Congress

#1489 The Field of Blood with Joanne Freeman

#1489 The Field of Blood with Joanne Freeman

Clay Jenkinson welcomes Yale Professor of History Joanne Freeman for a one on one conversation about her book, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War. In the book, Freeman writes about the physical violence on the floor of the US Congress in the decades before the Civil War. Legislative sessions were often punctuated by mortal threats, canings, flipped desks, and all-out slugfests.

#1369 Four Scholars

#1369 Four Scholars

"I take absolutely no joy in any of this. This is a national catastrophe, a tragedy." — Clay S. Jenkinson

On December 4, 2019, four constitutional scholars gathered to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in public hearings. This week in an out of character program we listen to selected portions of that testimony. Clay Jenkinson responds and provides his unique insight.

#1333 The Constitution Today

#1333 The Constitution Today

"I don't think, from my point of view, you can think that the Constitution is sacred."

— Clay S. Jenkinson

We discuss Akhil Reed Amar's The Constitution Today, a selection for the Book Club, which contains essays written by Amar over the past two decades. Amar gives us a road map for thinking constitutionally about today’s America.

#1329 Laboratories of Democracy

#1329 Laboratories of Democracy

"I am a loyal, proud, cheerleading sort of North Dakotan."

— Clay S. Jenkinson

A listener in Texas admonishes Clay for offering to give up a North Dakota senate seat, and we take questions about the Fourteenth Amendment. Our constitutional discussions continue by reading additional correspondence from listeners.

#1328 Constitutional Correspondence

#1328 Constitutional Correspondence

"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.

#1303 Can We Talk?

#1303 Can We Talk?

"He saw a nation that collapsed right in front of him and he thought, 'well, I wonder why nations collapse,' and I think that really led to some great thinking."

— Clay S. Jenkinson

We respond to listener mail this week, including questions related to the principle of one-person one-vote, and we discuss replies to Clay’s request for some thoughtful conservative perspectives from listeners who support the Trump administration.

How to Handle Partisan Division

How to Handle Partisan Division

"I believe that each faction, each party, has a moral duty to reach over to the other and to try to find common ground, and that each party should take the lead in being civil and respectful and generous."

— Clay S. Jenkinson portraying Thomas Jefferson

#1292 Common Sense

#1292 Common Sense

"Paine refused to take proceeds from this book."

— Clay S. Jenkinson

This week, we present another of our Jefferson Hour Book Club episodes and discuss Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

#1283 The General Welfare

#1283 The General Welfare

"I would never consider [the Constitution] to be a sacred text."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

We present President Thomas Jefferson with a listener question about what the phrase "promote the general welfare," found in the Constitution, actually means.

#1273 Three Friends

#1273 Three Friends

"I'm just thrilled to see that people can still have intelligent and thoughtful conversations and walk away still feeling friends."

— Rick Kennerly

We speak with three friends of the Jefferson Hour this week: Rick Kennerly, who talks tomatoes and why they don’t taste as good as they used to, Pat Brodowski, Head Gardener at Monticello who speaks about the gardens and upcoming events at Monticello, and Beau Wright, Director of Operations at Protect Democracy.