The Lost Descendants of Thomas Jefferson
The New Yorker · 21 Sep 2026

The Lost Descendants of Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson’s relationship with Hemings is a primal scene in the national imagination. Peeking into the master bedroom at Monticello, we confront the idea that America’s founding champion of liberty and equality sexually exploited a teen-ager while holding her, and eventually their children, in bondag


⬅ Back home Read full article ➡