JEFFERSON NOTES Jefferson Notes is a publication of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society Richard Dixon Editor 4122 Leonard Drive Fairfax VA 22030 jeffersonnotes@earthlink.net Fall 2008 No. 5
TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI
JEFFERSON IN PARIS
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ven England, with its great naval power, found it easier to pay “tribute” than fight so its ships could pass the north coast of Africa unmolested by the Barbary pirates.
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homas Je ffe rson’s statue gazes continually on the Hotel de Salm. It captures the Jefferson who walked from his residence on the ChampsElysées and watched from across the Seine the construction of this private residence. He was fascinated by the unusual dome which inspired the two-stories-disguised-as-one design for Monticello. It is interesting that the statue holds in its left hand the two-storied portico front elevation Jefferson first designed for Monticello. That plan was abandoned when he returned to Virginia and designed the house we see today. Jefferson also learned how to construct a wooded dome by study of that unique building technique used on the Halle au Blé. He introduced a young Boston architect, Charles Bullfinch, to the Halle au Blé. He later became the architect of the U.S. Capitol and placed there a copper covered wooden dome. In 1804, Napoleon placed the Legion of Honor in the Hotel de Salm and that remains its function to the present day. The building Jefferson admired was burned in 1871, but it was reconstructed. It is located on the corner of the Quai Anatole France and Rue de Solférino, beside the Musée d’Orsay. The JefHOMMAGE A THOMAS JEFFERSON ferson statue is PRESIDENT DES ETATS-UNIS D’AMERIQUE across the Quai 1801-1809 Anatole France at AMBASSADEUR A PARIS the entrance to the 1785-1789 Pont Solférino, a OFFERT A LA VILLE DE PARIS EN SOUVENIR DE foot bridge which DANIEL WILDENSTEIN (1917-2001) MEMBRE DE L’INSTTUT crosses the Seine. PAR SES FILS ET PAR LA FLORENCE GOULD FOUNDATION JUILLET 2006 The inscription on the base of the statue relates that it was given the city of Paris by the sons of Daniel Wildenstein and the Florence Gould Foundation. Cont’d on page 2
The Revolutionary War brought an end to British protection, so when an American merchant ship was captured, the only way to secure its release was to pay tribute. Even George Washington reluctantly agreed to pay, but he also started the construction of naval warships. After Jefferson became president, the pasha of Tripoli cut down the United States flag - a ceremonial declaration of war. He intended to frighten the young nation but the American reaction was, “Millions for defense; not one cent for tribute.” Jefferson did not inform Congress, but he responded by sending four of the six newly built ships to the Mediterranean. He authorized bombardment by the U. S. ships of the ports of Algiers, Morocco, Tripoli and Tunis. This decision by Jefferson laid the Jefferson laid the basis basis for future for future presidents presidents to order American forces into battle even though Congress had not declared war. The struggle off the Barbary Coast lasted five years, but Tripoli still refused to allow safe passage for American ships. Finally, a dramatic 500 mile march across the Libyan desert by a makeshift Arab army held together by a detachment of Marines blocked the escape of the pirates by land from the city of Derna. Blockaded from the sea by U. S. warships, the surrender of the city ended the war. The Marines stitched Tripoli on a battle streamer.
We previously looked at courses given by Wesleyan University, William & Mary, Bridgewater College, Rochester University, Canisius College, Cornelia Strong College (UNC at Greensboro) and University of New Mexico that require the student to accept as historical fact that Jefferson fathered children by Sally Hemings.
