Henry,
I don't continue to hammer Dan. As an individual, I find him charming,
cheerful, upbeat and his ability to gather great sums of funds to
support Monticello projects, I applaud all of this. However, in my
opinion, to continue to hold to the original study and the handling of
the study I still find appalling and unfair to Mr. Jefferson's legacy.
Let us separate personalities, fundraising, etc. from the real reason I
tell the public of his actions.......it is our country's and Mr.
Jefferson's private life that is being degraded here. It is the
misinformation that is getting into our children's school textbooks that
I am concerned about.
I have several letters from "well heeled" "past" donors to Monticello
and "stiff" letters to Dan giving their views on the handling of such a
position. I have personally recommended to Past Chairman, Halsey, TJF
(TJMF at that time), that the three top people at Monticello (Dianne
Swann-Wright has since departed), should be asked to resign, in my
opinion. I have also told Dan that I could not understand how he could
sleep at night for his handling of the matter. It is no mystery to me
and other deep researchers that certain authors of late have written
things that "fill the need" to support the chosen path at Monticello. A
fine center is made available there on the mountain and as we can see,
the three authors appearing on the C-SPAN book show have spent
considerable time there.
It is true that Dr. Wallenborn's Minority Report is finally posted on
the Monticello web page, BUT it was not originally released in the
printed Monticello "Report on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings" in
January 2000 until after I complained. It is the first impression and a
fresh story that the media seeks, not something added on later, just as
in the case of the original Nature Journal article of Nov. 5, 1998 (this
is where the media went wild), but some of us are aware of the Jan 7,
1999 article where Dr. Foster FINALLY gets the other Jefferson
possibilities to Nature. The media very seldom reported to you on that
second revealing article. Certain members of the media are also denying
Mr. Jefferson's "freedom of the press" to reach the public's ears. I
will cite only two instances, there are many, A. PBS popular program,
Frontline, interviewed me before the Monticello Cemetery for about an
hour for their Sally Hemings special.......NOT one word appeared on the
program. B. A&E Biography came to my home from Chicago, rearranged the
living room, interviewed me for over an hour for their Biography of
Sally Hemings Special.....you never saw a frame of my story. Let me
state that "he who holds the mike, camera and pen" decides what the
public sees or reads. We won't go into the Washington Post ombudsman
story who found that their reporters were NOT giving the public the
correct information.......and "blasted" eight of them, by name.
Henry........we all eagerly await the publication of your book on Mr.
Jefferson!
Herb Barger
Jefferson Family Historian
To answer Mark Wilson's questions: I have not seen any evidence that TJ
himself was aware that anyone was having coerced sex with Sally Hemings.
He
did spend "quite a lot of time in his library reading and writing" but
until
the very end of his life he was out in the fields and shops supervising
the
slaves for hours every day. He personally supervised the nail factory.
Because Herb continues to hammer Dan Jordan on the charge of suppressing
Ken
Wallenborn's minority report, one would think that Dan has Dr.
Wallenborn
bound, gagged, and locked in a box in the basement of the mansion. In
fact,
his minority report is posted on the Monticello website, with a response
from the staff historian, Cinder Stanton.
Henry Wiencek
Charlottesville
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