In this episode of In the Course of Human Events, historians from Monticello's Getting Word African American Oral History Project share the recent rediscovery of Robert Hemmings’s signature, a revelation confirming the literacy and the agency of the man that Thomas Jefferson enslaved as his valet. As a teenage boy, Hemmings was at Jefferson's side in Philadelphia when he wrote the Declaration of Independence, and later gained his own freedom, becoming the first of very few to be freed by Jefferson.
Listen as Andrew Davenport, Aurianna Woods, and Bernetiae Reed discuss this discovery and describe the life of Robert Hemmings whose story inspired “Descendants of Monticello,” a new exhibition that recently opened at Independence National Historical Park's Declaration House in Philadelphia, PA. By moving Hemmings to the center of this moment in history, this project explores the entangled legacies of freedom and enslavement at the core of our nation’s founding.
Since 1993, the Getting Word African American Oral History Project has collected and preserved the oral histories of Monticello’s enslaved community and their descendants, creating an archive of freedom and a fuller story of Monticello and the United States. Getting Word and other staff from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation worked with Monument Lab, the National Park Service, and other organizations to present “Descendants of Monticello,” which was conceived and developed by artist Sonya Clark.
6 Apr 2024
The Life and "Happiness" of Martha Wayles Jefferson
Years after her death, Thomas Jefferson described his marriage to his wife, Martha, as ten years spent "in unchequered happiness. And w hile the historical evidence draws a portrait of strong mutual affection, Martha Jefferson's life had its share of tribulation and tragedy. In this episode of "In the Course of Human Events, we look at Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, a woman long viewed almost entirely through the lens of her husband, but was in reality a remarkable person in her own right.
17 Feb 2024
The Fantastic Tale of Selim the Algerian
He captured the imagination of the Virginia elite on the eve of the American Revolution with a tale of education in Constantinople, capture by pirates, sale into slavery in New Orleans, escape into the Virginia wilderness, and conversion from Islam to Christianity. Listen as Martin Clagett, author of "Scientific Jefferson: Revealed," presents the oft-repeated—but sometimes hard to verify—story of Selim the Algerian and his difficult journeys back and forth between two continents. Co-hosts David Thorson and Jacqueline Langholtz join in and discuss themes of survival, culture, and identity highlighted through the lens of Selim's remarkable life.
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