STUDY PLAN The question then is put to us as to what would be a balanced approach to the serious student of this issue. In books, the first would be An Intimate History, by Fawn Brodie, published in 1974, which first raised in speculative detail the claim that Jefferson fathered slave children. The next was The Jefferson Scandals, A Rebuttal by Virginius Dabney, a response to the Brodie thesis, published in 1981. The next attempt to weigh the evidence was Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings An American Controversy, by Annette Gordon-Reed, published in 1997. The DNA test results were released the next year resulting in the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Research Committee Report (which may be difficult to find in hard copy but is available online). Rebuttals to the Gordon-Reed book and the Monticello Committee Report were the Jefferson–Hemings Myth An American Travesty, published in 2001 by the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society, Eyler Coates Sr., Editor, and Anatomy of a Scandal, by Rebecca L. McMurry and James F. McMurry, Jr., published in 2002. A reexamination of all the Cont’d on page 5 JEFFERSON IN PARIS Cont’d from page 1
After the death of his wife in 1782, Jefferson perhaps welcomed the chance to leave an unhappy Monticello. He arrived in Paris in 1784 with his oldest daughter Martha (Patsy), leaving behind two other daughters. Although he could read French, it was some time before he could converse comfortably. He noted that Martha, EN CE LIEU RESIDA THOMAS JEFFERSON who was enrolled in a convent MINISTRE DES ETATS-UNIS EN FRANCE school, became fluent quite easily. 1785-1789 PRESIDENT DES ETATS-UNIS After he was appointed in 1801-1809 1785 as the Minister to France to AUTEUR DE LA DECLARATION DE succeed Benjamin Franklin, he L’INDEPENDANCE AMERICAINE moved to the Hotel de Langeac, FONDATEUR DE which is located at 92, avenue des L’UNIVERSITE DE VIRGINIE Champs-Elysées, near the corner of Cette plaque a eté apposée le the Rue de Berri. The building is still 13 avril 1919 standing and is occupied by an empar les soins des anciens èléves bassy. Former students of the Unide l’Université de Virginie versity of Virginia who were soldiers soldats de la guerre mondial in France during World War I placed EN COMMEMORATION a plaque on the front of the building DU CENTENAIRE ANNIVERSAIRE to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the University. At Malmaison, the home of Napoleon and Josephine, there is a room decorated as a tent (Salle de Conseil), where Napoleon counseled with his generals. On the wall is a picture of Thomas Jefferson. The room is represented as authentic, but there is no explanation why Napoleon would display a picture of Jefferson. Perhaps it is in recognition of his contribution in the early stages of the French Revolution, or perhaps his role in purchasing from Napoleon the Louisiana Territory. The picture is an engraving by Boucher-Desnoyers made in 1801– 1802, apparently copied from a crayon drawing of the 1800 Rembrandt Peale portrait. Jefferson Notes page 2
JEFFERSON STUDENT AND ARCHITECT
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t is known as the Wren building in the belief it was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the renowned architect of London. It remains the oldest college building still in use in the United States and an important part of campus life at The College of William and Mary. The college was established in Williamsburg in 1693 and named for the monarchs who were given the throne of England by parliament in final repudiation of the divine right of kings. Construction on the Wren building started in 1695. At that time, the capital of Virginia was at Jamestown, but it was moved to Williamsburg in 1699. Thomas Jefferson was a student at the college for the two-year period 1760 – 62 and boarded and studied at the Wren building. The original plan was for the building to form a quadrangle, but the fourth side was never completed. Gov. Dunmore commissioned Thomas Jefferson to design an addition and a west side. After the foundations were laid, construction was stopped by the Revolutionary war. The work was never completed and eventually the foundations were covered over. In 1929, when the restoration of colonial Williamsburg began, Jefferson’s as-built plans for the first floor were used to return the building to its original appearance.
THE JEFFERSON IMAGE THE WORLD OF THOMAS JEFFERSON PART ONE OF TWO PARTS
1743 In the South Western Mountains east of Charlottesville near the Rivanna River lies Shadwell. Thomas Jefferson is born here, on the edge of Virginia’s western frontier, the son of Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph. When Peter Jefferson dies in 1757, Shadwell passes to Thomas, his eldest son, but his mother has a life estate and will continue to live here until it burns to the ground in 1770. 1745 On the death of William Randolph, cousin of Jefferson's wife Jane, Peter Jefferson moves his family to Tuckahoe Plantation, west of Richmond on the north bank of the James River. Randolph had requested in his will that his “dear and loving friend” Peter, remain here until William's son, Thomas Mann Randolph, is grown. Peter Jefferson only stays six or seven years, not the length requested in the will. Thomas Jefferson begins his early education here before the return to Shadwell when he was nine years old. He continues his studies under William Douglas and later boards at the school of Reverend James Maury in the Fredericksville Parish. 1754 Sent out by Governor Dinwiddie to seize the Forks of the Ohio (junction of Allegheny and Monongahela rivers), 21-year-old George Washington finds the French already there building Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh). After a skirmish, Washington is forced to surrender starting the hostilities between England and France known in America as the French and Indian war. In 1756 the war spreads to Europe and is later called the Seven Years War. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ends the conflict and the French give all Canada and all territory east of the Mississippi (except the city of New Orleans) to England. 1760 George III is crowned King of Great Britain and will rule until 1820. Jefferson enters the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg, Virginia where he studies for two years. George Wythe becomes his preceptor and guided Jefferson’s legal studies. In 1767, he is admitted to the General Court and will practice law until 1774.
