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GIVE NOWAccepting that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings’s children is not an “attack” on Jefferson. Nor is it giving in to some notion of “political correctness.” Rather, it is an acknowledgment and acceptance of historical evidence. It does not diminish Jefferson’s many accomplishments and achievements which are of world-historical importance.
On June 16, 2018, Monticello unveiled exhibits and newly restored spaces, including the opening of the South Wing and The Life of Sally Hemings exhibit. This landmark conclusion of a major restoration initiative at Monticello also commemorated 25 years of the Getting Word Oral History Project.
The issue of Jefferson’s paternity has been the subject of controversy for at least two centuries, ranging from contemporary newspaper articles in 1802 (when Jefferson was President) to scholarly debate well into the 1990s. It is now the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s view that the issue is a settled historical matter.
An unusual decorative detail.
In Jefferson’s time apples were especially valued for the making of cider.
Two paintings, two Founders, one (tested-by-politics) friendship
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