Titles

In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal

William G. Hyland Jr.
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press
June 15, 2009
ISBN: 0-312-56100-8

The belief that Thomas Jefferson had an affair and fathered a child (or children) with Sally Hemings—and that such an allegation was “proven” by DNA testing—has become so pervasive in American popular culture that it is nt only widely accepted by taught to students as historical fact. As the author demonstrates, the “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, Hyland argues, have the wrong Jefferson.

Authors Bio

William G. Hyland Jr., a native of Virginia, received his B.A. from the University of Alabama and a J.D. from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Before law school, he worked with a Top Secret security clearance for the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in Washington, D. C. Hyland is a member of the Virginia and New York Historical Societies. He now lives and writes in Tampa Bay, Florida.