In the Garden of Historical Context: Thomas Jefferson, Santa Claus and Diddy

It’s not that complex or nuanced. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal,” but he owned slaves. The man was brilliant, but not complicated. He said what he said, “all men.” People, mankind, humankind are used in the same document. What he wrote was in reference to governance was intentional.  Jefferson believed women’s interests were to be confined to housekeeping and childbearing. Thomas Jefferson made statements  that blacks were inferior to whites.^.0 He said what he said and he meant what he said. I love the wisdom and acknowledgment in this Jefferson quote.¹

“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.” 

Thomas Jefferson

Mr Jefferson was brilliant,² but not complicated. What happens when we view his story, in his words, in pace with the times? He said all men are created equal and black people are inferior. So, why is it, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings are presented as a love story? Is this really a love story or a 44 year old man’s sexual abuse of a 14 year old girl? There are those who immediately default to, “back in that time” it was common for older men to marry young girls; “back in that time” it was ok to enslave people. This all happened back in that time, but, was it moral?

We’re told, Martha Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s wife, made him promise not to remarry as she was dying; she did not want another woman’s influence over her children. “Back in that time,” widowed aristocrats turned to enslaved females for comfort.³ Martha Jefferson’s father, John Wayles, found “comfort” with Elizabeth Hemings, Sally Hemings’ mother. As a reminder, Martha Jefferson and Sally Hemings were half sisters. Some historians used this as context for the love story. Jefferson so loved and missed his wife. Sally Hemings resembled Martha so much, Jefferson fell in love with her? Or, did Jefferson simply follow the tradition of aristocratic widowers and take Sally Hemings for comfort? This is not a love story.

We love to hang on to falsehoods with traditions. Do traditions allow us to remain willfully ignorant? It’s the holiday season and here comes Santa Claus. As an Americans, we seem to prefer to digress into debates over should Santa join a gym, the ethnicity of Santa, etc when there is no Santa!!! Since parents give gifts on behalf of “Santa,” shouldn’t that mean Santa can be any ethnicity, gender, or religion? There is a Roman Bishop credited with the origin narrative. Saint Nicholas. The original Santa Claus in the US was an elf supporting the Union soldiers. Later, Santa Claus was the creative marketing of Coca Cola in the 1920’s to establish the brand as a “winter drink.” It only gets complicated because we want to maintain a tradition as truth…up until a certain age. The charade of Santa Clause goes beyond that of the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy or the Great Pumpkin. It’s marketing.

Which takes us back to Jefferson and a romanticized history. Sally could have remained in Paris and been free but loved Jefferson and returned with him back to America? How about, a 14 years old girl, pregnant with no money and afraid? This is not love, this is circumstances and choices. She did not want her children enslaved and begged for their freedom for over four decades. Jefferson said her offspring would be freed upon his death. It was blackmail. Miss Hemings’ children were freed in accordance with Jefferson’s will after his death. Sally was not. Jefferson’s daughter freed Sally. Generations of Jefferson descendants denied any existence of the offspring of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. DNA testing in 1998 refuted the claims by Thomas Jefferson’s descendants that Jefferson’s nephews fathered Sally’s children.

The recent headlines with Sean Combs brought this to light for me. The music mogul, Mr Combs, currently has 4 civil lawsuits of sex trafficking and sexual abuse, one of which involves an underage minor. These lawsuits illustrate abuse hiding in plain sight. While Mr Combs has not been found guilty of any criminal charges, and maintains his innocence, it begs us to ask, is there something sinister when men over the age of 30 seek out teenage girls?⁴ In regards to the first lawsuit, there have been comments around why now if she stayed with him for 10 years? Read the lawsuit. Did she really stay for 10 years or did she try to get away, was brought back every time and was blackmailed? Do victims not come forward because they are met with, that’s the industry, that’s rock and roll.? As with Mr Jefferson, rather than stand on business, we hear, it’s the time, it’s the practice, it’s the industry, but, is it moral? Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and Puff Daddy, signs of the times or an inability to deal with inconvenient truths?

What happens when we take a different look, when we reframe what we see? If we do not weed the garden, what survives? Are we content to act is if the overgrowth is intentional? Is this what we want to seed the future? This is not an attempt to invoke cancel culture or erase a history. When a person looks to heal from a disease, one must first know the source; a band aid on the forehead does nothing for a broken arm. Likewise for societal issues. What happens when we look at the treatment of women and discounting experiences with “that was the time” or “that is the industry?” We must acknowledge what happened and move forward.

To problem solve, there is a technique of the 5 why’s. An easy example, college roommates were watching dinner being prepared. They were curious as to why the cook among them cut off the ends of the roast before placing it in the oven. The response was, this is the way my dad prepares it. Next time he was home, he asked his dad why the ends are cut off to which his dad responded, the pan was always too small. Many times, assumptions lead us astray and we don’t ask why, we accept. Why would there be a love story with a 14 year old enslaved girl and a 44 year man? How does Santa Claus deliver toys to children around the world in one night? How does someone bump into a wall so hard their nose is broken? This week, consider the great reframe, ask why.

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⁰Phillis Wheatley obtained the approval of eighteen prominent white men of Boston to publish her book of poetry. Thomas Jefferson was a major detractor. For a timeline, Miss Wheatley’s book was published in 1773, she died in 1784. Mr Jefferson rendered his cirque in 1785. His relationship with Sally Hemings began in 1787.

In “Query 14” of Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), Thomas Jefferson famously critiques Phillis Wheatley’s poetry. In this section of the Notes he addresses views of race and relates his theory of race to both the aesthetic potential of slaves as well as their political futures. He argues that the “sable race” lacks the intellect of the white race. The key differentiator for Jefferson is the ability to “reason” in a pure manner, such that the individual can create something in an original manner. The more original the work of art, Jefferson suggests, the more intellect is displayed. To be fully human, and to be fully capable of reason, means to create original works of art. The highest display of this creative capacity is poetry.
He uses this framework to then treat Wheatley’s poetry. In his view, Wheatley’s poetry is entirely derivative and imitative, completely devoid of originality. This is the highest an African can do, argues Jefferson, and it has nothing to do with the institution of slavery (he points to Roman slaves, such as Epictetus, to suggest white slaves are superior).

Phillss Wheatley and Thomas Jefferson

¹It’s why I’ve always struggled with the constitutional originalists, particularity those on the Supreme Court. Jefferson, one if the framers of constitution said laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.

²This is not the vilification of Thomas Jefferson. This is the context of considering what we know of a situation, how the element of the “times” creating a more favorable narrative and how that can shape history.

³Comfort/Comfort Women – Comfort – the term for enslaved women used for sexual purposes. Comfort Women – this term may sound foamier as it refers to the 200,00 Korean woman women forced into Japanese military brothels during World War II.

⁴You too Elvis. It only a 10 year age gap, but dude, she was 14 to your 24. But that was time and people refer to Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his cousin who was 13 when he was 22 as if that makes it ok!

Note: The context of this post is predatory behavior towards the young. Those 21 and younger. A twenty, thirty, forty year age gap for consenting adults in a relationship, go for it. This is only to reframe relationships with a significant age gap in which one party is not legally allowed to drink, vote or purchase a hand gun.