Listening to America

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#1235 American Character May 23, 2017

Show notes

"We have now a goodly field before us, & I have no wish superior to that of seeing it judiciously cultivated; that every Man, especially those who have labored to prepare it, may reap a fruitful Harvest"

— George Washington, 1784

Nearly 50 years later, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that, "As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?"

This week we discuss the American character with President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson believed that the American character would be the best in the history of the world: because of our agrarianism, our distance from the havoc of the Old World, our public education, and our resourcefulness that we needed to develop because there were no outside experts. While Adams felt that without a strong American character, "the strongest Cords of our Constitution [would be broken] as a Whale goes through a Net." John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were dear friends; they disagreed about many things. One thing they agreed upon was that this experiment would only work if we had unique character.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net. There, you can also find the Lochsa Lodge retreats: one on Walden and another on Shakespeare.

Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.

#1234 Jefferson's Talents May 16, 2017

Show notes

"[Thomas Jefferson] could calculate an eclipse, survey an estate, tie an artery, plan an edifice, try a cause, break a horse, dance a minuet, and play a violin." — James Parton, 1874

This week, we ask President Jefferson to confirm or deny these reported talents.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net. There, you can also find the Lochsa Lodge retreats: one on Walden and another on Shakespeare.

Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.

#1233 Neither Wolf nor Dog May 09, 2017

Show notes

"Somewhere in Jefferson, something happened where the European mindset turned and started looking to the west. He started looking toward possibility in a different way." — Kent Nerburn

We welcome two special guests to the Thomas Jefferson Hour this week for an out-of-character discussion about Jefferson's policies towards Native Americans. Joining us are the independent filmmaker Steven Lewis Simpson and author Kent Nerburn. We talk about Simpson's recent film adaptation of Nerburn's book, "Neither Wolf nor Dog", and about Jefferson's long shadow when it comes to the United States' conduct regarding American Indians.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net. There, you can also find the Lochsa Lodge retreats: one on Walden and another on Shakespeare.

Steven Lewis Simpson, at 18, was the youngest fully-qualified stockbroker and trader in Britain. By 22, Simpson had moved to Los Angeles to work in the film industry. He is now a writer, producer, and director, as well as the owner of Roaring Fire Films. You can read his full bio here. Visit Roaring Fire Films to sign up for the Neither Wolf nor Dog movie mailing list.

Kent Nerburn is the author of more than a dozen books, including Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder. He was born, raised and resides in Minnesota. You can learn more about him here, or read his bibliography which includes links to purchase his books.

#1232 Listener Questions May 02, 2017

Show notes

"Jefferson embodies — in many respects, not in all of them — the world that I want to live in. I want to live in Thomas Jefferson's America." — Clay

This week, we discuss listener questions about architecture, Sally Hemings, revolutionary war, Jefferson as a scientist, recommended books and how Clay's life has been affected by performing as Thomas Jefferson.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Clay will be taking part in a Conversation at Bismarck State College with BSC President Larry Skogen on May 7th at 3 p.m. They'll be discussing the topic: "The Quincentennial of the Protestant Reformation: A Reevaluation of the Reformation (1517-1650)". You can learn more at bismarckstate.edu.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net.

#1231 Jefferson's Garden Apr 25, 2017

Show notes

This week, we speak with Pat Brodowski, head gardener at Jefferson's Monticello. Pat shares her knowledge about how and why Jefferson grew the plants he did, the experimental nature of the household gardens and what is being done to maintain the gardens during our time. It's a fascinating conversation which provides some real insight on Jefferson the gardener.

Find this episode, along with photos of Pat Brodowski and the gardens of Monticello, on the blog.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net.

#1230 Judgment Apr 18, 2017

Show notes

"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.'

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Read Clay's Jefferson Watch essay, "Good News for America".

Clay will be performing as Thomas Jefferson at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, VA on April 19th. Find more info and buy tickets here.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net.

#1229 Vice President Apr 11, 2017

Show notes

"The Vice Presidency turned out to be just what Jefferson had predicted: 'philosophic evenings in winter' and summers at his beloved Monticello." — Clay

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, we return to "Jefferson 101", our biographical series. Reluctantly, Jefferson came out of retirement to serve as vice president for four years under his old friend John Adams. They were of different political persuasions and they, in a sense, became the heads of different political parties. Adams & Jefferson were friends when Jefferson's vice presidency began but there was a long period afterwards when they couldn't really abide each other; in the end, in 1812, their friendship was restored and it became one of the great reconciliations of American history. During his vice presidency, Jefferson contributed a rule book to the Senate: A Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States.

Jefferson meant it: He preferred the happiness of Monticello to the burdens of power — but he loved this country more than he loved his own happiness.

This is Jefferson 118.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Read Clay's Jefferson Watch essay, "A Cul-de-Sac and a Bucket of Piss".

Clay will be performing as Thomas Jefferson at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, VA on April 19th. Find more info and buy tickets here.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net.

#1228 Budgets Apr 04, 2017

Show notes

"Jefferson regarded the national debt as a national disgrace."

This week, President Jefferson (as portrayed by humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson) explains his reasoning behind his federal budget and why he felt it was essential to pay down the national debt that he inherited. We also learn about some of the people who helped Jefferson develop the budget, including Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.

Jefferson dedicated his administration to reducing the national debt as severely as possible. As always, there are parallels between Jefferson's time and ours. He wanted to cut taxes and the size of the federal government, but he also wanted to cut the size of the Army and Navy; you don't hear that kind of talk much in our time. In this case, Jefferson was an idealogue about fiscal responsibility.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Read Clay's Jefferson Watch essay, "The Most Jeffersonian Thing in America".

Clay will be performing as Thomas Jefferson at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, VA on April 19th. Find more info and buy tickets here.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net.

#1227 The Missing Book Mar 28, 2017

Show notes

"[Meriwether Lewis] kept promising copy and he never sent a single page. We don't know what, if anything, became of his manuscript. We have nothing. He wouldn't communicate with us."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

President Jefferson talks about the Lewis & Clark expedition and America's role as an "Empire of liberty". Jefferson, that Type A keeper of records, was disappointed that Meriwether Lewis failed to complete his book about the journey. Lewis was Jefferson's neighbor, his protégé, his private secretary in the White House, and he led the most successful expedition in American history — a voyage Clay & David have spent many years discussing, and one that Clay revisits by foot and by canoe each summer with Odyssey Tours.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Clay will be performing as Thomas Jefferson at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, VA on April 19th. Find more info and buy tickets here.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net.

#1226 American Happiness Mar 21, 2017

Show notes

"You can't understand Jefferson without understanding slavery; you can't understand the paradox of his life and the words that he wrote in the Declaration of Independence without understanding this historical connection with Sally Hemings and with the enslaved people in general at Monticello."

— Niya Bates, Public Historian of Slavery and African American Life at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation

A variety of subjects are covered on the Thomas Jefferson Hour this week, including a discussion about Benjamin Franklin Bache's newspaper the Philadelphia Aurora, the effect negative press had on politicians during Jefferson's time and an interview with Niya Bates about restoration work ongoing at Monticello.

You can find a full transcript of our conversation with Niya Bates here.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Learn more about Odyssey Tours and the summer 2017 Lewis & Clark adventure on odytours.net.

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