Sydney George

Common Read Core Assessment

Every 4th of July, Americans come together to celebrate the birth of our country. There

are barbeques, fireworks, swimming, and more, all to honor the work of our founding fathers—

the glorious country that they started. Among them was the great statesman Thomas Jefferson,

who lived on a plantation called Monticello. While its architecture is grand and impressive, the

history surrounding the mansion is a bit more sinister. Home to hundreds of slaves, Monticello

was a key site featured in Clint Smith’s novel How the Word is Passed. After reading it, I think

it’s important to analyze the way in which the site relates to slavery, how stories about the site

are told, and the impact these stories have.

Monticello plantation was more than just Thomas Jefferson’s home. It was residence to at

least “130 enslaved people” at any given time, “far outnumbering Jefferson, his family, and the

paid white workers” (Smith, pg. 9). I know most households owned only a few slaves, so a place

of that size is going to have an extra significant connection slavery. Clint describes how

Jefferson kept extensive records, including personal information on slaves, sale histories, and a

log of distributed rations (Smith, pg.12). These records have been used to explore the inner

workings of slavery on the Monticello plantation. I can infer that their significance can also help

gather information on the history of slavery across the country. Lastly, Monticello relates to

slavery not only because of the past it represents but also because of what it offers in the present.

Monticello has a replica slave cabin. This cabin, built away from the main house, is small and

cracked, leaving it subject to nature’s elements (Smith, pg. 34). This cabin, as well as tours that
are offered, connect the site to the history of slavery by making it a place for continued education

on the topic as well as a landmark.

The Monticello plantation offers several types of tours; the most popular one by far is a

general house tour. On page 41, Smith writes, “The house tour takes guests on a visit through

Jefferson’s home, explains the architecture, shares his family history…little slavery was

mentioned on this tour.” This heavily contrasts the tour Smith took, which was all about slavery

on the plantation. The stark difference in tour topics can be seen as competing stories as it leaves

visitors with two very different mindsets about Jefferson and Monticello depending on the tour

they select. The individual tours themselves also have competing stories. At Monticello, the tour

guides get to make their own scripts (Smith, pg. 36). While the training course is the same,

different people will have different interpretations. I can imagine this leads to lots of slightly

different stories that go against each other because of each guide’s personal flare or opinions; I

know that when it comes to something as important as slavery, even a slight omission or

acknowledgement can make a world of difference. Furthermore, most of the storytellers, or tour

guides, are white, a group of people who might not be able to express the same emotions to

visitors compared to a tour guide whose ancestry is black. Either way, these tour guides put their

reputations at stake. Visitors have harassed black tour guides and talked back to others who say

something about Jefferson or slavery that they don’t agree with (Smith, pg. 39). The Monticello

plantation itself has its reputation at stake too. Clint mentioned how those who disagree with the

way Monticello structures their tours about Jefferson and slavery haven’t hesitated to bash the

historical site.

While telling a more complete story of Monticello is important, I don’t think it is a safe

thing to do. At least, I think it needs to be done very carefully. When he visited Monticello,
Smith approached two older women, Donna and Grace. Donna told Smith, “It just took his shine

off. He might have done great things, but boy, did he have a big flaw” (Smith, pg. 21). When I

was reading this part of the book, I thought Donna and Grace were very calm when they were

reckoning with the new information they learned on the tour, as they went there for the

architecture. Later, when he was at Blandford Cemetery, Smith talked to a gentleman named

Jeff. Jeff told Smith, “I’ve been coming here ever since I was four years old…seventy-eight

family members buried in the cemetery” (Smith, pg. 157). Jeff’s perspective on the history of

slavery opposes that of Donna and Grace, who were willing to learn. His is based more on stories

told by his ancestors than the truth. If Jeff was to learn that the stories his loved ones told him

weren’t the full picture, it would likely ruin his memory of them. I can assume there are people

across the country like Jeff, who would reject facts in favor of distorting their precious

memories. Sharing the uncomfortable truth behind Monticello means revealing the complete

story about the type of person Jefferson was. This means people will have to grapple with the

fact that this founding father they thought was great was indeed not. I can’t imagine how extreme

some people would react if their perspective on the people who founded our country and the

system it was built up by was uprooted if they already react negatively to small

changes/revelations.

Thomas Jefferson is a symbol of our country. His house, not so much. The Monticello

plantation has a significant relationship to slavery, as hundreds of slaves called it home

throughout time. This relationship is complicated, especially because each tour guide at the site

can tell the story in different ways to the visitors. These are subjects that Clint Smith explores in

How the Word is Passed, a book that reckons with the history of slavery. While revealing the
complete story is important, it can ruin memories and crush understandings if not done carefully.