In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal [Hardcover]

William G. Hyland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2009

The belief that Thomas Jefferson had an affair and fathered a child (or children) with slave Sally Hemings---and that such an allegation was proven by DNA testing—has become so pervasive in American popular culture that it is not only widely accepted but taught to students as historical fact. But as William G. Hyland Jr. demonstrates, this “fact” is nothing more than the accumulation of salacious rumors and irresponsible scholarship over the years, much of it inspired by political grudges, academic opportunism, and the trend of historical revisionism that seeks to drag the reputation of the Founding Fathers through the mud. In this startling and revelatory argument, Hyland shows not only that the evidence against Jefferson is lacking, but that in fact he is entirely innocent of the charge of having sexual relations with Hemings.

Historians have the wrong Jefferson. Hyland, an experienced trial lawyer, presents the most reliable historical evidence while dissecting the unreliable, and in doing so he cuts through centuries of unsubstantiated charges. The author reminds us that the DNA tests identified Eston Hemings, Sally’s youngest child, as being merely the descendant of a “Jefferson male.” Randolph Jefferson, the president’s wayward, younger brother with a reputation for socializing among the Monticello slaves, emerges as the most likely of several possible candidates. Meanwhile, the author traces the evolution of this rumor about Thomas Jefferson back to the allegation made by one James Callendar, a “drunken ruffian” who carried a grudge after unsuccessfully lobbying the president for a postmaster appointment---and who then openly bragged of ruining Jefferson’s reputation. Hyland also delves into Hemings family oral histories that go against the popular rumor, as well as the ways in which the Jefferson rumors were advanced by less-than-historical dramas and by flawed scholarly research often shaped by political agendas.

Reflecting both a layperson’s curiosity and a lawyer’s precision, Hyland definitively puts to rest the allegation of the thirty-eight-year liaison between Jefferson and Hemings. In doing so, he reclaims the nation’s third president from the arena of Hollywood-style myth and melodrama and gives his readers a unique opportunity to serve as jurors on this enduringly fascinating episode in American history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This provocative, ill-organized defense brief tries to exculpate Thomas Jefferson from growing evidence that he fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings. An attorney, Hyland (also a member of the board of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society) marshals all the available evidence, weak as well as strong, to argue that others were more likely than the squire of Monticello to have fathered Hemings's children. Biographers, he charges, have œmangled professional standards in seizing upon the emotionally charged DNA results that indicate a genetic link between Jefferson and Hemings's descendants. The trouble is that a legal brief is not a historical argument. Hyland has done his own research and interviewed other researchers, but he fails to see the historical context of the evidence or to provide a balanced assessment of the known facts. In this respect, he's ill-equipped to take on great contemporary experts of the matter, especially award-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, whose work he terms a œconcocted myth. Surely not the last word on the matter, regrettably it's not dependable word either. (June)
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Review

Advance Praise for In Defense of Thomas Jefferson

"This is a well-written book that draws on new discoveries and previously unnoted details about Thomas Jefferson’s life and relationships.  Hyland peels back the rumors to rehabilitate one of our most cherished presidents.  In the process, the author challenges others who have sloppily tried to fit a round peg in a square hole."—Larry Cox, Tucson Citizen 

“The case [Hyland] makes is persuasive and in my view well presented, and it’s a historically important project.”—Peter Rodman, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and author of Presidential Command: Power, Leadership, and the Making of Foreign Policy from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush

“[Hyland’s] approach to the alleged Jefferson-Hemings relationship is ingenious and he has made what I judge to be an irrefutable case.”—Professor Forrest McDonald, History Professor (Emeritus), University of Alabama, and National Endowment for the Humanities, 16th Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities, author of The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson and The American Presidency: An Intellectual History

“Hyland’s well-written book is a breath of fresh air.… In the courtroom where undocumented speculation and hearsay are not allowed, Jefferson will receive a fair trial.”—W. McKenzie Wallenborn, M.D., president of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society and Clinical Professor (Ret.), University of Virginia School of Medicine

