Adrian,
The books you cited to Kevin are not the final word on the issue. There is
still the matter of the evidence presented in such books as Jon Kukla's
which presents a strong case that Jefferson had difficulty with
relationships with women, was strongly opposed to "taking matters in hand"
for personal relief, and therefore, highly likely to have enjoyed the
responsibility-free relationship with his maid.
If you consider this a court case, those who apologize for Jefferson have
their books, the opinions, and their objections to all presented evidence.
Those who believe in the humanity of Jefferson, on the other hand, have
strong circumstancial evidence, a hint of DNA evidence, and tasty morsels of
coroborating evidence.
You, the jury have decided to go with the apologists. That is fine. But, you
are not the majority of the jury. The rest of us who have read the
"evidences" presented, and discarded those that seem contrived, have, in
some cases come to other conclusions.
Only time, and the advancement of DNA science will determine which side is
right, and that is the way - the only way - in which it should be presented
to adult students. From what I've seen of the many posts over a longer
period of time than I've seen you around, it seems that that is the way it
is presented, when/if it is discussed at all, in classes.
Anne
Anne Pemberton
[log in to unmask]
http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Adrian Zolkover" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 4:22 PM
Subject: Re: Annette Gordon-Reed praised by Edmund Morgan
> Hello Kevin,
>
> I sent you the email after I had read your post regarding the texts you
> use in your classroom, that AGR's books cost too much, etc. So this email
> has nothing to do with your classroom. My question is how you can come to
> the conclusion, even if only on the VA-HIST internet web site, even after
> reading other established genealogists and historians works that I quote
> in the information I just sent you, and that you could easily or should
> have already read, that you find it reasonable to conclude based your
> reading and study that it is most likely that TJ was the father of any or
> all of Sally Heming's children. I quickly looked through my stack of
> recent emails for your exact words and didn't find it. I now have 226
> emails to read, and have an emergency appointment today with my laser eye
> surgeon as I may have more retinal bleeding, and if so promptly require
> additional laser surgery. But I went to the most recent emails in case you
> did reply.
>
> I'm sorry for your unnecessary added concerns. I am not referring to your
> classroom. I don't think I was vague when I state that (to the degree of
> their public influence), academicians must be held accountable for at
> least some objectivity. At a minimum they should state in the book and the
> book paper cover prominent disclaimers that their work is based on their
> take of history, their imagination about it, and that it is fiction, AND
> THAT SOME BASIC AND SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION HAS BEEN IGNORED, for the sake
> of their story. Additionally, I have observed during my limited recent
> exposures to this web site, a gang up against those that would not ignore
> the information in such books as JEFFERSON VINDICATED by Cynthia H.
> Burton, and THE JEFFERSON-HEMINGS MYTH AN AMERICAN TRAVESTY published by
> The Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society; and I think this academic behavior
> is a height of deliberate ignorance and irresponsibility.
>
> I appreciate that this is a web site about Virginia and to some extent is
> your play sandbox so to speak. But even I don't like to play in dirty
> sandboxes.
>
> BEST WISHES,
>
> Adrian
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 2:07 AM
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Annette Gordon-Reed praised by Edmund Morgan
>
>
>> Ms. Zolkover writes: "I hope I am not offending you as a professor that
>> teaches about Thomas Jefferson . . ."
>>
>> Its not clear precisely to whom she is writing--but since my words are
>> appended below her lengthy post, I presume this is addressed to me.
>>
>> Ms. Zolkover then writes: "I emphatically question the motives of people
>> who have an agenda to publish BIASED AND MISINFORMING opinions and
>> conclusions [and to the extent that
>> they ignore most pertinent scientific evidence and historic evidence,
>> LIES] about the very person who probably did the most, in his day, to end
>> slavery."
>>
>> Ms. Zolkover is admirably vague here. But since it seems to me that this
>> is written in reference to *me*, it does seem that she does in fact
>> intend to question my *motives* in this conversation. If her post is not
>> intended as a reply to me, then why quote my words, in the post history?
>>
>> I have in fact published nothing at all about Jefferson--my professional
>> standing in the academy (such as it is) does not rest on scholarship
>> about Jefferson. I participate in this conversation mostly because, as a
>> historian of Virginia history who is paid to teach Virginia history by
>> the tax payers of the State of Virginia, I believe I have an obligation
>> to do so. When I comment on what historians have written about
>> Jefferson, and on what I have read in the primary sources, and on what I
>> find reasonable to conclude based on my reading and study, I simply have
>> nothing to gain, either in reputation or financially, by speaking other
>> than what I believe.
>>
>> So--Ms. Zolkover--I do think that questioning my motives is rather rude
>> of you, despite your protestation above that you hope you are not
>> offending me. I think at the very least you have been uncivil to me, and
>> that nothing that I have written warrants it.
>>
>> That said, I am not really offended, save only in the sense that I regret
>> that the civility in this thread has degenerated to such a degree that
>> even people who have participated in the thread in good faith are subject
>> to ad hominem attacks.
>>
>> We are Virginians--a people who once were famous for our civility. We
>> are better than this.
>>
>> All best,
>> Kevin
>>
>> Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
>> Department of History
>> James Madison University
>>
>> ______________________________________
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>
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