In the Course of Human Events

Robert Hemmings's Signature

In this episode of In the Course of Human Events, historians from Monticello's Getting Word African American Oral History Project share the recent rediscovery of Robert Hemmings’s signature, a revelation confirming the literacy and the agency of the man that Thomas Jefferson enslaved as his valet. As a teenage boy, Hemmings was at Jefferson's side in Philadelphia when he wrote the Declaration of Independence, and later gained his own freedom, becoming the first of very few to be freed by Jefferson. Listen as Andrew Davenport, Aurianna Woods, and Bernetiae Reed discuss this discovery and describe the life of Robert Hemmings whose story inspired “Descendants of Monticello,” a new exhibition that recently opened at Independence National Historical Park's Declaration House in Philadelphia, PA. By moving Hemmings to the center of this moment in history, this project explores the entangled legacies of freedom and enslavement at the core of our nation’s founding. Since 1993, the Getting Word African American Oral History Project has collected and preserved the oral histories of Monticello’s enslaved community and their descendants, creating an archive of freedom and a fuller story of Monticello and the United States. Getting Word and other staff from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation worked with Monument Lab, the National Park Service, and other organizations to present “Descendants of Monticello,” which was conceived and developed by artist Sonya Clark.

The Life and "Happiness" of Martha Wayles Jefferson

Years after her death, Thomas Jefferson described his marriage to his wife, Martha, as ten years spent "in unchequered happiness. And w hile the historical evidence draws a portrait of strong mutual affection, Martha Jefferson's life had its share of tribulation and tragedy. In this episode of "In the Course of Human Events, we look at Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, a woman long viewed almost entirely through the lens of her husband, but was in reality a remarkable person in her own right.

The Fantastic Tale of Selim the Algerian

He captured the imagination of the Virginia elite on the eve of the American Revolution with a tale of education in Constantinople, capture by pirates, sale into slavery in New Orleans, escape into the Virginia wilderness, and conversion from Islam to Christianity. Listen as Martin Clagett, author of "Scientific Jefferson: Revealed," presents the oft-repeated—but sometimes hard to verify—story of Selim the Algerian and his difficult journeys back and forth between two continents. Co-hosts David Thorson and Jacqueline Langholtz join in and discuss themes of survival, culture, and identity highlighted through the lens of Selim's remarkable life.

The Fiery Arch: Celebrating the Treaty of Paris

It was meant to be a spectacle. And it was. But not in the way intended. In this episode, author and historian Eliga Gould tells the incredible story of Charles Willson Peale's Triumphal Arch, built to celebrate the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the American Revolution and established international recognition of the United States as a new nation. Monticello's Gaye Wilson and Hannah Zimmerman join our look into this pivotal yet often forgotten moment in American history, where art, celebration, and tragedy intertwined.

Benjamin Banneker Challenges Thomas Jefferson

Who was Benjamin Banneker? Scientist, clockmaker, Assistant to the Surveyor of Washington, DC, creator of bestselling almanacs, and possibly the first African American to publicly challenge Jefferson on the topics of slavery, race, and equality. In this episode of In the Course of Human Events, we look letters at Banneker and Jefferson exchanged in 1791 and consider how the problem of slavery prevented these individuals with so much in common from forming a friendship.