Listening to America

"The question then became: Is a national bank constitutional? Did the Founding Fathers contemplate a national bank?" — Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson This week, we discuss the argument between Alexander Hamilton and Jefferson over the creation of a national bank of the United States. Hamilton believed a central banking system was essential to America's standing in the world. Jefferson disagreed, arguing that to take a single step beyond the powers of the constitution is to enter a field of boundless abuse. We speak with Jefferson about President Washington's support of Hamilton's plan, a decision with ramifications that affect Americans to this day. Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.

"I never like to be rude, but sometimes one has to set the precedent for a society that will shock the world." — Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson This week, we discuss diplomacy and presidential decorum. When the British Ambassador Anthony Merry came to the White House, Jefferson went out of his way to be rude: to make it clear that the Revolution was won by us, not them. In 1792, Jefferson wrote to George Washington: "No government ought to be without censors: and where the press is free, no one ever will. If virtuous, it need not fear the fair operation of attack and defence. Nature has given to man no other means of sifting out the truth either in religion, law, or politics." 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.

"I was always happiest when I could direct the reading of a promising young man." — Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson Here at the Jefferson Hour, we love our listener mail. We try to answer as many letters as possible because they help us to open up new avenues of discourse. This week, we devote another episode to answering listener questions. Subjects covered include civil discourse, the virtues of France, Jefferson's suggested reading of the classics and John Adam's midnight appointments. 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.

"Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen people, whose breasts he has made his peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue. It is the focus in which he keeps alive that sacred fire, which otherwise might escape from the face of the earth." — Thomas Jefferson This week, the entire episode — well, almost the entire episode — is devoted to answering letters from listeners. Questions received include the story of Jefferson's many talents, whether or not Jefferson had a bust of Alexander Hamilton at Monticello, and how to re-create experiments from Jefferson's age. 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.

"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.

"[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.

"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.

"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.

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. 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.

"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.