Thoughts about Jefferson

 

Thoughts about Jefferson

I can certainly claim no insight into the mind or heart of the man other than those that come through reading the things he wrote about freedom and faith and love.

Many today have accused Jefferson of one of the vilest of crimes, the sexual exploitation of Sally Hemmings, who was one of his slaves. Perhaps he stands guilty as accused, but a casual reading of his work and a recognition of his irrefutable efforts in the behalf of freedom would suggest that both he and Ms. Hemmings were victims of the societal constraints of their day.

We do know that Sally Hemmings was a blood relative of Jefferson's wife. We can imagine that they knew one another well and we might further conjecture that after the death of Jefferson's wife, their familial relationship took on a more intimate aspect.

Given the fact that a marriage between them would have been taboo in their day, for them to have established a common law marriage would have been in keeping with the constraints of the day while allowing them to live as husband and wife.

Although we cannot condone the attitude of the day and we cannot approve their common law arrangement, we can certainly understand how it came about and why it was perpetuated as it was.

It is difficult to imagine one of as lofty a mindset as Jefferson having anything but genuine love for the woman he took to his bosom, who became his life-long companion.

I would like to hope that together, they placed their relationship at the feet of JESUS, imploring HIM to make it holy, even if the restrictions of the day prevented them from making it legal.