NEH LANDMARKS WORKSHOP:
All Men are Created Equal?
Thomas Jefferson & Community Life at Monticello and
the University of Virginia
What were
the key
aspects of
Jefferson’s
public
family?
What were
the key
aspects of
Jefferson’s
private
family?
Room Two
Room One
Teacher
bios
How did
space define
Jefferson’s
relationship
with his
“family”?
Room Three
Lesson Ideas
Classroom
application
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Teacher bios
Mary Bailey: Teaches 9th grade English in Virginia. She is a
teacher-consultant for the National Writing Project, author of a
historical fiction/time travel novel, and an avid hiker/camper with
her family.
Victoria Berger: Teaches Special Education in New York City. She
enjoys learning more about historical events and different
perspectives throughout history. She enjoys traveling, seeing
broadway shows, and spending time with friends and family.
Zharmile’ Ford: Teaches 7th grade Civics and 8th grade U.S.
History in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is her 17th year in the
field of education. She considers herself a lifelong learner and
enjoys her family, reading and swimming.
Joe Haber: Teaches at Horizon Middle School at Osceola County
in Kissimmee, Florida. This is his third year teaching. He teaches
Civics and is a fellow of the Justice Teaching Institute with the
Florida Supreme Court.
Alexandra Kilhoffer: Teaches 9th and 10th grade English in rural
Kansas, where she lives with her husband of eight years.
Marianne Santo: Teaches social studies at Hillview Middle School
in Menlo Park, CA. She enjoys traveling and sharing her
experiences (and photos) with her students.
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Note: Virtual museums were first introduced by educators at Keith Valley Middle School in Horsham, Pennsylvania. This template was designed by Lindsey Warneka under the direction of Dr. Christy
Keeler during a Teaching American History grant module. View the Educational Virtual Museums website for more information on this instructional technique.
Name of Museum
Public Family
(official/white)
Jefferson’s
Public
Family
Model
of a
Republican Family
Treatment
of Jefferson’s
Public Family
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http://www.firstladies.org/images/biographies/jefferson/11.jpg
Name of Museum
Private Family
(unofficial/enslaved)
Jefferson’s
Private
Family
Jefferson’s
Responsibility
as
Patriarch
Treatment of
Jefferson’s
Private
Family
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Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemmings
Name of Museum
Family and Space
Where did
Jefferson’s
public family
live?
Where did Jefferson’s
private family live?
What were
the divisions
of space
within
Jefferson’s
family?
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https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/s
ale-books-library-congress-1815
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How can this information and
resources be used in the classroom?
Grades
K-5
Grades
6-8
Grades
9-12
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Photo courtesy of V. Berger
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Public Family Resources
●
Information about Martha
Jefferson (wife):
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladie
s.aspx?biography=3
●
Letter to James Madison where
Jefferson explains the upcoming
marriage of his daughter and his
familial responsibilities:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=Jefferson%20
daughters%20Author%3A%22Jefferson%2C
%20Thomas%22&s=1511311112&r=27
●
Correspondence from Martha to
her father discussing smallpox,
household needs, and how one of
the slaves is doing:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=Jefferson%20
%20%20my%20people%20%20%20servants
%20%20%20Hemmings&s=1511311112&r=1
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Name of Museum
Model Republican Family Resources
● “The family, knitted together by tender
attachments, would constitute the
bedrock of republican society” (11).
●
Jefferson believed the
new republic should
directly reflect the
ideals of a pure and
virtuous family. His
“concept of national
character was
grounded in his idea
about the purity and
perfectibility of family
life and domesticity”
(10).
Republican Family
Patriarch of the family
White family
(Enslaved/Others)/Not part of “ideal” family
Republican Nation
Small, independent farms
States
National Republic
(Gordon-Reed, Annette, and Peter Onuf. Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of Imagination. New York: Liveright,
2016. Print)
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Name of Museum
Treatment of Public Family Resources
●
●
●
Letter from Martha to Jefferson, where she explains that his sister lacks the “head” or “weight of
character” to function as one of the female managers at Monticello. The slaves don’t respect her
authority, and female managers needed to be respected: Source
In a letter, Jefferson charged his female relative to open a line of credit for the benefit of his widowed
sister (Anne Marks), to enable her to purchase luxuries and clothing. - Emilie Johnson, NEH Lecture
July 25, 2016.
Jefferson to his granddaughter, showing he took an interest in her activities and oversaw aspects of
her education. He mentions the condition of her silkworm colony and addresses the volume of
didactic juvenile fiction he sent: Source
Jefferson’s personal
study, which his
family was seldom
allowed to enter.
On the left is a re-created version of
Aunt Marks’ room.
Sources
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Private Family Resources
●
●
●
●
●
Virginia Historical Society: Source
DNA Report linking Jefferson to Sally’s children: Source
Link on Jefferson’s life with Sally Hemings: Source
“The house servants were Betty Brown, Sally, Critta, and Betty Hemings, Nance, and Ursula. They
were old family servants, and great favorites. They were in the room when Mrs. Jefferson died.” -Edmund Bacon, Source
DAACs is an archaeological database with access to millions of artifacts from plantations throughout
the south and the Caribbean. Monticello provided artifacts for this site:
http://daacsrc.org/homepage/query_objects_two_results
Jefferson called his slaves with this bell.
Photo by Mary Bailey
John and
Priscilla
Hemmings
were able to
afford small
luxuries, such
as this box.
