This story is told in the voice of James Madison Hemings, born a slave to Sally Hemings, the enslaved mistress of Thomas Jefferson. Madison, as he was called, reflects back on his childhood, and what it was like to be the son of a famous father, but still a slave on his father’s plantation. We learn in the Author’s Note that the book was inspired by James Madison Hemings’s 1873 newspaper interview in which he told his family’s story. As the author notes, he was the only one of Sally Hemings’ children to go public about it. The author also drew from the historical account by Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello, which won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Gordon-Reed’s book reveals that Sally Hemings was one-fourth white, and was the half-sister of Jefferson’s wife Martha, who died in 1782 at age 34. Martha and Jefferson had two daughters; Sally served as the enslaved maid of their two daughters.

On May 17, 1784, the Confederation Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson as a Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Versailles, directing him to join Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in Paris where he would eventually become the senior Minister in France. Jefferson’s wife was already dead, so he wanted his daughters to follow him, and Sally came along as a companion, purportedly for the girls. But Jefferson’s daughters were sent away to attend a boarding school outside of Paris. Jefferson, in his early forties, apparently began to have sexual relations with 14-year-old Sally. [It is only fair to note that “the age of consent in eighteenth-century Virginia was ten.” Of course, “consent” when you are virtually a child and moreover are owned by someone as a slave is a different matter.] By the time Jefferson was ready to return to the U.S., Sally was pregnant.

As Madison grew up he learned that Jefferson was his father although he was never to speak of it. But indeed, as the author notes, the truth was “self-evident” - in a deliberate reference to Jefferson’s words about freedom in the Declaration of Independence - from Sally’s children’s fair skin and resemblance to Jefferson. Although they were enslaved, the children did receive “somewhat special treatment,” because they were able to avoid working in the fields and do other jobs instead. Madison even learned how to read and write. “And yet,” the author writes in Madison’s voice, “my name was written in my father’s ‘Farm Book’ - the ledger where he recorded all his property. My brothers’ and sister’s names were also there, alongside the names of all the people he owned, right amongst the pages listing sheep and hogs.”

Sally Hemings was 53 at the time Jefferson died. It was thought her fate thereafter was laid out in oral requests by Jefferson, still loathe to mention her specifically in any document. Jefferson’s daughter Martha, who possibly had a great resentment for Sally ever since Jefferson took her as his “concubine,” granted Sally her “time” 8 years after Jefferson’s death. ["Granting time" was a way to confer a sort of freedom without formal emancipation, which would force the person to leave the state. Martha did however permit Sally at least to leave Monticello after Jefferson died to go live with their sons in Charlottesville.]. Why did Martha wait 8 years? It is unclear. Thomas Jefferson did free all of Sally Hemings's children as he had allegedly promised her he would: Beverly and Harriet were allowed to leave Monticello in 1822; and Madison and Eston were released in Jefferson's 1826 will.

Terry Widener uses acrylic illustrations with soft colors to depict the Hemingses and their life at Monticello.

Evaluation: This books for readers 5 and over may never see the light of day in states that want school children shielded from the truth about slavery, especially with respect to the Founding Fathers. But where it is allowed, it will encourage readers to think about all the questions it raises, including about the hypocrisy of the man who wrote in 1776, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." ( )

I'm a fan of Winter's books, and I like that this one fleshes out Thomas Jefferson's inconsistencies with regards to slavery. It also places in stark relief the terrible position of being a slave and a child of the Master of the house. Father and owner is a pretty awful thing to think about. ( )

The narrator describes his childhood living in Monticello as the son of Sally Hemings, an enslaved person owned by Thomas Jefferson, in this thought-provoking picture book. Author’s Note.

Some of the illustrations in this book are amazingly beautiful, and the tone of the writing is spot-on. This is a great biography of Hemings, and a pretty sober look at his slavery for kids. The ending had a really great "fuck Jefferson and remember that America was and is fucked up" thing going. ( )

Review: My Name is James Madison Hemings
This story is about an important child who was born to a black mom who was a slave and a white father who was a slave owner. throughout the story you explore the mindset and life of James Madison Hemings. Through his youth, what he thinks being a slave, and the aftermath of finally obtaining freedom. All package in a story told in James’s point of view.
I really like this story. it is beautify told and beautify drawn in such a way to show the readers a vivid picture of what James was going through. I really did enjoy reading this book and think its solid and deserves praise. But with a slight nitpicks holding it back. First the book was well written, you could really hear James speaking when reading this book which is a hard concept to get right. Through the words alone you can tell his character through what was there. The art looked great. It showed a realistic style to help show his experience and what he saw growing up. multiple scenes can be heavily dissected and elaborated on with a classroom. Both led to a HIGH enjoyment of the reading that can keep the attention of even the lowest of attention span kids. Especially if you have a discussion with the class about this time period. I can easily see it being placed from 2nd-3rd grade level reading. Saying this there was a few issues like meaning and challenge. It was not challenging at all in terms of word choice. Which is understandable but it will not REALLY improve a child’s reading my much nor expand their vocabulary. The story was also missing a general theme was is not too bad. But even from a biography a lot of stories have an arching theme that they want the students to leave with. But these are minor issues that don’t ruin the book only JUST keep it from a 5/5 ranking and losing a bit of the memorability of the book.
Memorability 4/5
Art 5/5
Enjoyment 5/5
Word Difficulty 3/5
Interesting info 4/5
Overall: 4.3/5
Best Use: Told to the Class/Discussed ( )