President Thomas Jefferson is interviewed by the youngest guest host to ever appear on the Jefferson Hour: Grace Beeby, a freshman at Holy Names Academy in Seattle, Washington.
Grace Beeby first discovered her love of history on a middle school field trip to the Oregon Coast. There, as the wind howled around her and the rain poured down, she found herself surprisingly exhilarated to be standing quite literally in the footsteps of the great explorers Lewis and Clark. This moment ignited not only a new-found sense of adventure, but a full-scale obsession with American history. She is a devoted listener of The Jefferson Hour and an avid reader of history books and biographies. For her school's end-of-year talent show, she brought the house down with a rap number from the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton". Along with her continued admiration for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, she also loves the Founding Fathers, musical theater, social justice, and drawing.
"He and Jefferson talked about everything."
— Stephen Fried
Benjamin Rush was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educator, and a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Rush was a leader of the American Enlightenment and an enthusiastic supporter of the American Revolution. Born the son of a Philadelphia blacksmith, Rush touched virtually every page in the story of the nation’s founding. It was Rush who was responsible for the late-in-life reconciliation between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. This week we speak with the author Stephen Fried about his new book, Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father.
"This book reveals [Washington] as a man of emotion, raw emotion."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
In anticipation of our conversation next week with Peter Stark, the author of Young Washington, we speak with Jefferson about our first president. Jefferson also comments on the time change, and the importance of using available daylight.
"were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
— Thomas Jefferson, 1787
This week we discuss the importance of a free press with President Jefferson.
"to the press alone, checkered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression."
— James Madison
We discuss James Madison again this week, President Jefferson's good friend and ally. The question is, what is America? Is it a compact of sovereign states? Or is it as a nation state whose constitution begins with the words, "We the People"?