The film accepts at face value the 1873 statement by Madison Hemings ( James Earl Jones ) that he and the other four children of Sally Hemings were all fathered by Thomas Jefferson. At the time this film was released this assertion was much more controversial than it became later. Three years after this film was released, DNA testing on one descendant of Sally Hemings' youngest son, Eston (born 1808), showed that he was most likely fathered by a Jefferson male. It was reported by the author of the study, Eugene Foster, that the simplest explanation was that Thomas Jefferson was the father. But many historians who have studied the evidence have concluded that the father was most likely Jefferson's much younger brother, Randolph -who was visiting Monticello in August of 1807 when Eston was most likely to have been conceived and was known to socialize with slaves -or one of his sons, three of whom were between the ages of 18 and 26 at the time and unmarried. Thomas Jefferson at the time was the third president of the United States, was 64 years old, had most of his cabinet staying with him in his house. He also had his daughter and several grandchildren staying with him, with his favorite granddaughter, Ellen, sleeping in the room above his (with windows no doubt open on an August night in Virginia).
As of 2022, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which is in charge of Jefferson's historical estate in Monticello, maintains that Jefferson was most likely the father of Eston and also Sally's other four children, while the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society (founded shortly after the DNA study) disputes these conclusions.
Gwyneth Paltrow's real-life mother, Blythe Danner, played Martha Jefferson in 1776 (1972) the mother of her character. Nolte and Danner also played husband and wife in The Prince of Tides (1991).
Christopher Reeve was considered by director James Ivory to play Jefferson, but studio pushed for the more bankable Nick Nolte for the lead.
Sally Hemings' gown made from the patterned gray fabric selected by Thomas Jefferson and Mrs. Cosway is the same costume worn by Jessica Oyelowo (Sarah) in Sleepy Hollow (1999), and by Billie Piper (Fanny Price) during the play rehearsal scene in Mansfield Park (2007).