American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
Encyclopedia
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, is a 1996 book written by Joseph Ellis
, a professor of History at Mount Holyoke College
. It won the 1997 National Book Award (nonfiction).
begins on June 20, 1775 with Jefferson's arrival in Philadelphia as Virginia's delegate to the Continental Congress
and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence
. He follows through to the president's retirement at Monticello
. Central to the book are Jefferson's contradictions and inconsistencies. Ellis covers Jefferson's career as ambassador to France, Secretary of State, planter
and president.
Perhaps what is most illuminating about Jefferson's personality is that the man shied away from public attention. In fact, according to Ellis, Jefferson gave just two public speeches as President of the United States. Thomas Jefferson felt far more comfortable writing, his particular specialty as the Declaration of Independence attests to, than public speaking. He worked behind the scenes to accomplish his political programs and create alliances.
Ellis praises Thomas Jefferson's first term as one of the most successful of any US presidency in terms of achieving stated goals; in his first term, Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase
, which would so affect the character of the United States, and significantly reduced the Federal budget. But what sets Jefferson apart from other US presidents, particularly John Adams
, was his uniquely "feminine" approach to politics. He detested direct confrontation and was a master "dinner table" politician. He was known for inviting his competitors to dinner to plant the seeds of his ideas and defuse controversies.
and Sally Hemings
was "inconclusive". Specifically, Ellis states in the appendix to American Sphinx,
In November 1998 Dr. Eugene Foster and his team published an article in Nature
, reporting on their analysis of DNA data from descendants of Jefferson, Eston Hemings, the Carr family and Thomas Woodson. Foster said that there was a match between the Jefferson line and that of the Hemings' descendant, for which, with historical evidence, the simplest explanation was that Jefferson was the father of Eston, and likely Hemings' other children.
On November 2, 1998, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
ran a feature on this topic, stating that, "according to an article in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature, DNA analysis shows that Jefferson almost certainly fathered at least one of Sally Hemings' children, her last son, Eston." Ellis, who was interviewed during this broadcast, said that he had revised his opinion due to this new evidence:
He noted, "In the wake of the DNA revelations, an already-clear pattern of denial in Jefferson's life is deepened and darkened." As a consequence of the DNA testing, Ellis published essays coauthored with geneticist Eric S. Lander in Nature and U.S. News & World Report
. Ellis said, "As one who had suggested that we could not know the truth, I felt a special obligation to take the lead when the DNA evidence finally made the truth available."
Ellis took students on a field trip to Monticello
to survey the response of visitors to the results of the DNA tests. They found that "eighty percent of those polled were unmoved by findings they'd assumed all along were fact ... scholars not the public, it turned out, were the ones taken by surprise."
Ellis' revised position confirmed that of the late UCLA professor of history, Fawn Brodie, who provided new evidence for this relationship in her 1974 book, Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History.
Joseph Ellis
Joseph John Ellis is a Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College who has written histories on the founding generation of American presidents. His book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation received the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2001.-Background and teaching:He received his B.A...
, a professor of History at Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
. It won the 1997 National Book Award (nonfiction).
Overview
Ellis' approach to explaining the character of Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
begins on June 20, 1775 with Jefferson's arrival in Philadelphia as Virginia's delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. He follows through to the president's retirement at Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
. Central to the book are Jefferson's contradictions and inconsistencies. Ellis covers Jefferson's career as ambassador to France, Secretary of State, planter
Planter
Planter may refer to:*A flower pot or box for plants**Jardinière, one such type of pot*A person or object engaged in sowing seeds**Planter , implement towed behind a tractor, used for sowing crops through a field*A coloniser...
and president.
Perhaps what is most illuminating about Jefferson's personality is that the man shied away from public attention. In fact, according to Ellis, Jefferson gave just two public speeches as President of the United States. Thomas Jefferson felt far more comfortable writing, his particular specialty as the Declaration of Independence attests to, than public speaking. He worked behind the scenes to accomplish his political programs and create alliances.
