Staff
#1530 A Conversation with Jeffersonian Gardener ...

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.

#1530 A Conversation with Jeffersonian Gardener Pat Brodowski
Episode
Staff
#1515 Ten Things About Jefferson's Daughters ...

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.

#1515 Ten Things About Jefferson's Daughters with Lindsay Chervinsky
Episode
Staff
#1511 The Densmore Repatriation Project

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.

#1511 The Densmore Repatriation Project
Episode
Staff
#1502 Ten Things About the Supreme Court

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson present ten things about the Supreme Court.

#1502 Ten Things About the Supreme Court
Episode
Staff
#1492 Ten Things About King George III

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."

#1492 Ten Things About King George III

Supreme Court

#1411 Supreme Court

#1411 Supreme Court

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.

#1401 Match Recap with Joseph Ellis

#1401 Match Recap with Joseph Ellis

Joseph Ellis and Clay Jenkinson revisit their debate about who the “Indispensable Man” of the American Revolution truly was. We share listener comments about the debate and answer additional questions sent in, including a request for discussion about the history of the women’s rights movement, Jefferson’s subpoena during the Burr trial and how slavery affected the economy of the southern states.

#1294 Judicial Responsibility

#1294 Judicial Responsibility

"You want people who are moderates, who are not passionate zealots in any particular direction."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

Thomas Jefferson shares his thoughts about the workings of the Supreme Court, allows his personal irritations with the court to show, and explains how he feels the court has drifted from its rightful place in America today.

#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.

#1277 Gerrymandering

#1277 Gerrymandering

"You could redistrict so that you could maximize competitiveness. That would be my suggestion: maximize competitiveness."

— Clay S. Jenkinson

On this week’s Thomas Jefferson Hour, we discuss gerrymandering, its origin, how it works in American politics today, and the potential effects it has on our democracy.

#1230 Judgment

#1230 Judgment

"The constitution ... is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist, and shape into any form they please." — Thomas Jefferson to Spencer Roane, 1819

Thomas Jefferson had a unique and slightly odd view of the proper place of the judicial branch in America. He thought of judicial independence as both a strength and a weakness of our system: you want judges that are independent of popular factionalism but you want them to be accountable to the sovereign, to the American people. Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson, discusses his concept of judicial balance, his lifelong displeasure with the Supreme Court, and some of the changes that he thinks should be made. He said of life-tenured judges, 'Few die and none resign.'

Dakota Access Pipeline

Dakota Access Pipeline

"These people deserve our commiseration. They only wanted to be left alone. They didn't invite Columbus or Henry Hudson or any of the Europeans to come and discover America." 

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson