Legacy in Dispute
Hillsdale prof contributes to Jefferson debate
Kaitlyn Buss
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Features
Being a well-known professor of history has its perks, including giving one the ability to deliberate on unsolved mysteries of the past.
In 1998 the Thomas Jefferson Foundation decided to review claims by an Ohio family that they were descendants of Jefferson and one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. After the foundation's report in 2000, Hillsdale College Professor of History Paul Rahe was among those called on by a colleague at the University of Virginia to review the official stance of the foundation, called the Report of the Research Committee on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
"One reason why this dispute persists is because it involves racial prejudice," Rahe said. "It also exploded in the midst of the Clinton presidency. It was pitched by those who wrote [it] as a defense of Clinton."
Dean of Faculty Mark Kalthoff said Rahe, who delivered a speech on Jefferson and Hemings at Hillsdale before he began teaching here, is a beneficial recent addition to the college's faculty.
"He's a good fit as a historian," Kalthoff said. "But he's also very knowledgeable in political philosophy, so he can teach both."
The foundation held that tests done on DNA samples taken from Sally's son, Eston Hemings, born in 1808, and known descendants of Jefferson showed that an individual carrying the male Jefferson Y chromosome fathered Eston. The most likely father, according to the foundation, was the third president of the United States.
The commission Rahe served on, formed by the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society, reached a different conclusion. There were about 25 adult male Jeffersons who carried the chromosome living in Virginia at that time. Jefferson's brother, Randolph, was also known to visit, drink and dance in the slave quarters of Monticello when his brother was in town, Rahe said.
"It's perfectly conceivable that the child's father was [Jefferson's] brother," he said. "He had access from time to time, and he's the sort. His sons might also be the sort."
But Rahe took a different stance than the rest of his committee at the Heritage Society. He believes Jefferson most likely fathered at least one of Sally Hemings' children born after 1801.
"The imagination can run riot in such matters," he said. "Sally Hemings was a young woman capable of setting imagination afire."
The allegations against Jefferson began in 1802, after Jefferson denied a political associate, James Callendar, an office as postmaster. Callendar was a political journalist who had helped Jefferson before the election but afterward began spreading the story that Jefferson and Hemings were sexually involved.
Rahe gives little credence to Callendar's factual reliability.
"The allegations that were made were probably false," Rahe said. "But could there be a kernel of truth?"
Rahe's synopsis is that there were two possible reasons for the rumors: Either Callendar reflected "confused," but partially true, local gossip or there was no relationship and Jefferson merely had light-skinned blacks working on his land.
"I cannot imagine that nothing was going on," he said. "Just as there is more than meets the eye, there was probably less than was gossiped about."
The complex story hints at political and racial tensions that have simmered throughout American history. The accusations also mar the image of one of the Founding Fathers, who had and continues to have a somewhat cult-like following.
"Both sides of the controversy have a tendency to lean on evidence that supports them," Rahe said. "My conclusion might fit my prejudices. I admire [Alexander] Hamilton more than Jefferson, so in the end, I would come to this conclusion, wouldn't I?"
Hillsdale College Collegian 2008
In 1998 the Thomas Jefferson Foundation decided to review claims by an Ohio family that they were descendants of Jefferson and one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. After the foundation's report in 2000, Hillsdale College Professor of History Paul Rahe was among those called on by a colleague at the University of Virginia to review the official stance of the foundation, called the Report of the Research Committee on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
"One reason why this dispute persists is because it involves racial prejudice," Rahe said. "It also exploded in the midst of the Clinton presidency. It was pitched by those who wrote [it] as a defense of Clinton."
Dean of Faculty Mark Kalthoff said Rahe, who delivered a speech on Jefferson and Hemings at Hillsdale before he began teaching here, is a beneficial recent addition to the college's faculty.
"He's a good fit as a historian," Kalthoff said. "But he's also very knowledgeable in political philosophy, so he can teach both."
The foundation held that tests done on DNA samples taken from Sally's son, Eston Hemings, born in 1808, and known descendants of Jefferson showed that an individual carrying the male Jefferson Y chromosome fathered Eston. The most likely father, according to the foundation, was the third president of the United States.
The commission Rahe served on, formed by the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society, reached a different conclusion. There were about 25 adult male Jeffersons who carried the chromosome living in Virginia at that time. Jefferson's brother, Randolph, was also known to visit, drink and dance in the slave quarters of Monticello when his brother was in town, Rahe said.
"It's perfectly conceivable that the child's father was [Jefferson's] brother," he said. "He had access from time to time, and he's the sort. His sons might also be the sort."
But Rahe took a different stance than the rest of his committee at the Heritage Society. He believes Jefferson most likely fathered at least one of Sally Hemings' children born after 1801.
"The imagination can run riot in such matters," he said. "Sally Hemings was a young woman capable of setting imagination afire."
The allegations against Jefferson began in 1802, after Jefferson denied a political associate, James Callendar, an office as postmaster. Callendar was a political journalist who had helped Jefferson before the election but afterward began spreading the story that Jefferson and Hemings were sexually involved.
Rahe gives little credence to Callendar's factual reliability.
"The allegations that were made were probably false," Rahe said. "But could there be a kernel of truth?"
Rahe's synopsis is that there were two possible reasons for the rumors: Either Callendar reflected "confused," but partially true, local gossip or there was no relationship and Jefferson merely had light-skinned blacks working on his land.
"I cannot imagine that nothing was going on," he said. "Just as there is more than meets the eye, there was probably less than was gossiped about."
The complex story hints at political and racial tensions that have simmered throughout American history. The accusations also mar the image of one of the Founding Fathers, who had and continues to have a somewhat cult-like following.
"Both sides of the controversy have a tendency to lean on evidence that supports them," Rahe said. "My conclusion might fit my prejudices. I admire [Alexander] Hamilton more than Jefferson, so in the end, I would come to this conclusion, wouldn't I?"
Hillsdale College Collegian 2008
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