Historian Annette Gordon-Reed wonders why Hemings agreed to go back to Virginia with Jefferson. About 1000 black people lived in Paris at the time, and more of them were men than women. Gordon-Reed notes that if Sally Hemings had stayed in Paris, she probably could have gotten married or started her own business if she'd wanted to. Gordon-Reed says that Jefferson had planned to come back to France after staying in Virginia only a short time. But the French Revolution's Reign of Terror happened, and he changed his plans.