Anita:  I agree with your answer.  Jane.

-----Original Message-----
>From: Anita Wills <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Aug 18, 2007 7:48 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] inter-racial sex acceptable?
>
>This is true, as some of the documents may describe a light mulatto with 
>straight black hair, or curly red hair. Those descriptions would infer some 
>sort of native or European mixture (at least in my mind).
>
>Anita
>
>
>>From: Pat Duncan <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history         
>>      <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: inter-racial sex acceptable?
>>Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:30:59 -0600
>>
>>I believe the term mulatto, as it was used at the time, referred to the
>>color of the skin and not a racial mix. The terms bright mulatto, very
>>bright mulatto, dark mulatto were used to provide better descriptions of 
>>the
>>slave. Such descriptions often included notation of scars and other
>>identifying marks.
>>
>>This does not discount the number of interracial sexual relations, but the
>>use of the term mulatto should not be used as proof.
>>
>>Pat Duncan
>>[log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Paul Finkelman" <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 4:25 PM
>>Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] inter-racial sex acceptable?
>>
>>
>> > One measure interracial sex -- crude and not entirely accurate -- is the
>> > number of mulattoes that the census recorded.  This only measures
>> > interracial children -- and only those interracial children that the
>> > census takes notices.  But, that number -- which hugely undercounts
>> > interracial sexual activity -- nevertheless shows that there were an
>> > awful lot of children of slaves mothers who had white fathers. All
>> > evidence from this history of American slavery shows that white men
>> > frequently had sex with slave women.
>> >
>> > Paul Finkelman
>> > President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
>> >      and Public Policy
>> > Albany Law School
>> > 80 New Scotland Avenue
>> > Albany, New York   12208-3494
>> >
>> > 518-445-3386
>> > [log in to unmask]
>> > >>> Heritage Society <[log in to unmask]> 08/18/07 5:55 PM >>>
>> > In the current issue of the UVA Magazine, there is an article "Anatomy
>> > of a Mystery" which addresses the issue of Jefferson's alleged paternity
>> > of slave children. In the article, Lucia Stanton is quoted as saying
>> > that Edmund Bacon (the overseer at Monticello who asserted he knew the
>> > father of Sally Hemings' daughter and that it was not Thomas Jefferson)
>> > had a reputation among Jefferson*s grandchildren as "a great tale teller
>> > and exaggerator." Also, in the article, Peter Onuff was quoted as saying
>> > that, "What we take as the big taboo*crossing the racial boundary*was
>> > the norm in this period. What we think is the worst was then probably
>> > the most acceptable behavior. It happened all over the place." Does
>> > anyone have any references that Bacon was known as "a great tale teller
>> > and exaggerator"? As to whether interracial sex was the "norm" I guess
>> > depends on how "norm" is defined. However, there were laws against it,
>> > so how was it "acceptable"?
>> >
>> > Richard E. Dixon
>> > Editor, Jefferson Notes
>> > Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society
>> > 703-691-0770
>> > fax 703-691-0978
>> >
>
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Lillian Jane Steele