Sally Hemings, the woman Thomas Jefferson enslaved.
She was called his "mistress," but how can you be a mistress when you were enslaved, a child, and could not consent? Had absolutely no choice?
A THREAD
She was called his "mistress," but how can you be a mistress when you were enslaved, a child, and could not consent? Had absolutely no choice?
A THREAD
Sally Hemings was born into slavery in Virginia. After the death of their master, Hemings family was inherited by the daughter of their master, Martha, who had married Thomas Jefferson and lived in Monticello.
When Jefferson’s went to Paris, France on diplomatic service in 1784, Sally also went there 3 years later as a companion and maid to Jefferson’s eight-year-old daughter Maria.
Sally and her older brother James, in Paris as Jefferson’s personal servant, were paid a monthly wage and later she began a ‘relationship’ with Thomas and she later became pregnant.
Did a thread on his brother earlier:
https://twitter.com/808806102/status/1588937244496506880
Enslaved Female had no legal right to refuse unwanted sexual advances. Hemings, at 16 years & living free in Paris, had negotiated with Jefferson to return to enslavement in exchange for “extraordinary privileges" for herself and freedom for her unborn children.
Her babies were all born in a small room. All six of them. The four that lived and the two that didn’t. She didn’t have to worry about losing them, though.
She raised four children for years because daddy promised them for emancipation when they were grown. Sally Hemings was never freed, nor did she negotiate for her freedom.
Despite fathering her children, Jefferson argued against race mixing because black people were “inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind.”
(Quotes fact checked by
@Reuters
) reuters.com/article/uk-fac…
(Quotes fact checked by
@Reuters
) reuters.com/article/uk-fac…
@Reuters Jefferson didn’t agree with slavery, but he owned over 600 slaves…
@Reuters After the death of Jefferson, two of her children were allowed to leave Monticello for freedom elsewhere and two more were freed by the terms of Jefferson’s will, two of only five slaves he ever formally emancipated.
@Reuters Martha gave Sally Hemings her “time” (she was listed as “free” in 1826) and she moved with sons Eston and Madison to a house in Charlottesville where she died in 1835.
@Reuters 🖊️As the only admin behind this page, I try to research to educate. If you appreciate this effort, you can support to help the page thrive on . Your support is deeply appreciated! Or just follow the page for articles. ko-fi.com/africanarchives
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