Dearest Sally,

Here we are in a land where freedom is not just a distant dream but a real possibility. However, despite my many opportunities to run and never turn back, I cannot help but question what would become of my life. Where would I be without the man who has allowed me to learn the skills that have brought me so much praise and success here in Paris? For the first time in my life, I am treated as a man, not an object or a brute. Who am I not take my chance at freedom when it is so clearly presented? Would you ever believe that a Negro could be the chef de cuisine at the Champs-Elysees? I cannot, yet that is what I am. As much as I miss our beautiful home in Virginia and our beloved family, if I were to return I would be enslaved once again. But why is that we remain here with him? Why have neither of us done what many of us have dreamed of and run?

Oh Sally, I am not writing you from a place of judgement or condemnation, but out of brotherly love. You are the only other soul on earth who could possibly understand this predicament. Our lives have been inextricably tied to this man since the moment we arrived at Monticello. I cannot say with a clear conscience that I hate or am disgusted by him, in spite of for his ownership of us and our people. It is this kind of thinking that seems to bind me to him and what keeps me leaving. These thoughts, these fears of what I would do if I were to be free make me feel as though I am less of a man for a true man would take his freedom without hesitation.

Dear sister, I am telling you all of this in hopes of that you understand my choices in life and that you make the right decisions in yours. Whenever I look at you now, I cannot help but sympathize and worry about you and your future considering the position our master has placed you in. As your eldest brother, I know that I cannot truly disprove of the man whom we owe much of our good fortune to. Yet, I am still concerned about your fate as you become more than just property to him. Against my better judgement, our master does mean a great deal to me and know that you mean much to him as well. Whenever I see you two, I cannot feel the slightest bit of guilt for the part I played in your burgeoning relationship. Here we have countless choices and the chance to take our fate in our own hands, yet it is not as simple as I thought it would be. No matter what you choose to do, I will understand and continue to love you. All that I ask is that you keep your well-being in mind, and not to be taken in by his promises or charm.

Your Loving Brother,

James

Questions:

1) From the reading, it is apparent that white male slave owners often had black "mistresses," but how often did they live with them in open? What was the varying kinds of relationships between slave masters and black women they owned? Also, was the inverse ever true for white women and their black male slaves?

2) How did the time slave masters and their slaves spent in places like Paris change their view on slavery? Or did change at all? Were Parisians really concerned with the abolishment of slavery for the good of the enslaved people or as means to stop any mixing between the races at all?