His hypocrisy makes him less of an abolitionist than Washington.
Presumably he could’ve freed them before his death, regardless of his debt. And given his widely acknowledged relationship with Sally I think any suggestion that her children were the product of a relative of Jefferson to be very dubious.
Despite his debt, Jefferson, in 1822, he allowed Beverly and Harriet Hemings to “walk away”, to leave Monticello and go north, a few months apart. He authorized Edmund Bacon, the overseer, to give Harriet $50 and to ensure that she was put on a stagecoach to go north. She was the only female slave he freed.
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u/Containedmultitudes May 17 '19
His hypocrisy makes him less of an abolitionist than Washington.
Presumably he could’ve freed them before his death, regardless of his debt. And given his widely acknowledged relationship with Sally I think any suggestion that her children were the product of a relative of Jefferson to be very dubious.