But Saunders defends the internal Monticello committee report as the work of impartial scholars. Of course it was discussed at board meetings, he says, but the board didn t take any position on it. Saunders bristles at the suggestion that a Jefferson paternity of Hemings children is a slur on his character. You have to put everything into a proper context. Whether he had a relationship with Sally Hemings or not has no impact on what he did for this country and for democratic principles.
Monticello critics beg to differ.
David Murray is the director of the Statistical Assessment Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank in Washington devoted to the accurate use of scientific and social research in public-policy debate. Others don t mince words either. What we see is a deliberate and unforgivable attempt to destroy the reputation of one of this great nation s greatest Founding Fathers. Indeed, he was a catalyst for organizing the Heritage group. But unlike genetic testing of real subjects to prove actual paternity, no certainty could be established by the test in question.