This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson visits with Pat Brodowski, formerly the head gardener at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Pat explains how she found her way to Monticello, what she learned about Thomas Jefferson from working every day in his extensive garden, and how she is occupying her time now as a retiree. Plus, Pat gives tips to our listeners about how to grow something in the next year.
Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss Jefferson's daughters. Thomas Jefferson was highly expectant of their behavior and let them know it through a series of letters. When he died in bankruptcy, his daughter Martha was left nearly penniless and had to deal with the aftermath of Jefferson's poor money management.
Clay Jenkinson speaks with David Swenson about the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore and her work with the Lakota in the Dakotas beginning in 1911. David has spent the last year working on The Densmore Repatriation Project, re-cataloging and restoring her wax cylinder recordings.
At Standing Rock in 1911, Frances Densmore met with dozens of tribal elders and recorded traditional songs on wax cylinder. Densmore documented this work in her book Teton Sioux Music which became a touchstone for learning about Lakota/Dakota culture. The Densmore Repatriation Project reintroduces the songs with new recordings made by contemporary Native singers.
The Densmore Project’s website: lakotasongs.com
The Densmore Project on YouTube
KX News: Re-introducing Lakota Songs
Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss King George III and his effect on the American Revolution. According to the British historian George Otto Trevelyan, the King was determined to "keep the rebels harassed, anxious, and poor, until the day when, by a natural and inevitable process, discontent and disappointment were converted into penitence and remorse."
Clay Jenkinson responds to listener comments and questions. He speculates on how Jefferson would have responded to social media — spoiler alert — Clay says he would have been great at it, and he guesses how Jefferson would have responded to some of the social phenomena of our time. Clay also responds to a letter from a teacher in Iowa who says it is important to teach all sides of history.
On November 9th, the day after the midterms, Clay Jenkinson and Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky share their early impressions and insights on what occurred during the 2022 election. Most administrations lose many congressional seats in off-year elections, but it didn’t happen this year. They speculate on what message this sends to both political parties and discuss issues that affected the results.
President Thomas Jefferson shares his thoughts on the proper role of government and the election of 1800. In that year, members of the Federalist Party encouraged a movement to deny Jefferson the presidency through a means of delaying the transition of power and keeping then President John Adams in office, despite the fact that Jefferson had won the Electoral College vote.
Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied with 73 electoral votes each. This resulted in the vote being decided in the House of Representatives after 36 ballots. They discuss Federalist plans to delay the process and keep John Adams in office, along with threats of troops being used to contest the election.
President Jefferson returns to discuss the famous letter he wrote in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists association saying it was not the duty of government to do anything that might be interpreted as the establishment of religion. In this letter, he used the famous phrase "wall of separation between church and state." Jefferson explains that the first amendment of the Constitution states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.
Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss Jefferson's daughters. Thomas Jefferson was highly expectant of their behavior and let them know it through a series of letters. When he died in bankruptcy, his daughter Martha was left nearly penniless and had to deal with the aftermath of Jefferson's poor money management.
This week, we discuss Clay Jenkinson's upcoming cultural tour through Thomas Jefferson’s France stopping in Paris, to Nice along the Cote d’Azur, the French Alps to the village of Saorge and continue in Jefferson’s footsteps with stops in Orange, Pont du Gard, and finally Nimes and the Maison Carrée, which Jefferson called “the most precious morsel of antiguity.” Jefferson said every man’s first country is of course his own, but every rational man’s second country must be France.
In August, President Biden met with a group of historians at the White House who, for nearly two hours, provided historical perspectives as well as their concerns about the dangerous state of democracy in the United States and the world. Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky discuss this meeting and share some of the things they would have said to the President.
Clay Jenkinson speaks with David Swenson about the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore and her work with the Lakota in the Dakotas beginning in 1911. David has spent the last year working on The Densmore Repatriation Project, re-cataloging and restoring her wax cylinder recordings.
At Standing Rock in 1911, Frances Densmore met with dozens of tribal elders and recorded traditional songs on wax cylinder. Densmore documented this work in her book Teton Sioux Music which became a touchstone for learning about Lakota/Dakota culture. The Densmore Repatriation Project reintroduces the songs with new recordings made by contemporary Native singers.
The Densmore Project’s website: lakotasongs.com
The Densmore Project on YouTube
KX News: Re-introducing Lakota Songs