in dire financial straits. Parliament begins imposing a series of taxes on the colonists but resistance of the colonists is dramatic. Greatly influenced by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke, concepts of natural rights and the source of governmental authority are widely discussed in the colonies. In The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, James Otis raises the argument that there can be no taxation without representation. 1769 Jefferson takes his seat as representative from Albemarle County in the Virginia House of Burgesses. 1770 Shadwell burns and most of Jefferson's personal and legal papers are destroyed. He begins the construction of Monticello and will redesign and change it over the next 40 years. It sits on a mountaintop (Monticello means “little mountain” in Italian) near Charlottesville, Virginia, on land Jefferson inherited from his father. He was greatly influenced by Andrea Palladio, the 16th century Italian architect, and by the classic architecture of Rome and Greece which he studies on his travels in Europe. 1772 Jefferson marries a young widow Martha Wayles Skelton who brings to the marriage the inheritance from her father of slaves and property, including Poplar Forest. Jefferson and his wife will have six children, only two of whom will live to adulthood. Martha will die of complications from her last child birth in 1782. 1773 England attempts to save the distressed British East India Tea Company from bankruptcy by removing the payment of duties so that East India can undercut legitimate merchants as well as the price of smuggled tea. A band of men, dressed as Mohawk Indians, boards the Dartmouth and dumps its tea into Boston Harbor. 1774 Parliament passes the first of what are called the “Coercive Acts” (also called the Intolerable Acts) by closing the port of Boston until the East India
1765 Due to the French and Indian war, England is Cont’d on page 4
Jefferson Notes page 3
WORLD OF JEFFERSON cont’d from page 3
Company is paid for the lost tea. A new Quartering Act requires citizens to provide for British soldiers in their homes. The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia and condemns the British parliament for its economic oppression and sends George Washington to Boston to take command of the colonial forces. Jefferson writes A Summary View of the Rights of British America in which he denies the authority of Parliament over the colonies. 1775 Patrick Henry, in St. Paul's Church in Richmond, Virginia, before the Virginia Convention, challenges British authority in a phrase that rings throughout the colonies, “Give me liberty or give me death.” 1776 Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense with its call to the colonies to separate from Britain and “begin the world over again.” Richard Henry Lee, acting on instructions from the Virginia government, moves a resolution in Congress “that these colonies are and of a right ought to be, free and independent states.” Congress appoints a committee to prepare a “declaration of independence” which includes Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Jefferson is selected to draft the document. Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 1777 The Articles of Confederation are adopted in York, Pennsylvania and recognize the sovereignty of each of the thirteen states, although they are referred to as the “United States of America.” It is essentially a treaty between the states to provide for the contribution of men and money for the war of independence against England. It is not intended to establish a national government and its major weakness is the lack of authority to collect money from the states to pay the cost of the war. Ratification by the states is completed in 1781. 1781 The British under Lord Cornwallis surrender to George Washington at Yorktown. The assistance of men and money from France is vital to the victory. Jefferson serves as governor of Virginia during the war and narrowly avoids capture at Monticello by a detachment of British cavalry. 1783 The Treaty of Paris is negotiated by peace commissioners John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Henry Laurens. Jefferson is elected to Congress.
1784 Jefferson submits to Congress his plan for the entrance of new states to the western territory ceded by Virginia, New York and Connecticut. He proposes that slavery be abolished in new states by 1800 but Congress rejects this part of the Ordinance of 1784. Jefferson is selected to assist Benjamin Franklin and sails for France with his oldest daughter Martha (Patsy). While there he sends plans and a model for a new Virginia Capitol based on the Maison Carrée, a Roman temple in Nîmes, France. Jefferson's decision to use the “cubic architecture” of the Maison Carrée introduces to America the classical form for public buildings. He will later use the Pantheon in Rome as the model for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. 1786 John Adams writes his concerns to Jefferson about “Shays Rebellion,” an uprising by Massachusetts farmers against heavy taxation, to which Jefferson responds: “I hold that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” 1787 Delegates to the Great Convention in Philadelphia gather to amend the Articles of Confederation to provide more power to the Congress for taxing and trade, but they adopt a completely new constitution. Jefferson, still in France, receives a copy from James Madison and urges the inclusion of a Bill of Rights and a limitation on the terms a president may serve. 1789 Jefferson prepares to return home as the French Revolution unfolds. Outraged citizens of Paris have stormed the Bastille. The French National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Jefferson meets with Lafayette and the extent of his influence can be seen in the phrases that “mankind is born free and equal,” and that man has natural rights of “liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.” 1790 Jefferson reluctantly accepts his appointment as Secretary of State under George Washington, first president of the United States. 1793 Louis XVI dies at the guillotine and Jefferson’s fervor for the revolution is muted as the Reign of Terror begins and any hope that France might evolve into a democracy evaporates. 1794 Jefferson’s concept of a country of yeoman farmers independent of government and large cities clashes with Alexander Hamilton’s plan for a strong central government and an economic system based on manufacturing and trade. Jefferson resigns from Washington’s cabinet and returns to Monticello. (The World of Thomas Jefferson will continue in the next issue of Jefferson Notes)
Jefferson Notes page 4
STUDY PLAN cont’d from page 2
Edward A. Leake, Jr. (left), a member of the Board, and Dr. White McKenzie Wallenborn, President of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society, attend a birthday celebration for Thomas Jefferson at the White House.
issues is Jefferson Vindicated, by Cynthia H. Burton, published in 2005. Online sources include the Report of the Research Committee on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson Foundation http:// www.monticello.org/plantation/ hemingscontro/hemings_report.html; the webpage for the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society http://www.tjheritage.org/; and, Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson and the Authority of Science, by Steven T. Corneliussen http:// www.tjscience.org/.