“As a practicing civil litigator and former prosecutor, Hyland casts a critical lawyer’s eye over the two-hundred-year old question of whether Thomas Jefferson had a romantic, sexual liaison with his servant Sally Hemings. Using what would be acceptable in a court of law as his standard for accuracy, Hyland painstakingly separates revisionist ideology from historical accuracy. In page after page, Hyland dissects just how evidence was manipulated to reach a predetermined yet utterly false verdict of guilty. Thankfully, Hyland’s book once and for all---in a convincingly unemotional fashion---clearly establishes that not Thomas Jefferson, but rather his brother Randolph or one of Randolph’s sons, was the father of Sally Hemings’s children.”—John Works Jr., former president of the Monticello Association

“A well-written and provocative lawyer’s brief challenging the popular story that Thomas Jefferson fathered a child by his household slave Sally Hemings. Hyland has assembled a mass of forensic evidence to refute the saga much favored by revisionist historians and novelists, who were building on the testimonies of Jefferson’s political enemies from his own lifetime. Like the litigation attorney he is, Hyland argues a formidable case before a jury---readers trying to reach a verdict.”—Peter Grose, former executive editor at The New York Times and Foreign Affairs and author of Operation Rollback: America’s Secret War Behind the Iron Curtain

“Hyland’s book is well researched with material from many sources. It is a powerful insight.… As assistant to Dr. Foster, the DNA study coordinator, I can reveal that the DNA proved only that the Hemings descendant had Jefferson DNA that supported their oral family claim that they descended from a ‘Jefferson uncle,’ meaning Randolph Jefferson.”—Herbert Barger, Jefferson family historian

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312561008
• ISBN-13: 978-0312561000
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #745,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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38 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury..., June 17, 2009

By 

Charity Bishop "charitysplace dot com" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal (Hardcover)

My interest in Jefferson began not in history class, but with the recent miniseries by HBO entitled "John Adams." The mild-mannered, opinionated but deeply romantic man from Monticello fascinated me so much I started reading everything I could get my hands on about him. The more I learned about his personal likes and dislikes, his habits, his virtues and failings, and relationship with his wife and daughters, the more implausible it seemed that he would conduct a sexual affair with a much younger servant. But like most "doubters," I remained quiet, convinced the incriminating evidence against him would condemn most of my arguments.

I find it ironic, therefore, that this book would not only mention "John Adams" as evidence of how the Hemings scandal has been absorbed by popular culture (indeed, one of the closing scenes finds Jefferson on his deathbed, with a weeping Sally at his side) but also go about debunking many myths represented in most history books as "fact." Everyone knows Sally Hemings was Martha Jefferson's half sister, right? To my astonishment, there is no actual evidence! It was inferred by later biographers hoping to give a reason for his potential interest, along with the belief that Sally resembled Martha.

Discovering that led me to wonder what else history books were throwing at us without conclusive evidence. Having finished reading this volume, the answer is "a lot." All the points it raises are valid. Many of them have been argued against before, but certain evidence has been all but ignored that deserves to be brought to the forefront (namely, Jefferson's horrendous health, including frequent, crippling migraines, which anyone would admit would hamper sexual shenanigans). It raises significant questions about paternity, whether or not it was feasible that Sally would be monogamous (her mother was not, nor were her sisters), introduces us to the four other most likely suspects (Randolph Jefferson is the most obvious conclusion, and the most likely), reveals the weaknesses in the DNA tests, points out the motivations of our modern "scholars," and reminds us that fathers dictate the sex of the child. If Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally's children, why would he have so many sons with her, and all daughters (minus a miscarried son) with Martha?

The book's one fault is that it often repeats evidence three or four times in different chapters. I understand this is to reinforce the various testimonies and arguments, but it can become rather repetitive.

If you are undecided in this matter (few people are), this presents a solid case for his defense. If like me, you are unwillingly convinced the affair transpired but find it difficult to reconcile with the rest of his actions and principles, this will be a welcome reassurance that you are not the only one who finds the sex scandal hard to comprehend. If you are a true believer, this may raise some important questions.

