Monthly Archives: January 2022

SATT 006 – Timothy Pickering



Tenure of Office: January 2, 1795 – December 10, 1795 (as Secretary of War); December 10, 1795 – May 12, 1800 (as Secretary of State)

Timothy Pickering’s tenure in the Washington and Adams administrations is arguably one of the most notorious in the early republic. Thus, I had to call on Eric and Matt from the Ranking ’76: The American West podcast to join me in exploring the life of this infamous historical figure and determine what sort of a legacy he left behind.

Featured Image: “Timothy Pickering” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1792/1793], courtesy of Wikipedia


3.41 – Source Notes



Special thanks to Alex Van Rose for his audio editing work on this episode!

  • “Caractacus.” Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/caractacus. [Last Accessed: 22 Jan 2022]
  • “Dogs.” Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/dogs. [Last Accessed: 22 Jan 2022]
  • Dunbar, Erica Armstrong. Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017.
  • Furstenberg, Francois. In the Name of the Father: Washington’s Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006.
  • Gordon-Reed, Annette. The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. New York and London: W W Norton & Co, 2008.
  • “Mockingbirds.” Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/mockingbirds. [Last Accessed: 22 Jan 2022]
  • Rutland, Robert Allen. The Presidency of James Madison. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1990.
  • Taylor, Alan. American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850. New York: W W Norton & Co, 2021.
  • “Washington’s Changing Views on Slavery.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon. https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/washingtons-changing-views-on-slavery/. [Last Accessed: 22 Jan 2022]
  • Wiencek, Henry. An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
  • Wiencek, Henry. Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.

Featured Image: “Thomas Jefferson, a philosopher, a patriote [sic], and a friend,” c. 1800-1816, courtesy of Wikipedia


3.41 – Jefferson Q&A



You asked, and I answered! As we wrap up our series on Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, listeners submitted questions ranging from Franco-American relations during Jefferson’s tenure to what pets he kept to how would I go about explaining Jefferson’s complex legacy to him. Listen in as I answer your final questions about the man from Monticello and his impact on American history. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Thomas Jefferson Memorial,” taken by Djonesmhc on 24 May 2012 and shared on Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band


3.40 – Source Notes



Special thanks to Kenny Ryan from the [Abridged] Presidential Histories podcast for providing the intro quote for this episode and to Alex Van Rose for his audio editing work!

  • Adams, John. “To Thomas Jefferson, 1 January 1812,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-5735. [Last Accessed: 23 Nov 2021]
  • Ammon, Harry. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1999 [1971].
  • Betts, Edwin Morris, and James Adam Bear, Jr. The Family Letters of Thomas Jefferson. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia. 1995 [1966].
  • Crawford, Alan Pell. Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Random House, 2008.
  • Gaines, William H, Jr. Thomas Mann Randolph: Jefferson’s Son-in-Law. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1966.
  • Gordon-Reed, Annette. The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. New York and London: W W Norton & Co, 2008.
  • Historical Currency Converter (test version 1.0). http://www.historicalstatistics.org/Currencyconverter.html. [Last Accessed: 28 Nov 2021]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To John Wayles Eppes, 24 June 1813,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-06-02-0200. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 6, 11 March to 27 November 1813, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, pp. 220–226.] [Last Accessed: 22 Nov 2021]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To Samuel H. Smith, 21 September 1814,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-07-02-0484-0003. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 7, 28 November 1813 to 30 September 1814, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010, pp. 681–684.] [Last Accessed: 24 Nov 2021]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To John Adams, 1 August 1816,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-10-02-0173. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 10, May 1816 to 18 January 1817, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 284–286.] [Last Accessed: 16 Nov 2021]
  • Ketcham, Ralph. James Madison: A Biography. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 1994 [1971].
  • Kierner, Cynthia A. Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello: Her Life and Times. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.
  • Landry, Jerry. The Presidencies of the United States. 2017-2021. http://presidencies.blubrry.com.
  • Malone, Dumas. The Sage of Monticello: Jefferson and His Time, Volume Six. Boston: Little, Brown and Co, 1981.
  • McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001.
  • “Nicholas, Wilson Cary, 1761-1820.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/N000086. [Last Accessed: 27 Nov 2021]
  • Nicholas, Wilson Cary. “To Thomas Jefferson, 5 August 1819,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-14-02-0551. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 14, 1 February to 31 August 1819, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 586–588.]
  • Rush, Benjamin. “To John Adams, 17 October 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-5450. [Last Accessed: 23 Nov 2021]
  • Sloan, Herbert E. Principle & Interest: Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Debt. Charlottesville, VA and London: University Press of Virginia, 2001 [1995].
  • Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. “John Wayles Eppes.” https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/john-wayles-eppes. [Last Accessed: 22 Nov 2021]

Featured Image: “Thomas Jefferson’s design of the Rotunda” [c. 1818-1819], courtesy of Wikipedia


3.40 – Jefferson Post-Presidency



Year(s) Discussed: 1809-1826

After leaving the presidency, Thomas Jefferson found himself kept quite busy with both public business and personal matters. While striving to be a doting grandfather and fretting over his family’s life struggles, the former president worked in vain to escape the vicious cycle of debt in which he had become trapped. Meanwhile, he used his retirement to take on the task of improving public education in Virginia which inevitably landed him in the middle of political struggles once more. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Thomas Jefferson” by Thomas Sully [c. 1821], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band