For over two hundred years, Thomas Jefferson has been accused of a sexual relationship with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. According to DNA interpretive results conducted in 1998, it is now widely accepted that Jefferson fathered one or more of Sally’s children. Are the accusations true? And if so, could they be proved in a court of law?

IN DEFENSE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON is a startling new book that definitively destroys the myth that Jefferson had any relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings. Allegations that Jefferson had an affair and fathered at least one child with Hemings have been discussed for two centuries. Not only do the authors conclude that the charges are false, but for the first time ever the reader is introduced to the President's younger brother, Randolph Jefferson, as the DNA match for Sally’s children. Along with the most thorough examination of the Hemings controversy to date, new discoveries and details are revealed exonerating Jefferson from this two-hundred year old political scandal.

The author offers an exhaustive examination of this controversy, deftly synthesizing the massive scholarship on the Jefferson-Hemings subject into a swift, insightful account. Hyland has brought as much clarity to a famously elusive subject as anyone can, and accomplishes it all at a concise, readable length. Reflecting both a layperson's curiosity and a lawyer's logical mind, IN DEFENSE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON is both reasoned and logical. The convincing arguments finally put to rest the alleged 38-year liaison between Jefferson and Hemings both by presenting the most reliable historical evidence and rebutting the unreliable, circumstantial evidence of its existence.