This is the first time i have been able to get on the blag as I now realise that your username is in fact your email.
For my task I had to find a webpage that didn't agree that Jefferson was the "model" that it was quite put forward he was known for. I found a page but it is in a pdf file so i hope it come out alright for everyone.
http://www.tjheritage.org/documents/TrialAnalysis.pdf
The website mainly takes apart claims that he owned slaves but also the he fatherd black children which at the time would not have been acceptable, They would have not been deemed acceptable under law by state of virginia. On page 14 his grandchild writes about him living in the misdt of these people and enjoying them, his intercourse is the feest and affectionate type, this tells me that he lives away from people with different wives and misstresses. The site is rather long and does go into great detail about whether or not he fartherd children from slaves, however i still think this website is helpful in understanding that perhaps Thomas jefferson isn't entirely innocent.
alice
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4 comments:
I agree with Alice that this is a very interesting and useful sight.
The first thing that caught my eye was the acknowledgment by Richard Dixon that the historical viewpoints over the years about Jefferson's liaisons, are opinions that have emerged through denial of the facts to "achieve a desired conclusion". It is very commendable for Dixon to recognise this point so clearly.
The debate which Alice has mentioned seems to be the focal point of the entire essay. The argument against fact or fiction, proof or opinion, is a useful example for us in relation to our own work in this module. It is a clear illustration of the biases that can be found in documents of which we need to be careful of. Dixon, however, has realised these problems and remedied them by playing one argument off with another.
Dixon talks of slave rights as well as their links to Jefferson. I found it curious that illegitimate children were able to gain support during this period, but Heming's children were able to do no such thing. I feel this is an interesting example of the development in American civilisation. It also shows the extent to which society still needed to evolve.
It would appear that there were many circumstances whereby the evidence may be hard to find. Dixon clarifies that in many cases, documents have been found to suggest breeding between owners and slaves. Even some books such as "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys imply such relations occurred in many places. It would therefore not seem uncommon to have happened, though evidence is still limited.
Overall, it is concluded that the argument still bewilders us today. It is an important argument of which may never be solved for the pure reason that it would undermine one of the supposed American heroes, of which the American identity has been formed among other American leaders.
This source seems to cover a substantial amount of information. However, Dixon's own opinion has been left out, for good or for worse. The only thing I found a problem was that there was no proper conclusion to the essay. His own observations over the information would have been an acceptable ending.
Thanks Alice.
This web page is very long but very interesting. It talks about Jefferson fathering black children with his slave Sally, this page has a large range of views by many different people including Jeffersons family and even Jeffersons own letters to people.
This page I feel does not show that Jefferson is a bad model in the present because we do not see black people as being second best but equal to us. if he was in love with a black women we would see nothing wrong with It, but in the day of Jeffersons time he would have been branded as breaking the law.
This site is very knowledgeable as it tells me that his votes still increased even after the allegations of him fathering a black child. This tells me even in that day an age people hid that they thought that there was no reason why blacks and white could not mix.
Sarah
I agree with Alice that Thomas Jefferson is not entirely innocent for two big reasons; Firstly, He OWNED SLAVES. This is totally contradictory with what he claims are his principles and how he is now percieved by modern america. We are all born equal? Deffinately not in his eyes (to start with at least). His loyalties and ethics appear to have later changed, and he fathered mulatto children. This brings me to my second point, if he is fathering these children why doesn't he admit to it? This isn't a simple case of being a bad father and not paying child support or something. He lied to the whole nation about the existence of his own flesh and blood. Potentially more unforgivable than owning slaves to some views. He was brought up in a racist society and sought change as he grew up so slavery was the norm till he saw and knew better, whereas, denying the life of his own flesh and blood after he supposedly had insight and understanding is terrible no matter the consequences. We all know he would have been shunned by one part of society but that was a price he should have known he would have to pay. The further delvings of this site into the legal matters such as illagitimate children along with the greater weight of clear and convincing evidence shows that Jefferson is diffinately not a guilt free saint. This site was a good find by Alice as it shows a darker side of the truth
It is incredible to read about such a prominent figure in American History giving into his hedonistic pursuits to thouroughly make a mockery of his people. To say one thing then do another is, albeit unnacceptable yet what we do actually come to except from a politician.
The essay does throw some good points into the mix. I agree that Jefferson fathering children with a blakc lady in that day and age then completely keeping it 'hush hush' could be another reason why it has took so long for a revolution to take place. Maybe it could be that if Jefferson becamse clean about his extra martial affairs then it wouldn't have taken so long for the abolition of slavery and segregation.
However, like Maxine said - this essay is purely based on someone's opinion. We are still talking about the days when DNA wasn't known of so to prove the parenting of a child is highly difficult. Basing an essay on hearsay isn't a very academic nor realiable thing to do. I do like this paper though; throwing an alternative viewpoint about a well known figure might be an interesting aspect for our essays.
Thanks, Alice!
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