What was the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings?

Expanding on her book, ‘Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy’, Professor Annette Gordon-Reed unpacks the evidence around this contested relationship and the role of historians in erasing the narratives of enslaved people. Exploring the ‘American dilemma’, this talk investigates the contradiction between Jefferson’s commitment to equality and his ownership of enslaved people.  

Speaker: Professor Annette Gordon-Reed FBA, Carl M Loeb University Professor, Harvard University  

This podcast is for informative and educational purposes. 

A blog version of this 10-Minute Talk is available: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what-was-the-relationship-between-thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings/ 

For further reading on this topic, please find Professor Annette Gordon-Reed's books here:
- https://www.waterstones.com/book/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemmings/annette-gordon-reed/9780813918334
- https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-hemingses-of-monticello/annette-gordon-reed/9780393337761

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