Who was Sally Hemings, was she former president Thomas Jefferson's lover or rape victim?

Among many topics that are being discussed on Twitter regarding the Fourth of July, the controversial relationship between the former US president Thomas Jefferson and an enslaved woman Sally Hemings is also being widely talked about. 

A few days ago, news anchor Shannon LaNier, stated in an open letter to Newsweek that he is the sixth great-grandson of Jefferson, a descendant through his relationship with Sally. He also participated in Smithsonian Magazine’s project to reimagine historical figures through the eyes of their living descendants. On seeing the image showcasing LaNier beside Jefferson, many took to Twitter to express their anger over Jefferson’s alleged sexual relationship with Sally, which lacks clarity to date. One Twitter user, sharing LaNier and Jefferson’s picture, wrote, “Reminder: Sally Hemings was not Thomas Jefferson's lover, she was his rape victim.”

So who was Sally? While the question as to whether she was sexually abused by Jefferson or not continues to haunt many, here’s everything you need to know about their relationship which has been debated for years. Sally was born into slavery in 1773 to Betty Hemings and John Wayles. While her mother was an enslaved African, her father Wayles was their master. His first marriage was with Martha Wayles Eppes. Wayles named his first daughter as Martha Wayles after her mother Eppes. Martha was married off to Thomas Jefferson in 1772, when he was working as a planter. 

Following John’s death, Jefferson and Martha inherited the Hemings family along with the other slaves who worked at their estate. Sally was the youngest of Betty’s six children, who grew up in Monticello, Virginia. They were trained to be artisans and domestic servants. Sally came to Jefferson’s household when she was an infant with the rest of her enslaved family. After Martha’s death, a widowed Jefferson took the 14-year-old Sally to London and then Paris along with his younger daughter Mary to serve as their personal slave. Jefferson was 44 at the time. 

While the exact nature of Sally and Jefferson’s relationship is unclear, historians believe that they were sexually involved during their time in France, which continued even after their return to Monticello. 

Meanwhile, the non-profit organization, Monticello, which is operated by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation states that Jefferson fathered “at least six of Sally Heming’s children”. Her son Madison Hemings's written account in the Monticello says that in France, Jefferson desired to bring his mother back to Virginia with him but she demurred. She had realized in France she was free, while if she returned to Virginia she would be re-enslaved. So she refused to return with him. So he promised her extraordinary privileges and made a solemn pledge that her children should be freed at the age of twenty-one years. Madison writes that after her return to Virginia "she gave birth to a child, of whom Thomas Jefferson was the father. It lived but a short time. She gave birth to four others, and Jefferson was the father of all of them. Their names were Beverly, Harriet, Madison (myself), and Eston—three sons and one daughter. We all became free agreeably to the treaty entered into by our parents before we were born. We all married and have raised families." Historians, say it is likely Sally knew that her own mother had made a similar arrangement, having been engaged in a long-term concubine relationship with Jefferson’s father-in-law John Wayles. (Hemings was reportedly a half-sister to Jefferson’s wife Martha).

However, to date, the question remains if Sally’s relationship with Jefferson was consensual or if she was raped by the former president of the US as she left no known accounts.