“I’m glad that the executive branch has been allowed to be sovereign in its own duties.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
Presidential Subpoenas
“I’m glad that the executive branch has been allowed to be sovereign in its own duties.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson present ten things about the Supreme Court.
Thomas Jefferson practiced law from 1767 until early 1774. Much of his work involved land disputes, however one case in April of 1770 found him acting pro bono defending Samuel Howell, a mixed-race man being held as an indentured servant because his grandmother was white and his grandfather black. He lost the case, but argued that “under the law of nature, all men are born free.” This week Jefferson (as portrayed by humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson) answers questions submitted to him by an incarcerated person.
Jefferson tells us that Article Three of the Constitution contemplates a court system, but that it is quite vague and general, so the first Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which was intended to create the infrastructure of the Judicial system. George Washington then filled every available seat through appointment.
We have added a call in line at jeffersonhour.com for listeners to leave questions they would like answered, and this week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour we listen to our listeners. Five questions are answered, including thoughts on Jefferson and slavery, Jefferson and John Adams, appointments of judges and the nature of historiography. We also get to hear Clay’s impersonation of how Jefferson might sound ordering a pizza.