re: #96 freetoken

There has been very much written about TJ, Sally Hemmings, all the evidence, etc.

I think it is appropriate for a teacher to ask a student to cite sources for any claim.

FWIW, age 14 was old enough for females, even white females, to be married off in many cultures.

I’m not saying it is right. I think it is wrong.

What I am saying is that when we are going to write about the past we need to cite evidence, then evaluate it in a context that includes the period as well as our own beliefs.

With great trepidation I’m agreeing with you. It could be that she was madly in love with him and he with her.

Or it could be that he used his position of power to abuse an adolescent child.

We simply cannot know. The mores of the past cannot be viewed today with any real balance based on what are today’s mores. Was Mohammed a rapist? Was Brigham Young? Was Romeo? Does this make Islam, Mormonism, and Shakespeare illegitimate?

From the modern perspective, the easy answer is “Of course they were!”

But in that time and place, that was just normal.

Yet, because of its sensitivity, I am uncomfortable making this argument, although I still think it is probably correct.

I’ll duck, now. Please use composted manure, not fresh road apples.