Thomas Jefferson, who was the first president to argue for the removal of Indian nations, was the target of race-related rumors during the 1800 election, The New York Times reports.

Jefferson was called the "son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father" during the campaign. Monticello, the official encyclopedia of the third president, however, says the quote can't be found in any sources dating to the election.

Jefferson, who fathered children with one of his slaves, won the election and later proposed the removal of tribes from the southeast U.S.

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Campaigning Has Always Been a Nasty Business (The New York Times 7/23)