If nothing else, we must consider the source and remember that a man should never be condemned without damning evidence. And the evidence in this case is hardly damning.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want the truth about "revisionist" history read this book!, December 29, 2009

By 

Amadeus (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal (Hardcover)

The last 40 years in American historiography have seen the rise of the "revisionist" historian. These historians take a political stance and ramrod all history through this prism. The larger issues of race and gender as well as the "hot potato" of slavery has clouded the judgment of many people when considering the EVIDENCE of the Jefferson-Hemmings "affair". They want to take down the heroic image of a "rich, white, man" and elevate the stature of a poor slave woman. This is all well and good IF and ONLY IF the evidence bears this out. Unfortunately for many paternity believers, the historical evidence points toward another Jefferson as the father of Eston Hemmings (the DNA match). We can see the same brand of revisionism at work in communist theory "popular histories", feminist theory histories, and queer theory histories that manipulate the evidence to prove Jefferson raped a 14 year old slave, or Michelangelo was homosexual, or Julius Caesar was attempting to overthrow Rome's bourgeoisie and thus was murdered. Believe it or not, books have been written attempting to prove all this.

As someone who reads a lot of history, I can give the reader of this review an easy way to tell if you are reading good, solid history, or revisionist BS -- if the author is "psychoanalyzing" the person in question it's bunk. Ask any psychologist if they would feel comfortable offering authoritative statements about a person they have never had "on their couch." Historians can't use Freudian approaches to come to new conclusions about people who lived centuries ago.

If you think Jefferson had a sexual relationship with Sally Hemmings, read this book. Then read a pro-paternity book. Ask yourself who uses more evidence and who is relying on psychological interpretations and modern ideas to establish historical FACT.

28 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Jefferson-Hemings Debate Goes to Court, June 26, 2009

By 

Jeffrey A. Winkler (Bound Brook, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal (Hardcover)

In Defense of Thomas Jefferson chronicles the alleged sexual relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings. Author William H. Hyland, Jr. has done an exhaustive amount of research and covers a great deal of ground left unexamined by other offerings dedicated to this controversial aspect of American history. It is my belief that Mr. Hyland has presented us with a very important and thought provoking work.

I found Mr. Hyland's approach to writing, In Defense, quite novel and interesting. As a civil litigator and former prosecuting attorney, Hyland presents his case as it would be presented in a court of law. Reliance on the facts, eyewitness testimony, the elimination of hearsay evidence and the impeachment of witnesses are integral in the making of Hyland's case.

In Defense, opens two specific areas of research that, in my opinion, have been lacking in some other analyses dealing with Jefferson-Hemings. First, Thomas Jefferson's state of health is brought to the fore. Hyland postulates that it would be unlikely that Jefferson, at age 64 and in poor health, would have been able to father Eston Hemings, who was born in 1808. Eston of course was the only one of Sally's children that can be linked to a Jefferson family male via DNA tests. Second, Hyland introduces the viable possibility that Jefferson's younger brother, Randolph, or one of Randolph's sons, may in fact have fathered Eston. Randolph, along with his sons would fit the Y chromosome DNA match. Hyland deserves high grades for incorporating these topics into his book as both are essential to any reasonable discussion of the facts associated with this debate.

In Defense also examines the views and opinions of many major Jeffersonian biographers and scholars. Some have steadfastly maintained one particular position over the years, while others have reversed themselves, both pro and con. Hyland delves into the possible motivating factors for these reversals of opinion. I found this particular aspect of the book to be very interesting and enlightening.

Finally, no book on this topic would be complete without a discussion of the DNA evidence presented to the world by Dr. Eugene Foster in 1998. Mr. Hyland covers the DNA question extensively with quotations, thoughts and opinions of those who actually participated in the study.

These are only a few areas where, In Defense of Thomas Jefferson excels. I encourage anyone interested in the Jefferson-Hemings debate to read this book.

In Defense of Thomas Jefferson will not settle this debate, in fact, it will probably intensify it. However, Mr. Hyland's effort, I believe, offers yet another path of research to all who wish to approach the study of Jefferson-Hemings in a fair and unbiased way. I encourage all new comers to this area of study to read all the major works on this topic, both pro and con, and draw your own conclusions.