Richard Bernstein is a colleague of Annette Gordon-Reed at New York Law
School. He was a mentor on her earlier work, and was an ardent promoter of
her book. He uses the DNA tests and the Neiman Monte Carlo simulation to
support his paternity belief in his book . Actually, Bernstein, along with
Peter Onuff and Jan Lewis have long believed that Jefferson fathered
children with Sally Hemings and they gained many adherents among the
academics in the burgeoning slave studies courses. They did not generate
much traction, however, in the public consciousness in the face of the
traditional belief espoused by Dumas Malone and Merrill Peterson that the
paternity story was unsupported by traditional historical research. That is
why they so wildly applauded Gordon-Reed’s first book which challenged
traditional research and argued that Madison Hemings’ claim that he and his
siblings were Jefferson’s children was “direct evidence.” Coincident with
this was a study on the oral history passed through the descendants of
Monticello slaves, which had a number of versions but claimed in essence
that Jefferson fathered slave children. The strongest claim, embraced
unofficially by Monticello, was that of the Woodsons. However, the DNA
eliminated them. But when the DNA linked the Jefferson line to one of Sally
Hemings’ sons, that was enough to claim that the proof had finally been
found that Jefferson and Hemings had carried on a 30 year affair. The next
step is the new book by Gordon-Reed which assumes the debate is over.
Again, counseled by Onuff, Lewis, Bernstein and Monticello’s Lucinda
Stanton, she assumes as historical fact that Jefferson’s wife was Sally
Hemings’ sister,  that Jefferson made Sally Hemings pregnant in Paris, but
the baby died (the Madison Hemings version), and that Jefferson and Hemings
eventually produced four adult children. One of the problems that has
plagued the paternity believers is how did this all happen without anyone
knowing about it (other than Madison Hemings). There were denials from the
Jefferson family, and all the other Monticello visitors and slaves were
silent. Gordon-Reed solves this by asserting that all knew; it was a giant
family secret. Among the mostly glowing reviews (it is hard to believe that
any of these reviewers waded through this turgid flight of hypothesizing),
are two by Eric Foner and Gordon Wood. Although they are both supportive,
both are uneasy that so much of the book is not history but is the
imagination of Gordon-Reed..  

Richard E. Dixon
Editor, Jefferson Notes
Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society
4122 Leonard Drive
Fairfax, Va 22030
703-691-0770 fax 703-691-0978

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