Item Detail
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5329
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0
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0
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English
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The Vindication of Fawn Brodie
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Massachusetts Review
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Summer 2002
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43
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277-95
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Fawn Brodie published 'Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History' in 1974. It was roundly condemned by historians and Jefferson scholars in the white academic community. Brodie's history of Jefferson is re-examined in the light of scientific DNA tests conducted in 1998 which indicate that Jefferson fathered at least one of the children born to his black slave, Sally Hemings. This scientific proof vindicates Brodie's history of Jefferson. The author notes that Brodie was no stranger to controversy, having been excommunicated for her biography of Joseph Smith. Wallach views Brodie as a courageous historian driven to write truthfully in the face of almost certain controversy.