Anne, thanks for the brief but I've read reviews of Kukla's book and don't 
wish to waste my time and money on it.  You know by now how I feel about 
intentions and operations of his group-thinking circle anyway.  If you can't 
tell me the page number for TJ's Literary Commonplace Book so I may 
investigate the actual content and context at online Library of Congress I 
guess I'll forego pursuing this.  And maybe Kukla doesn't even provide the 
pertinent page number.

I understand your woman's interest in TJ's personal life and its women but 
please think as well about the personal lives of men such as John Fitzgerald 
Kennedy, or let's say William Jefferson Clinton, or how about Martin Luther 
King, Jr.?  Are these men then to be held in much greater disdain for their 
personal misconduct than Thomas Jefferson?  Do their private actions far 
outweigh how they affected our nation and its people, or are these personal 
matters just disappointments that we put aside when considering the overall 
impact of such men?

You didn't even comment about my points concerning the cultural struggle or 
war underway with elitest left-wing academics attacking the US with 
revisionist history claims, including current endeavors at VA-HIST and 
related trashing of Thomas Jefferson in several books published by members 
of that group.  IMHO this is a much greater concern to all Americans.  I 
hope you are taking time for thoughtful review and research.

Neil McDonald


From: "Anne Pemberton" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 3:44 PM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] ANSWERS & IMPORTANCE - Annette Gordon-Reed


> Neil,
>
> Thanks to you and Herbert, I am revisiting the Kukla book. I found the 
> section that I had stated was compelling to me in seeing that Jefferson 
> had strange views of the value/use of women. You will find the relevent 
> passages in pages 35-40 in Jefferson's Women by Jon Kukla. Jefferson was 
> past age 20 when he unsuccessfully courted Rebecca Burwell, and the 
> various entries in his Commonplace Book that Jon quotes were written in 
> the years between Rebecca's refusal and his own marriage. While still a 
> young man, he was older than an "adolescent". It is interesting that also 
> during those years he began his decade-long pursuit of Betsey Walker which 
> was not interrupted by his marriage to Martha. You can read about the 
> Betsey Walker affair in the chapter beginning on page 41.
>
> As you are a fellow non-professional in the pursuit of history, I strongly 
> recommend that you read the Kukla book in its entirety and form your own 
> opinions.
>
> Anne

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