The Madison Hemings interview with a newspaper reporter occurred about fifty years after he left Monticello. This interview is important to the paternity believers, because it is the only declaration by a Jefferson relative, acquaintance, or slave, that Jefferson fathered children by Sally Hemings. We will continue in Jefferson Notes to examine it. IMAGINED MEMORY
It is of no probative value, but the Israel Jefferson interview by S. F. Wetmore in the Pike County Republican is declared to be “corroboration” of the Madison Hemings’ interview. Annette Gordon-Reed in Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, An American Controversy also calls it “direct evidence.” The January 2000 Monticello Research Committee Report reproduces the interview and states it is “of particular note.” Israel Jefferson’s memory is the issue. Wetmore recorded the birth date given him by Jefferson, a former Monticello slave, as December, 1797. Jefferson reaffirms the date later in the article by his recollection he was twelve years old on the completion of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. However, the Monticello records show a birth date of December, 1800. This would mean his recollection of Thomas Jefferson leaving “to take upon himself the responsibilities of the Executive of the United States...” was an event occurring a month before Israel Jefferson’s birth. Israel Jefferson’s claim that he was a waiter “at the family table” would have occurred when he was four years old. Although, there are many issues of veracity or memory raised by the interview, the paternity claimants extract the statement that, “Mr. Jefferson was on most intimate terms with her (Sally Hemings); that, in fact, she was his concubine...” The interview supplies no details or illustration to support the allegation. It is offered as a memory of childhood. It rivals the emptiness of the Madison Hemings interview which fails to mention a single act of recognition to support his claim that Thomas Jefferson was his father. Evidence is in the details, the observations of an event, the description of what happened and how, the perceptions induced by the senses from the circumstances. From these details an analysis and conclusion can be made. “Direct evidence” would be Israel Jefferson’s testimony of his own knowledge. He did not have first hand knowledge of any of the events he described. That is directly acknowledged by Israel Jefferson at the end of his statement when he observed that he could “confirm” Madison Hemings’ claim that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings’ children, “as any other fact which I believe from circumstances but do not positively know.” Indeed, we don’t even know the circumstances that induced Israel Jefferson’s qualified belief. Jefferson Notes page 5
JEFFERSON PLACES
NATURAL BRIDGE
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irginia's natural “rock bridge” was surveyed by George Washington for Lord Fairfax in 1750. High up on the wall of the cliff below the arch is said to be the “mark” George Washington made at the time of the survey. When he saw the bridge on one of his travels, Thomas Jefferson called it “undoubtedly one of the sublimest curiosities in nature.” Emotionally affected by its grandeur, he purchased the “rock bridge” and 157 acres from King George III in 1774. So many came to see this wonder, Jefferson c o n structed a small cabin to house visitors. Called the “bridge of God” by the Monocan Indians, the great limestone arch is 90 feet long, 150 feet wide at one end and 50 wide at the other and over 200 feet above Cedar Creek. Jefferson's estate was forced to sell Natural Bridge after his death. It is now located within Jefferson National Forest, near Lexington, Virginia in the upper Shenandoah Valley. One of the best sites in Virginia for the entire family, with multiple attractions including a Toy Museum, Wax Museum and Haunted Monster Museum. There is a narrated sound and light show and the Cedar Creek Nature Trail with the Monocan Indian Living History Village. Natural Bridge Caverns are the deepest commercial caverns on the east coast. For more information: www.naturalbridgeva.com
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BOOKMARKS The Fall 2007 University of Virginia Magazine features a detailed article, Anatomy of a Mystery, by Maura Singleton, which balances the historical arguments in the JeffersonHemings paternity debate. Online at http:// www.uvamagazine.org/site/c.esJNK1PIJrH/b.3083643/ k.6753/Anatomy_of_a_Mystery.htm Visit the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society at www.TJHeritage.org for other articles on Thomas Jefferson and discussions on the Hemings paternity claim and exactly what the DNA tests proved. For a more detailed look at Thomas Jefferson architect, original designs in the collection of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, Jr. with an essay and notes by Fiske Kimball http:// www2.iath.virginia.edu/wilson/TJA/tja.front.html
Jefferson Notes page 6