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To: tcuoohjohn
well...I think on the basis of the preponderance of the evidence ( The historical standard) it is fairly clear that Jefferson fathered one of more children by Sally Hemmings.

Given the manner in which this issue has been handled by the press, your position is perfectly reasonable. But, the point of this article as well as the report of the Blue Ribbon Commission has been to put forward the view that this conclusion does not meet the generally accepted historical standard.

This effort represents historical activism and should be rejected by the academic community. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to occur. Things of this sort have been all to common among the historical academy, in fact, this little hoax is mild compared to some of the other more egregious examples.

71 posted on 12/16/2003 12:46:38 PM PST by centurion316
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To: centurion316
I tend to disagree with your notion of "Historical activism" The question of Hemming's paternity is one that has existed for nearly 200 years. It is only within the last decade or so that technology has advanced to the point that some reasonably conclusive evidence could he had. The Commission was one that seemed emminently fair to me and followed good historical investigative process. The evidence was weighed in toto and conclusions were drawn on the basis of preponderance of historical and current evidence. There was a full throated minority report and the commission's findings were subject to rigorous peer review

I have no axe to grind in the Jefferson paternity issue and could careless about some obscure political spin placed on the results of their inquiries. That wasn't their charge.

For me the evidence while not absolutely definitive in the sense of the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard used in a criminal trial it overwhelmingly met the preponderance of evidence standard used by historians. The evidence of supporting the conclusion tha Jefferson fathered one or more of Hemmings children dwarfs the evidence that he didn't father Hemming's child.

Those who oppose the conclusion posit what I consider to be strained and tortured explanations that are unsupported by evidence. In the end they are reduced to the position of entertaining speculations of how Jefferson might not be the father of Hemming's child. They remain speculations devoid of evidence.
96 posted on 12/16/2003 1:29:43 PM PST by tcuoohjohn (Follow The Money)
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