This week, the Thomas Jefferson Hour returns to its “Jefferson 101” series with the 15th show of this series presented by Clay S. Jenkinson. In this second of two shows discussing Jefferson’s time as the first Secretary of State, we learn more about Jefferson’s vision of America and the strong disagreements he had with Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
Further Reading
- Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn M. Brodie
- Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
- The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Jefferson's Inauguration
In this excerpt from a 2009 episode of the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Jefferson looks back at his first inauguration in March of 1801. You can listen to the full episode here.
Find Jefferson's inaugural address — including a first draft and a revised draft — at Yale's The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.
What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
“The minute we start to behave as a Machiavellian nation and do only what’s in our economic & political interests, then we cease — in my view — to be a republic.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
Jefferson 101 is a series of biographical shows about the life of Thomas Jefferson that ran from 2016 to 2017.
Jefferson was a pragmatic utopian, and a utopian pragmatist.
I’m a devoted American patriot. I love this country, but I want it to be more like the country I love than the disillusioned, vulgar, and divisive place it has become.
"Two seraphs await me long shrouded in death; I will bear them your love on my last parting breath."
— Thomas Jefferson, July 1826
We conclude our Jefferson 101 biographical series by discussing his final days at Monticello, his legacy, and the deaths of both Jefferson and John Adams on July 4th, 1826 — the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.