On episode #1200 Our Republic, President Thomas Jefferson spoke about the differences between a true democracy and a republic. In the podcast introduction, Clay S. Jenkinson asked Jefferson Hour listeners what their suggestions would be to improve or “save” our republic. Those many responses are discussed this and next week.
“I want to live in Jefferson’s America.”
Clay: I found myself pulling out a biography of Jefferson because I thought, 'I want to get into the zone before I walk into the barn.' I don't want to just drive up to the barn — that door, as you know, sticks; it's so hard to open. You get in, you have to fight off the cats and you have to fight off the cows. There's a smell of manure and hay.
David: We've got to have a talk about the cats.
Clay: You walk in and the barn kind of takes over. At that point, you're not thinking Jefferson or Hamilton or anything, but this morning, I thought — and I'm saying this with the greatest sincerity — I thought, we owe it to our listeners to spend a couple of hours getting into the zone before I drive up into that barnyard.
What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
“The idea is that our constitutional system is a machine that will go of itself.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
Recorded on November 6, 2020, three days after the election, Clay Jenkinson and Joseph Ellis share their thoughts on the recent presidential election and predictions about what’s to come in the next presidency. The two scholars also offer historical context between the elections of Jefferson’s time and this election of 2020.
This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Jefferson speaks about his election to the Presidency and the delays in certification as the 3rd President, along with his feelings of the need to unite a divided electorate. On March 4, 1801 in his inaugural address he famously stated, "But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all republicans. We are all federalists."
The 2020 election will break records for voter turnout. A recent poll shows that more than 60% of the American people say they have been consumed by anxiety as November 3 approaches, up by ten points from the anxiety level preceding the 2016 election.
This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, along with some listener questions, we present a discussion with Clay Jenkinson and Joe Ellis about the upcoming presidential election and the strong divisions in our nation between the two major political parties.