book dissects several of these relationships to expose how they impacted Jefferson's opinions and actions. While the book does expose Jefferson as anything but friendly to women's rights, it does it in a fair way, giving time and place context to the statements and actions of Jefferson.

The book spends most of the time in five chapters, each dedicated to a detailed look at a specific relationship, all of which were some form of love interest. The last two chapters give an overview of other women who were not love interests, but had an impact on Jefferson. The book concludes with a trove of letters and detailed information that give great reference points and further research paths.

For those of us who have a storybook take on the lives of the founding fathers, this book is eye opening and somewhat shocking but highly interesting. It is a quick and easy read that is entertaining and informative. Anyone who has an even cursory interest in Thomas Jefferson will find this book a welcome addition to their collection.

Armchair Interviews says: We see the other side of one of the great names of our nation's history.

Excellent book. I never realize that President Jefferson loves the Ladies. As I read this book, I came to the conclusion that the real love of his life was Rebecca Burwell. This is a book that every admirer and critic of Thomas Jefferson must read.

Excellent! This native Virginia and historian is in like with Thoma Jefferson, always have been. This excellent research source adds more background to Jefferson as a real person!

I looked forward to reading this book as a feminist and an admirer of Mr. Jefferson. I was disappointed. The only reason it got two stars was the idea was original.
I admire Thomas Jefferson despite the fact I am very aware of his misogyny.A man very much of his time (where the idea of women doing anything but being wife and mother flew in the face of nature.and could be considered the work of the devil)
But this book made him out to be a monster.
The work was also poorly written and pure yellow journalism with questionable conclusion and sources.

He is scandal mongering. In his chapter on Betsy Walker, he makes Thomas Jefferson out to be a sexual predator, just waiting for the chance to repeated try to rape her. Every one of his contemporaries said he was a shy, timid man. His reaction to any kind of rejection was to steel himself with indifference. He ends the chapter talking about how much Betsy and her husband love each other and that they live happily every after, yet in the next chapter when he talks about Thomas Jefferson's wife he actually states, we can never know if the affection between them was genuine due to the dimming of time. So we can know for sure that Betsy and her husband definitely loved each other but we can't be sure of Thomas and Martha?
His chapter on Sally Hemming (who, by the way, was 3/4 white and was thought of as white not black) again our dear TJ the sexual predator comes back. Nevermind that we are projecting 21 century morals on on 18th centuary man and his slave, he contradicts himself in his own arguments that Thomas was the father of her children in listing the dates of conception to when Thomas was there, one child was conceived three weeks AFTER Thomas left for congress. Does the man have god like fertility powers? or perhaps maybe not all of the children are his?
The tone of which he attacked him and the very dry writing are reasons, I'm glad I got it form the library not actually having spent money on it. It's not worth the price.

This is a book of fiction, if anything, with very little credit. While a nice and easy read there is very little evidence to support anything, especially anything to do with Sally Hemmings. A bunch of wasted time for me.

Why does even the prospect that Jefferson was with Sally Hemings bother you so much ?