Robin Vander Wall
What’s most interesting to me is that when the initial “scandal” regarding Sally first emerged in 1802 (the result of a disaffected, former confidante of Jefferson by the name of James Callender), it had nothing at all to do with age. But it had everything to do with race. Miscegenation was a crime in most jurisdictions during the 19th century. So, the fact that Jefferson might have fathered a child with a black woman was the exclusive thrust of the scandal. Even to this day, I’ve never read anything about Sally’s young age…which, of course, would be the thrust of the attack at this late date.