Ellis praises Thomas Jefferson's first term as one of the most successful of any US presidency in terms of achieving stated goals; in his first term, Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
, which would so affect the character of the United States, and significantly reduced the Federal budget. But what sets Jefferson apart from other US presidents, particularly John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, was his uniquely "feminine" approach to politics. He detested direct confrontation and was a master "dinner table" politician. He was known for inviting his competitors to dinner to plant the seeds of his ideas and defuse controversies.
Reviews
Brent Staples of the New York Times Book Review commented that, "Joseph J. Ellis's American Sphinx is a brief and elegant return to Monticello. Mr. Ellis...is a remarkably clear writer, mercifully free of both the groveling and the spirit of attack that have dominated the subject in the past....American Sphinx is fresh and uncluttered but rich in historical context."Relationship between Jefferson and Hemings
Ellis suggested in the text that evidence for an affair between Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and Sally Hemings
Sally Hemings
Sarah "Sally" Hemings was a mixed-race slave owned by President Thomas Jefferson through inheritance from his wife. She was the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson by their father John Wayles...
was "inconclusive". Specifically, Ellis states in the appendix to American Sphinx,
- Unless the trustees of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation decide to exhume the remains and do DNA testing on Jefferson as well as some of his alleged progeny, it leaves the matter a mystery about which advocates on either side can freely speculate...This means that for those who demand an answer the only recourse is plausible conjecture, prefaced as it must be with profuse statements about the flimsy and wholly circumstantial character of the evidence. In that spirit, which we might call the spirit of responsible speculation, after five years mulling over the huge cache of evidence that does exist on the thought and character of the historical Jefferson, I have concluded that the likelihood of a liaison with Sally Hemings is remote.
In November 1998 Dr. Eugene Foster and his team published an article in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, reporting on their analysis of DNA data from descendants of Jefferson, Eston Hemings, the Carr family and Thomas Woodson. Foster said that there was a match between the Jefferson line and that of the Hemings' descendant, for which, with historical evidence, the simplest explanation was that Jefferson was the father of Eston, and likely Hemings' other children.
On November 2, 1998, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
ran a feature on this topic, stating that, "according to an article in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature, DNA analysis shows that Jefferson almost certainly fathered at least one of Sally Hemings' children, her last son, Eston." Ellis, who was interviewed during this broadcast, said that he had revised his opinion due to this new evidence:
- "It's not so much a change of heart, but this is really new evidence. And it - prior to this evidence, I think it was a very difficult case to know and circumstantial on both sides, and, in part, because I got it wrong, I think I want to step forward and say this new evidence constitutes, well, evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that Jefferson had a longstanding sexual relationship with Sally Hemings. Even though the match is only with one of the Hemings' descendants, Eston Hemings, it's inconceivable that Jefferson, who was 65 when Eston was born, would have made a one-night stand here. I think this is a longstanding relationship. When it began and what the character of the relationship is we probably can't know easily or at all. But it was, without question, an enduring one.
He noted, "In the wake of the DNA revelations, an already-clear pattern of denial in Jefferson's life is deepened and darkened." As a consequence of the DNA testing, Ellis published essays coauthored with geneticist Eric S. Lander in Nature and U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
. Ellis said, "As one who had suggested that we could not know the truth, I felt a special obligation to take the lead when the DNA evidence finally made the truth available."
Ellis took students on a field trip to Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
to survey the response of visitors to the results of the DNA tests. They found that "eighty percent of those polled were unmoved by findings they'd assumed all along were fact ... scholars not the public, it turned out, were the ones taken by surprise."
Ellis' revised position confirmed that of the late UCLA professor of history, Fawn Brodie, who provided new evidence for this relationship in her 1974 book, Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History.
External links
- Powell's review
- American Sphinx: The Contradictions of Thomas Jefferson - Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...