Customer Reviews

The Slave Children of Thomas Jefferson

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Don't waste your time (or money). This book is almost as poorly written as it is poorly cited. The author obviously had no editor. There are nearly a half-dozen better choices if you want reliable information on Jefferson and the slavery connection.

The author asserts that Jefferson begot children with his slave and reminds the reader that this was not usual or shocking behavior for many antebellum Southern men. This book is amusing because of it's high spirited, conversational style and because of it's flaws. It could've been a very good book if only Mr. Sloan had sought out the services of a copy/content editor. The technical problems with the book are just too distracting.

The allegation that Thomas Jefferson was the father of children by his slave, Sally Hemings, was published in a Richmond, Va. newspaper in 1802. In a bumpy read (the writing style ranges from breezy to turgid), Sloan's book is typical of what is becoming an "attack the famous" genre. He offers no new scholarship and skirts around the lack of any direct evidence to support his theme. Sally Hemings was about 14 years old when she travelled to Paris as the maid to Jefferson's youngest daughter. The rumor started by the newspaper charge is that she became pregnant and returned to Monticello to have Jefferson's child. Apparently the author was unaware, when he published this book, that DNA testing was being conducted that ruled out Jefferson as the father. During the period from 1795 to 1808, Sally had four children that lived and Sloan claims Jefferson paternity for all of them. He does not explain, nor have other purveyors of the myth, why no one who observed this Jefferson-Hemings relationship ever made a statement about it during Jefferson's life. This includes his daughters, his grandchildren, brother, sister, and nephews, many of whom resided at Monticello during these years. It also included Sally's two brothers James and Bob, who were freed in the 90's, and her son and daughter who ran away in 1822, as well as two of her sons, a brother, and two nephews who were freed by Jeffersons's will. Imagine how important Sally would have been at Monticello as Jefferson's long time mistress, virtually his wife, yet not one word remains to describe her. She is an historical cipher. The author has clearly read extensively on the subject, but if you are looking for a documented history, this is not your book. Sloan even admits that he "is not impressed with footnotes." It is also hard to have confidence in a book that cites two of the books in Dumas Malone's six volume biography, but not the two with the genealogical information and the special appendix on the Hemings issue. Sloan could have benefitted from an editor. This has all the faults of a self published book. But, if you are looking for rumor and innuendo, it's all here.

This book is not sound. I found it full of conjecture which he calls in one place, "The basic facts..." Unedited, and not tightly written.

I have not read the book, but I saw it advertised on the author's website. I got to his website while looking for something else. He seems to be quite strange and even a little scary. I would highly recommend you look at his personal website before buying or reading any of his books.

This book was well researched. It is an independent work and does not seem to polished by an editor, but that does not take away from the content. He does use the interview of Madison and Eston a lot as well as extensive analysis of Jefferson's papers. He even critique's the arguments of other biographers and the partyline of the "Monticello Mafia"(Jefferson is/was morally incapable of fathering children by a slave). This argument seems ridiculous especially since he is known to have had an affair with a married woman.

They take this very seriously even on Amazon. If you look closely any book (including this one) that does not agree with their stance that Jefferson absolutely did not father Hemings children is reviewed negatively on Amazon by someone connected with the Jefferson Heritage society .

What this whole issue really comes down to is - Who is telling the truth? Do you believe the word of a slave or a slave owner?

What I found most interesting is that he makes the case for Jefferson fathering a child with another slave (not sally Hemings). He even has a photograph of a descendent of this child who looks remarkably like Jefferson.

Good research, good book. It boggles the mind as to how some people can continue to deny the Hemings-Jefferson relationship in lieu of all of the evidence.

This is a solid book for anyone interested in the controversy. Kudos to Mr. Sloan.