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Quite curiously it seems that up to a point, 1785, Jefferson was a notable advocate for the emancipation of slaves in the United States. Though a major event that occured was that Jefferson traveled to France in 1785 to be the American ambassador to France and it was then that he likely started a sexual relationship with Sally that turned into pregnancy. Following his return to America he was quite notably silent on the issue of freeing the slaves, almost in a complete turn around of his previous views, and several times refused to free his own slaves when he was given the chance (other then his own 'natural' children).

It seems to me that Jefferson refused to emancipate his own slaves or any other slave after his return from France was simply based on that politically it would hurt him. Despite several times when fears in America grew of slave revolts as a result of the independence of Haiti or French abolishment of Slavery.

Is it possible that if he did not start a relationship with Hemings or that she never gave him children then he would have been more likely to support emancipation much sooner?
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