A medicine jar
brought from Paris,
found near Sally’s
Mulberry Row cabin
Photo by M. Bailey
Source
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Name of Museum
Responsibility as Patriarch Resources
●
●
●
●
Jefferson used the word family to include both those connected by blood and those under
his household including workmen, overseers, and slaves. - Lucia Stanton, Those Who
Labor for my Happiness
Jefferson saw families as the basis of a republic. Families form townships, which form
states, which form nations. - Peter Onuf, Lecture July 24, 2016
Jefferson explains that he wants to keep slave families together:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=%20Author%3A%22Jefferson%2C%20Thomas%22%20f
amilies%20together%20purchase&s=2511311112&sa=&r=39&sr=
Jefferson explains in a letter that he is a “blessed patriarch”:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=%20Author%3A%22Jefferson%2C%20Thomas%22%20
patriarch&s=2511311112&sa=&r=4&sr=
Annette Gordon Reed and Peter Onuf discuss
Jefferson’s role as patriarch at Monticello plantation.
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Photo courtesy of J. Haber
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Treatment of Private Family Resources
●
Letter from Jefferson to his overseer, Edmund Bacon, instructing him that one of his slave relatives requires
no direct supervision, but simply needs to be found when needed:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=Author%3A%22Jefferson%2C%20Thomas%22%20Dates-From%3A180705-13%20Dates-To%3A1807-05-13&s=2511311112&r=1&
Photo courtesy of J. Haber
●
●
Jefferson receives a letter detailing the
mistreatment of one of his slave relatives:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=Dates-From%3A1
804-11-01%20Dates-To%3A1804-11-30%20Reci
pient%3A%22Jefferson%2C%20Thomas%22&s=
2511311112&sa=&r=105&sr=
Annette Gordon
Reed speaks of
the need for
better scholarship
about Jefferson’s
slave blood
relatives.
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Where Public Family Lived Resources
●
Martha Jefferson
discusses Jefferson’s long
absence:
http://founders.archives.go
v/?q=%20Recipient%3A%
22Jefferson%2C%20Tho
mas%22%20father%20au
nt&s=2511311122&sa=&r
=7&sr=
●
Picture of Monticello,
Jefferson’s home,
located at the Monticello
Museum. Photo courtesy of Z.
Ford
●
Cross section of
Monticello showing
rooms at Monticello
Museum. Photo courtesy of Z.
Ford
●
Floor plan of Monticello at the
Monticello Museum showing
Jefferson’s separation of his
space from family space. Photo
courtesy of Z. Ford
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Where Private Family Lived Resources
●
Thomas Jefferson’s private family lived on his
plantation at Monticello.
Useful Links:
● https://www.monticello.org/mulberry-row
● https://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery
● https://scodpub.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/monticello-mountain.jpg
● https://www.monticello.org/slavery-at-monticello/enslaved-families-monticello/hemings-family
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Divisions of Family Space Resources
●
According to Elizabeth V. Chew, the author of
Inhabiting the Great Man’s Space: Women and Space
In Monticello, Thomas Jefferson carefully separated
himself from the offical family members at Monticello.
●
Enslaved people and white servants
lived around Monticello on Mulberry
Row.
Overview of Mulberry Row
Phases of
Mulberry Row
●
Virtual Tour - Encyclopedia Virginia has a
virtual tour of Monticello. Follow directions
on the website:
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/
●
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Enslaved People
of Mulberry Row
Learn more about the design and
creation of Monticello by clicking
here: Monticello
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Grades K-5 Resources
Monticello.org
For KIDS!
http://www.vtshome.org
Create discussions
around images by
using VTS. See website
for a full description.
Use images from
Monticello Images
& Jefferson's Family
Click here
Virginia Historical
Society provides
image resources to
use in the classroom:
Worksheet
Resources
Ask & point out
student noticings:
a. What’s going on in
this picture?
b. What do you see that
makes you say that?
c. What more can we find?
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Teacher
resources to find
out more about
Thomas
Jefferson &
Monticello:
UVA Teacher
Resource Links
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Grades 6-8 Resources
●
Debate: Select two primary source documents that your students will read such
as those found on the section labeled Treatment of private family. Ask a question
that has two answers or positions that are possible. An example would be, “Did
Jefferson take good care of his slave family? They will need to use evidence from
the primary sources to support their arguments. Save time for a reflection at the
end of the lesson.
●
Draw a political cartoon: Have each student pick one of the topics explored in
this presentation. Students will use computers and read through all resources and
watch all videos. Then they will draw a political cartoon with captions to illustrate
the ideas presented.
●
Make a timeline: Divide your class into groups of four. Each group will take
posterboard and create a large timeline. Students will look through the primary
source documents contained in this resource and order them on the timeline. An
example would be November 26, 1804: Thomas Jefferson receives a letter
detailing the abuses of one of his slaves (a relative). Students can illustrate the
timeline to make the events visual.
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Grades 9-12 Resources
●
Research: Have students use primary sources to gather information
about Jefferson and his family. Create a research project based on
information discovered.
●
Write: Allow students to research a particular member of Jefferson’s
family, then write several diary entries or letters from that family member.
●
Create: Ask students to create a visual that represent the differences
between Jefferson’s “ideal” family and the reality of the public and private
families he had.
●
Discuss: Discuss the role Jefferson’s family played in his ability and
inability to uphold the very values he penned in the Declaration of
Independence.
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