"Voltaire at the end of Candide says, just go home and cultivate your garden."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
This week, we catch up on our mail bag and also speak with a couple of Thomas Jefferson Hour listeners.
We're kind of all over the place on this episode, but we had great fun: Paul McCartney, a documentary on John McCain, audio listener responses to this program — particularly with respect to music, and a man who drove from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Bismarck, a distance of six hours, just to say hello. We included part of that greeting in the show, along with conversations from our listeners about whether television is toxic, or whether it's just another neutral medium.
Then we introduce you to a special new friend of the show, Carol, the music teacher from Valley City. She's 83 years old, in a care facility for the moment because of a hip. Carol is a listener of the Thomas Jefferson Hour, and she said that she tells her students, "When you stop learning, you're done." Kudos to Carol.
ind this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"The duty of the President of the United States is to be the principal articulator of America's values."
— Clay S. Jenkinson portraying Thomas Jefferson
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"When you die, your legacy is the effect you've had on people, and boy did my mother have an effect on people."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
Clay Jenkinson speaks this week about the death of his mother, Mil, and discusses Jefferson’s thoughts and correspondence about death.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"I made a special devotion to collecting all of the maps that I could."
— Clay S. Jenkinson portraying Thomas Jefferson
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"Too Né's data wound up in the journals and all of it is on the map, and the map deepens the journals, and the journals deepen the map."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, we feature an extended conversation about the recently discovered map from the Lewis and Clark Expedition drawn by an Indigenous guide named Too Né. The map was found in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and it's the subject of an entire issue of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation’s journal, We Proceeded On.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"It is not a great privilege to name a Supreme Court justice."
— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"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.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"I played a small role. I was just the penman of this thing."
— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"Mythology begins to creep in, and as historians we like to question some of that."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
This week on our annual 4th of July show, Thomas Jefferson reads the Declaration of Independence in it’s entirety and speaks about one of his favorite holidays.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
This week, we present another of our Jefferson Hour Book Club episodes and discuss Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
You can learn more about our Cultural Tours & Retreats with Clay S. Jenkinson at jeffersonhour.com/tours.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"The debate in American history is not between Hamilton and Jefferson, the debate is between Adams and Jefferson."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
This week, we answer listener questions on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, including a letter from a writer who wonders whether the Founding Fathers were geniuses who seized the moment, or simply average people living in extraordinary times. We also speak with our good friend Beau Wright.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"He's a bit of a Tea Party guy, he's a bit of a libertarian, he's certainly for small government."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
This week's episode is devoted to answering listener questions, and many of the questions are about the current administration. We anticipate and appreciate comments on the issues discussed during this episode. Thanks for listening.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"Lightly governed, lightly taxed, highly educated, isolationist, farmer's paradise."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
This week, President Thomas Jefferson explains his own vision for America.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"I think that an ideal citizen is a bit grumpy, is always concerned that government is up to no good."
— Thomas Jefferson, Second Inaugural Address
We begin our conversation with President Thomas Jefferson asking about the actual location of his tombstone. We also discuss truthfulness, free speech, personal freedoms, upholding international agreements, and what Thomas Jefferson thinks about executive privilege and our current government.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"I don't think that it's very useful to compare the burden of the presidency of 1803 … with the burden of the presidency in your time."
— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson
We talk with President Jefferson about an article written by John Dickerson of CBS regarding how difficult the office of the president has become. The article is titled "The Hardest Job in the World" and was published in this month's Atlantic magazine.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
“I’m just thinking of your career, here.”
— Joseph Ellis
We continue our conversation this week with the award-winning author Joseph Ellis, and we conclude our discussion about his book First Family: Abigail and John Adams as part of our first entry of the Thomas Jefferson Hour Book Club series.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
Joining our conversation this week is the award-winning author Joseph Ellis. We discuss his book First Family: Abigail and John Adams in part one of two shows as our first entry for the Thomas Jefferson Hour Book Club series.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none"
— Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1801)
This week on the Jefferson Hour, we talk with President Jefferson about his struggles with foreign entanglements, and his disappointment with the American people's reactions to his decisions.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"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.
We answer letters from Richard Tucker and Rich Nieves.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
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.
The letters discussed are from Stephen Mishkin, Joe Lovell, Kellen DeAlba, James Kenyon, and Sidney Sjoquist.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"History is like a picture puzzle and half of the pieces or more are missing. There is something about Jefferson that makes us want to expose contradiction."
— Clay S. Jenkinson
Our show this week revolves around a question from listener Gino Cukale about the purported relationship between Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. We discuss the historical record and look to first-hand accounts in an attempt to answer this question.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"That is one of the most fun things that I try to do, reacquaint people with the joyous flavor of the tomato that they crave."
— Craig LeHoullier
Inspired by a letter from Alison Hagan, we talk with three tomato experts: Craig LeHoullier, author of Epic Tomatoes; Harry J. Klee, Ph.D. from the University of Florida; and Pat Brodowski, Head Gardener at Monticello. They speak about the best-tasting tomatoes, how to grow them, where to get seeds, why commercial varieties have lost their flavor, and how Jefferson is connected to all this.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"Every letter has a basis and a purpose … I spent an enormous amount of time thinking about the recipient."
— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson
We speak this week with President Jefferson about the art of letter writing. Prompted by a letter from a listener, Jefferson shares his insights on the process. The exact number of letters Jefferson wrote is not known, but it is safe to say he wrote in excess of 20,000.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"I believe that we have the right to revolution."
— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson
President Jefferson answers listener questions about his relationship with John Adams, replacing the Constitution once every generation, bees at Monticello, and the Second Amendment.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
"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.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog.
Learn about Clay's upcoming cultural tours and humanities retreats by visiting Odyssey Tours.
Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.