In Pictures: Jefferson and his Slaves

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of America, He was the author of The Declaration of Independence. He was also – symbolically – the author of America itself.

Thomas Jefferson designed his house, Monticello, which sits among the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia. He lived there with his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton, for ten years before her death. They had six children.

Jefferson owned about 200 slaves, who worked in the house and on the plantation. He had a relationship with one of them, Sally Hemings. All of her six children were fathered by Jefferson.

The Monticello plantation covered 5,000 acres and was a centre of agriculture and industry.

All that remains of a slave cabin, where a family of slaves would have lived. It would have measured about 20ft by 12ft and been constructed out of logs, with a dirt floor.

The conservatory where the children Jefferson had with his wife would have played.

The kitchen at Monticello, which was reached by a tunnel from the main house, so fearful was Jefferson of a fire being started by the kitchen.

A view of the Blue Ridge mountains from the plantation.

The vegetable garden. Jefferson was very interested in growing fresh produce, and a wide range of food was cultivated at Monticello.

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