In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemmings Sex Scandal

Oct 10, 2009

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

William Hyland, Jr., talked about his book In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemmings Sex Scandal (Thomas Dunne Books; June 9, 2009). In his book the former prosecutor argues that Thomas Jefferson did not have a affair with Sally Hemmings nor fathered her child. Mr. Hyland examines evidence as a lawyer would and contends that the .. Read More
William Hyland, Jr., talked about his book In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemmings Sex Scandal (Thomas Dunne Books; June 9, 2009). In his book the former prosecutor argues that Thomas Jefferson did not have a affair with Sally Hemmings nor fathered her child. Mr. Hyland examines evidence as a lawyer would and contends that the DNA results specify a "Jefferson male" whom he identifies as possibly Randolph Jefferson, the younger brother of the former president. He also relays that stories of President Jefferson's affair were started by James Callender who was denied a postmaster appointment. He refers to the Hemmings family's oral histories that he reports contradict the relationship and condemns revisionist histories. Mr. Hyland spoke as if presenting an argument to a jury. Then he responded to questions from members of the audience at the event at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, October 10, 2009, at the Colonial Williamsburg Booksellers in the Visitors Center in Williamsburg, Virginia. William Hyland, Jr., is a trial lawyer and a former prosecutor with over twenty-five years of litigation experience. He currently serves on the Florida Judicial Nominating Commission. Mr. Hyland is a member of the New York and Virginia Historical Societies and the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society.

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TRANSCRIPT

TIME SPEAKER TEXT
00:00:14 Unidentified Speaker FORMER PROSECUTOR WILLIAM HYLAND JR. SAYS THOMAS JEFFERSON DID NOT HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH SALLY HEMMGINS...
00:00:33 Unidentified Speaker LET ME FIRST THANK JOHN AND BOB. IS THAT BETTER? EVERYONE HAS BEEN VERY GRACIOUS TO ME AND COLONIAL...
00:31:47 Unidentified Speaker THANK YOU. CAN YOU HEAR THAT? WHY DO YOU FEEL THERE IS NOTHING IN THE RECORD DURING JEFFERSON'S PRESIDENCY...
00:32:16 Unidentified Speaker DID EVERYONE HERE THAT QUESTIONED? I THINK SOME OF HIS FRIENDS IN FACT JAMES MADISON ACTED AS AN ...
00:33:23 Unidentified Speaker UNCLE -- SALLY HEMINGS DESCENDANTS.
00:33:26 Unidentified Speaker OF THE DNA STUDIES ON SALLY HEMINGS DESCENDANTS. FLAT DNA STUDY FROM WHAT I HAVE LEARNED AND NO MATCH...
00:34:27 Unidentified Speaker AS YOU KNOW THE THOMAS JEFFERSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION HAS ACCEPTED PROFESSOR GORDON-REED'S RESEARCH...
00:34:51 Unidentified Speaker I WOULD BE GLAD TO DEBATE HER ANY TIME. I HAVE A CHAPTER IN MY BOOK ABOUT THE KIND OF POLITICAL AGENDA...
00:36:09 Unidentified Speaker YES, SIR.
00:36:11 Unidentified Speaker HAS THE CHARGES ABOUT JEFFERSON'S SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH SALLY HEMINGS WERE DEVELOPING, AND IT...
00:36:33 Unidentified Speaker THERE ARE A COUPLE OF REASONS. FIRST OF ALL, JEFFERSON INHERITED THE ENTIRE FAMILY FROM HIS FATHER-IN-LAW....
00:37:51 Unidentified Speaker YES, MA'AM.
00:37:53 Unidentified Speaker YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR TALK THIS EVENING THAT YOU HAVE HAD MANY INTERVIEWS. COULD YOU TELL US SOME...
00:38:04 Unidentified Speaker WELCOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING INTERVIEW I FLEW DOWN TO TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA AND INTERVIEWED PROFESSOR...
00:40:05 Unidentified Speaker QUITE SOME TIME AGO I WAS READING A BIOGRAPHY OF JEFFERSON AND THE AUTHOR DISCUSSED THE SITUATION...
00:40:29 Unidentified Speaker THAT'S CALLED THE WALKER AFFAIR. AS A YOUNG MAN WHEN HE WAS SINGLE HE DID ADMIT TO PROPOSING LOVE...
00:41:27 Unidentified Speaker AT THE END OF THE DAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK THESE RUMORS HAVE ACTUALLY HURT THE JEFFERSON LEGACY...
00:41:44 Unidentified Speaker WELL, OBVIOUSLY HE WASN'T HURT WHEN HE WAS ALIVE BECAUSE HE WAS REELECTED AFTER THE 1802 CALENDAR...
00:42:46 Unidentified Speaker I UNDERSTAND THAT THE GRAVE OF MADISON, IS IT, WAS FOUND AND FIVE HEMINGS ARE NOT ALLOWING -- THE...
00:42:58 Unidentified Speaker THAT IS TRUE. JEFFERSON FAMILY HISTORIAN HAS FOUND THE GRAVE OF THE SOME OF MADISON HEMINGS. I BELIEVE...
00:43:45 Unidentified Speaker [INAUDIBLE]
00:43:48 Unidentified Speaker NO, THAT IS WHERE HE WAS -- HERB BARGER, ONE OF THE CONSULTANTS IN MY BOOK ACTUALLY FOUND THE GRAVE....
00:44:31 Unidentified Speaker [INAUDIBLE]
00:44:35 Unidentified Speaker THE JEFFERSON HEMINGS MYTH, AND JEFFERSON VINDICATED BY CINDY.
00:44:45 Unidentified Speaker [INAUDIBLE] HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE ON THE PLANTATION AT ANY TIME -- -- LEAVES I BELIEVE THAT THE TIME...
00:45:31 Unidentified Speaker [INAUDIBLE]
00:45:33 Unidentified Speaker THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE FREQUENTED MONTICELLO ESPECIALLY WHEN HE CAME BACK. IN FACT HE WOULD PICK UP...
00:46:19 Unidentified Speaker WELL, I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING TODAY AND I WILL BE GLAD TO SIGN BOOKS FOR ANYBODY...
00:46:37 Unidentified Speaker WILLIAM HYLAND, JR. IS A TRIAL LAWYER AND FORMER PROSECUTOR WITH OVER 25 YEARS OF LITIGATION EXPERIENCE....

NOTE: The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.

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