Sally Hemings & Thomas Jefferson - The Scandal Essay

Sally Hemings & Thomas Jefferson - The Scandal - Essay Example Each member relies on what each knows of human nature, using common sense and the ability to reason If the assumptions seem ridiculous, throw them out, if the reasons make sense, convict. Here Jefferson will be convicted, but free from scandal. Jefferson was a man of passion and conviction, like many a good leader, and it is just these characteristics upon which he will be judged as well as the elemental conditions of the evidence available. As with any fair trial we must first presume that Thomas Jefferson is innocent before we can bring evidence against him. This presumption will lie in the testimony of his statements and those of his contemporaries. Thomas Jefferson himself never commented publicly on the issue, though some of his remarks have been interpreted as indirect denials. For example, he publicly stated his opposition to miscegenation (a word not yet coined at the time): "Their [blacks] amalgamation with the other color," he wrote, "produces a degradation to which no lover of his country, no lover of excellence in the human character, can innocently consent."1 Why would a man with these opinions ever think to "consent" to relationships outside his own race? The Jefferson Family also vehemently denies any possible impropriety on Jefferson’s part equally sighting his high moral character and his veracity. The family also states as fact that Mr. Jefferson was never geographically present at the times in which Ms. Hemings would have conceived any of her children. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson Randolph [grandson of Thomas Jefferson], holds basically that Jefferson was not at Monticello when Sally Hemings children were conceived, and that they were fathered instead by one of his nephews, either Peter or Samuel Carr.†3 However, careful studies of Jefferson Farm Book and the detailed chronology of his public life record tend to reveal otherwise (see Timeline on page ten). Also the Author of Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History reveals

Wk2multicult Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wk2multicult - Essay Example I think this would impact my work because I am not sure how I would deal with a gay or lesbian couple coming to my offices who want to get married. I do not know how I would counsel them exactly because of what I have been taught. Bohan (1996) states that marriage is a part of "heterosexual privilege". She says when people are married they are able to have public support and acceptance of your marriage, paid leave when your spouse dies and you are grieving the loss, paid leave if you are having a crisis in your family or if the spouse is ill and immediate access to your spouse if they are in the hospital or something happens to them (p. 40). What I realize about this is that this seems to be what people need who love each other and perhaps it does not matter how that love is consummated, but it is only fair that gays and lesbians who love each other should have the same privileges that heterosexual couples have even if they do not call it "marriage." The way that I would address this challenge is to find out more information in this area. I would need to study more. In the area of marriage, there are many states that have already legalized marriage. In fact, Washington, D.C., is the most recent state that is in the process of legalizing gay marriage. I can see that I will need to understand this from a human interest level rather than from a personal level if I am to counsel this group. Socioeconomic status. I do alright. My parents were middle class and worked most o their life. My mother is a teacher and my father is a chemist. I relate to all type of people, especially those who have little income; I want to help. Because I come from a family that was Jewish we were taught traditional values. This has been both a blessing and a curse for me at times. I believe in the traditions and I feel they work to help us understand who we are better than some cultures. We also know what we are supposed to do according to the Torah.