Volume 31:1 (Summer 2007)

A Civil Action: Sally Hemings v. Thomas Jefferson



Authors:

William G. Hyland, Jr., William G. Hyland
Page(s):
1-68

Abstract

Allegations that Thomas Jefferson had an affair and fathered at least one child with slave Sally Hemmings have been discussed for two centuries. In this Article, the authors summarize a "mock" trial defense of Jefferson, concluding that the allegations are unproved by the greater weight of the evidence.