Coraline Franklin Cooke is the first descendant of a Monticello slave known to graduate from college and was active in the Women's Suffrage Movement in the early 20th century.

Descended from Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson, Roberts was the first Black member of the California State Assembly and worked to advance voting rights for African Americans.

Many descendants of Monticello's enslaved community became activists for suffrage, civil rights, and equality into the 20th century.

Learn more about the events that lead up to the contentious election of 1800 as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams vied for the Presidency.