Elections

#1417 After the Election with Joseph Ellis

#1417 After the Election with Joseph Ellis

Recorded on November 6, 2020, three days after the election, Clay Jenkinson and Joseph Ellis share their thoughts on the recent presidential election and predictions about what’s to come in the next presidency. The two scholars also offer historical context between the elections of Jefferson’s time and this election of 2020.

#1415 Opinions and Principles

#1415 Opinions and Principles

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Jefferson speaks about his election to the Presidency and the delays in certification as the 3rd President, along with his feelings of the need to unite a divided electorate. On March 4, 1801 in his inaugural address he famously stated, "But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all republicans. We are all federalists."

#1414 A Nation Divided

#1414 A Nation Divided

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, along with some listener questions, we present a discussion with Clay Jenkinson and Joe Ellis about the upcoming presidential election and the strong divisions in our nation between the two major political parties.

#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.

#1312 Elections Matter

#1312 Elections Matter

“You have a population of 330 million. This is a way that the whole system is designed to distill their will.” — Clay S. Jenkinson

The results of the 2018 midterm elections are what we try to sort out this week: what it means, what it implies, and how it fits into Jefferson's view of the United States.

#1282 The Map

#1282 The Map

We answer listener questions in response to episode #1277 Gerrymandering, and then turn to a discussion about an important discovery of an 1805 Lewis & Clark related map. It was found after being stored for 200 years in a French archive. The map and its background story appear in this month’s issue of We Proceeded On, published by the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.

#1240 Becoming President

#1240 Becoming President

"I think that's what Jefferson's attitude was: 'I'd rather not, but I'm probably the best person to do it.'"

— Clay

We return to our Jefferson 101 series this week with an episode about Jefferson’s road to the White House. Over the past few months, we've carried Jefferson from his birth in Virginia in 1743 right up to the brink of the time when he became the third president of the United States. We take for granted how our elections work. Back then, they didn't really have a blueprint: no conventions, no caucuses, no primaries, no debates. It was an informal system and we try to sort out how a reluctant person like Jefferson winds up being the president.

#1207 1800 & 2016

#1207 1800 & 2016

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, President Jefferson (as portrayed by humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson) discusses the election of 1800, which he referred to as the Second American Revolution — and he helps us to see some of the parallels with the election of 2016.