This week, we discuss listener questions about architecture, Sally Hemings, revolutionary war, Jefferson as a scientist, recommended books and how Clay's life has been affected by performing as Thomas Jefferson.
"What I discovered was that Jefferson embodies — in many respects, not in all of them — the world that I want to live in. I want to live in Thomas Jefferson's America. I want to live in a rational country, a country that prizes books and the liberal arts. I want to live in a country that believes that science is our guide; he called it our oracle. I want to live in a country that attempts at social equality and extending due process and the rights of man to every living human and maybe beyond the limits of humanity. I want to live in a world in which harmony and civility are the principles of our public life, rather than rancor and shaking of fists and mean-spirited talking points and innuendo and character assassination. I love the agrarian — Jefferson's view that a human with his hands in the soil is almost automatically a better human than somebody whose hands are not in the soil. I love the Lewis & Clark expedition. So, in almost every respect, becoming acquainted with Jefferson and eventually, I hope, mastering him, has made my life much, much, much more than it otherwise would have been."
— Clay, responding to a question from listener Ryan McKenzie
Further Reading:
- The Portable Thomas Jefferson edited by Merrill D. Peterson
- Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography by Merrill D. Peterson
- American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis
- Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams by Joseph J. Ellis
- The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed
- The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
- Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
- NPR: Behind The Founding Foodie, A French-Trained Chef Bound By Slavery, about James Hemings
Countdown to the Eclipse
The Jefferson Watch
Start planning. A total eclipse of the sun will occur on Monday, August 21, 2017. These things don’t happen very often—a few occurrences in a lifetime and not always where you can observe it without helicopters and speed boats.
Read this week's Jefferson Watch essay, "Countdown to the Eclipse".
What Would Jefferson Do?
“In my ideal America, I would have preferred a barter economy to a money economy.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
"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.
"What would fix this country? Almost the number one thing would be: take money out of politics."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
We continue our current theme of constitutional discussions by reading and considering listener mail, including a number of specific suggestions for constitutional amendments.
What we do know is that Lewis is thinking about Thomas Jefferson’s annual New Year’s Day reception at the White House. Lewis has participated in at least one of those splendid gatherings, perhaps two.
"Down in the southwest, two expeditions occurred during my presidency."
— Clay S. Jenkinson portraying Thomas Jefferson