This paper uses a historical and sociological lens to examine how the ways in which the slavery experience differed based on gender. More specifically, how the experiences portrayed in primary sources and narratives highlight the struggles of female slaves against the patriarchy. Ultimately, this paper reveals how female slaves were subjected to sexual harassment and emotional distress and looks in depth at the dynamic of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings.
The extent of sexual harassment and emotional distress was experienced much worse by female slaves. In chapter 14 of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Harriet Jacobs describes her dismay when she learns that her newborn baby is a girl and how her …show more content…
While Hemings didn’t leave behind a narrative explaining the nature of her relationship with Thomas Jefferson, it can be assumed that it probably was similar to those Jacob’s described. As Sara Constantakis explained in her article, slave owners were “notorious” for taking sexual advantage of their female slaves, and Jefferson wouldn’t have been considered “unusual among the men of his time and place” (Constantakis, 2016). Hemings and Jefferson initially began their relationship when she accompanied him to France to watch after his daughters while they were in boarding school. Hemings would spend the weekdays at the hotel with Jefferson and her brother, providing “ample time” for them to form a relationship (Roshaunda, …show more content…
In the novel “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs,” Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf challenge notions that Thomas Jefferson had a pristine image as a founding father. They trace Jefferson's philosophical development from youth to old age, and explore what they call the "empire" of Jefferson's imagination―an expansive state of mind born of his origins in a slave society, his intellectual influences, and his ambition that propelled him into public life. The book follows Jefferson’s lifelong intellectual journey through correspondences and records that challenges those widespread assumptions while looking into the two roles he saw himself as: “patriot and patriarch” (Gordon-Reed, 2016, p. 37) The authors set out to unpack this self-constructed image Jefferson had in order to understand the way he viewed his own contributions and how he justified his own contradictory actions. The book discusses his beginnings in Virginia, his role in the revolution, his views on America and exceptional, and personal views on religion and race. These elements of his life all lead to the theme of Jefferson’s attachment to his ideal of “home” and his attachment to his “country” of Virginia (Gordon-Reed, 102). The central theme of the novel is Jefferson’s own hypocrisy in writing the Declaration of Independence while being a slave
The extent of sexual harassment and emotional distress was experienced much worse by female slaves. In chapter 14 of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Harriet Jacobs describes her dismay when she learns that her newborn baby is a girl and how her …show more content…
While Hemings didn’t leave behind a narrative explaining the nature of her relationship with Thomas Jefferson, it can be assumed that it probably was similar to those Jacob’s described. As Sara Constantakis explained in her article, slave owners were “notorious” for taking sexual advantage of their female slaves, and Jefferson wouldn’t have been considered “unusual among the men of his time and place” (Constantakis, 2016). Hemings and Jefferson initially began their relationship when she accompanied him to France to watch after his daughters while they were in boarding school. Hemings would spend the weekdays at the hotel with Jefferson and her brother, providing “ample time” for them to form a relationship (Roshaunda, …show more content…
In the novel “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs,” Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf challenge notions that Thomas Jefferson had a pristine image as a founding father. They trace Jefferson's philosophical development from youth to old age, and explore what they call the "empire" of Jefferson's imagination―an expansive state of mind born of his origins in a slave society, his intellectual influences, and his ambition that propelled him into public life. The book follows Jefferson’s lifelong intellectual journey through correspondences and records that challenges those widespread assumptions while looking into the two roles he saw himself as: “patriot and patriarch” (Gordon-Reed, 2016, p. 37) The authors set out to unpack this self-constructed image Jefferson had in order to understand the way he viewed his own contributions and how he justified his own contradictory actions. The book discusses his beginnings in Virginia, his role in the revolution, his views on America and exceptional, and personal views on religion and race. These elements of his life all lead to the theme of Jefferson’s attachment to his ideal of “home” and his attachment to his “country” of Virginia (Gordon-Reed, 102). The central theme of the novel is Jefferson’s own hypocrisy in writing the Declaration of Independence while being a slave