Consider the following from Gordon-Reed’s Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemings.

NOTE: All long-answer responses must meet the minimum word count and cite from the text the pages that support answers to the questions. I will not grade them if they do not fulfull this criteria.

• Matching/Biographical ID: Sally Hemings, Madison Hemings/Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson, James Callender, The Randolphs and the Carrs

Chapter 2, “James Callender” (Long-Answer Question)

• What was the contentious political context in which James Callender made and published his accusations about the Jefferson–Hemings affair (e.g. the major disagreements, fights, and in-fighting between parties and political camps of the day)? What is the origin of Callender’s account about the Jefferson–Hemings affair, i.e. where and from whom did Callender get his scandalous information? Give examples from the book, citing the pages.

  Min. 200 words, citing from the pages that support your answer. I will not grade responses if they do not fulfull this criteria.

Chapter 3, “The Randolphs and the Carrs” (Long-Answer Question)

• Describe in detail the “oral tradition” or “oral history” that, on the one side, supports the claim that Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings; and, on the other, supports the claim that another white man (or other white men), rather than Thomas Jefferson, fathered Sally Hemings’s children. Until recently, why has one side of this oral history been deemed more reliable than (and preferable to) the other? And based on Gordon-Reed’s conclusions in this chapter, what is the circumstantial evidence (not DNA) – or “patterns” (incl. residency, travel) – that suggest Thomas Jefferson was probably the father of Hemings’s children while other men could not have been? Give examples from the book, citing the pages.

  Min. 200 words, citing from the pages that support your answer. I will not grade responses if they do not fulfull this criteria.

Consider the following from Dew’s Apostles of Disunion:

Introduction & chapter 1, “Slavery, States’ Rights, and Secession”

• why many students, and the public at large, especially in the South, offer up as one of the primary reasons behind Southern secession
• the various “Declaration of Causes” that some secessionist states offered
• speeches and writings of Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens, outlining why the southern states were seceding
• characteristics of secession commissioners

Chapter 2, “The First Wave”

• common epithets used by secession commissioners for Lincoln and his fellow party-members
• notable/famous secessionist commissioners
• which states were more convinced of secession than others

Chapter 3, “The South Carolinians” (Long-Answer Question)

• What was the typical background of the secession commissioners chosen to represent South Carolina, and why were certain individuals sent to certain states? How did the secession commissioners from South Carolina describe Lincoln and the Republican Party? Give examples from the book, citing the pages.

  Min. 200 words, citing from the pages that support your answer. I will not grade responses if they do not fulfull this criteria.

Chapter 4, “The Alabamians” (Long-Answer Question)

• According to the secession commissioners from Alabama, what were some of the grievances against the North, and what were some of the reasons given by the Alabaman commissioners for the need to secede? Was Alabama’s mission to Kentucky successful? Why or why not? Give examples from the book, citing the pages.

  Min. 200 words, citing from the pages that support your answer. I will not grade responses if they do not fulfull this criteria.