The Jefferson Debate

For centuries, historians and descendants of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, have debated the allegations that Jefferson fathered a mulatto child with his Negro slave Sally Hemings. Until recently, however, these accusations had little support and existed primarily in oral family histories.

Throughout the generations, descendants of Sally Hemings have always been told that they are also the progeny of the American Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. Hemings had four sons in her lifetime and had told at least two of them that they were the sons of Jefferson. Her claims were backed by the children's' striking resemblance to the president (in fact, many of Hemmings' descendants still look somewhat like Jefferson) and by the fact that she spent many hours with him alone and traveled abroad as his servant. Many historical scholars, though, denied this claim saying that Jefferson, an ardent advocate of emancipation and inalienable rights, would never have had an affair with a Negro.

Retired pathologist Eugene A Foster of Charlottesville, Virginia, undertook the task of deciphering the ultimate truth. After gathering genetic samples from Jefferson and the descendants of Sally Hemings, he examined the Y-chromosomes of each sample, looking for a specific mutation found only on Jefferson's Y-chromosome. In theory, the former president's male descendants should carry the same mutations as Y-chromosomes do not undergo genetic exchange in crossovers as the X-chromosomes do. In a set of 1200 random DNA samples, the mutation of Jefferson's Y-chromosome were unlike any other, illustrating the rarity of his specific mutation. With the help of scientists at Oxford University in Cambridge, England, Foster determined that two of Hemings sons, Madison and Eston, exhibited the same Y-chromosome mutation that was found on Jefferson's, and thus proving that Jefferson had been their father. A DNA expert at the Whitehead Institute in Boston, Massachusetts reported that there was less than one percent chance that Madison and Eston were not fathered by Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson Courtesy Library of Congress

Some skeptics have offered explanations for the apparent resemblance that Hemmings' sons displayed. They say that perhaps Jefferson's nephews (he had no brothers) fathered the children. DNA experts believe this is highly unlikely, though, because the nephews do not carry the specific Y-chromosome mutation (although their own Y-chromosomes carry an identical, yet different, mutation).

This recent discovery sheds new light on one of America's most profound historical figures. Thanks to the wonders of modern genetics, history must be re-evaluated.