4. Thomas Jefferson and his children
He is the author of the Declaration of Independence, which affirms that “all men are created equal.” He managed to initiate the anti-slavery movement. But it is not a secret that Jefferson also owned slaves.
In 1801, Jefferson took office, and people started to question some things. Did he father six children with his slave, Sally Hemings, or not? It all began in 1787, five years after his wife, Martha, died.
Although some believe the children were fathered by Jefferson’s younger brother Randolph, DNA research in the late 20th century found a “high probability” that Jefferson was the father of all of Heming’s children, as accepted by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
