Category Archives: 03 – Thomas Jefferson

3.41 – Jefferson Q&A

January 23, 202203 - Thomas JeffersonDemocratic-Republican Party, Federalists, France, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Sally Hemings, slavery, Thomas Jeffersonpresidencies

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

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3.40 – Jefferson Post-Presidency

January 9, 202203 - Thomas JeffersonBenjamin Rush, Edward Livingston, James Madison, James Monroe, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Randolph of Roanoke, John Wayles Eppes, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Sally Hemings, Samuel Harrison Smith, slavery, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, Virginia, William Branch Giles, Wilson Cary Nicholaspresidencies

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

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3.39 – Sunset and Sunrise

December 13, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAlbert Gallatin, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Democratic-Republican Party, East Florida, Election of 1808, Federalists, France, George Campbell, George Clinton, Great Britain, Harrison Gray Otis, James Madison, James Monroe, James Wilkinson, John Adams, John Armstrong Jr, John Jacob Astor, John Quincy Adams, John Randolph of Roanoke, Manuel de Godoy, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Michael Leib, Napoleon Bonaparte, New York, Pennsylvania, Pierre du Pont, Portugal, Rufus King, Sally Hemings, Samuel Harrison Smith, Samuel Smith, Spain, Thomas Jefferson, Timothy Pickering, West Florida, William Branch Giles, Wilson Cary Nicholaspresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1807-1809

As the end of Jefferson’s second term neared, the Embargo Act came under increasing criticism at home, Napoleon’s plans for conquest continued apace in Europe, and the nation chose the man who would become the fourth President of the United States. Though the clock had not struck on his presidency, his last months in office would find the man who had been a leader for decades take a step back as his thoughts turned increasingly to his life once he left the President’s House. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States” by Pendleton’s Lithography [c. 1828], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.38 – Electioneering

November 21, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAlbert Gallatin, De Witt Clinton, Democratic-Republican Party, Federalists, France, George Clinton, George W Campbell, Great Britain, Henry Dearborn, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, John Randolph of Roanoke, Manuel de Godoy, Napoleon Bonaparte, New York, Portugal, Prussia, Robert Smith, Russia, slavery, Spain, Talleyrand, Thomas Jefferson, William Branch Giles, William Pinkney, Wilson Cary Nicholaspresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1808

As the 1808 presidential election neared, the infighting in the Democratic-Republican faction was exacerbated by not one but two challengers to Secretary of State James Madison’s candidacy – Vice President George Clinton and former US Minister to Britain James Monroe. Meanwhile, Napoleon’s constant wars in Europe continued to impact US foreign policy, and the Jefferson administration began a new round of negotiations with British envoy George Rose to seek a resolution to the crisis precipitated by the Chesapeake-Leopard incident while working out how to effectively enforce the Embargo Act. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “James Madison” by Gilbert Stuart [c. 1805-1807], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.37 – O Grab Me

October 24, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAlbert Gallatin, Democratic-Republican Party, Edward Preble, Federalists, France, George Clinton, Great Britain, Henry Dearborn, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, John Randolph of Roanoke, Napoleon Bonaparte, New Orleans, Robert Smith, Spain, Stephen Decatur, Thomas Jefferson, US Navy, William C C Claiborne, William Pinkneypresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1808

With a diplomatic resolution to the Chesapeake/Leopard affair looking increasingly unlikely and the threat of war looming, President Jefferson and his administration worked in late 1807 to devise an alternative to war while also preparing for the nation’s defense. Meanwhile, James Monroe’s frustrations continued in London while there was a shift in power in Congress. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “O Grab Me cartoon” [c. 1807], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.36 – Trial

October 3, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Caesar Rodney, Edmund Randolph, Great Britain, Henry Clay, James Madison, James Monroe, John Marshall, John Randolph of Roanoke, John Wayles Eppes, Robert Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, US Navy, US Supreme Court, William Branch Giles, William Pinkney, William Wirtpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807

Little did the Jefferson administration, while preparing to prosecute the former Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr, for treason, that they would be faced at the same time with an external challenge that threatened to plunge the nation into war. In mid-1807, the President, his Cabinet, and the nation were all anxious for the latest information from the Burr trial in Richmond as well as whether Great Britain was truly declaring war on the US following the attack on an American naval vessel off the coast of Virginia. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “John Marshall” by Rembrandt Peale [c. 1834], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.35 – And Everything Else

September 19, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonCaesar Rodney, France, Great Britain, James Monroe, James Wilkinson, John Breckinridge, Louisiana Territory, Napoleon Bonaparte, Native Americans, Orleans Territory, Spain, US Supreme Court, William C C Claiborne, William Pinkneypresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807

Concurrent with the events of the Burr conspiracy, the Jefferson administration and its agents were engaged in other work on multiple fronts. Lt. Zebulon Pike was leading an expedition westward while Gen. James Wilkinson took questionable measures in the name of national security in New Orleans. In London, James Monroe and William Pinkney worked against all odds to finalize a treaty with Great Britain. Meanwhile, the President had to decide upon a new Attorney General as well as not one but two Supreme Court justices. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Zebulon Pike” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1808], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.34 – Conspiracy

September 5, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Andrew Jackson, Anthony Merry, Henry Clay, James Wilkinson, Mississippi Territory, Ohio, Orleans Territory, Spain, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, William Duanepresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1806-1807

Aaron Burr’s plans were finally starting to come to fruition, but little did the former Vice President know that he had a turncoat in his midst. Meanwhile, as the Jefferson administration struggled to get a grasp of the scope of the conspiracy, it was forced to action, and the haphazard nature of it would have consequences on down the line. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Blennerhassett Island Home,” courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.33 – Glimmers of Hope

August 8, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Albert Gallatin, Anthony Merry, Barbary States, David Erskine, Edward Preble, Francisco de Miranda, Gideon Granger, Henry Dearborn, James Madison, James Wilkinson, Jonathan Dayton, Meriwether Lewis, New Orleans, Orleans Territory, Robert Smith, Samuel Smith, Samuel Swartwout, Spain, Stephen Decatur, Texas, Thomas Jefferson, William C C Claiborne, William Clark, William Eaton, William Smith, Zebulon Pikepresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1805-1806

With American and Spanish military forces amassing along the western US border and with the commanding general of the Army potentially involved in a secession and/or filibustering plot with the former Vice President, late 1806 was a time of trepidation for President Jefferson and his administration. Before long, though, a few hopeful prospects started to appear including the return of Jefferson’s protege turned continental explorer, Meriwether Lewis. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “James Wilkinson” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1797], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.32 – Time Draws Short

July 11, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Anthony Merry, Burr Conspiracy, Connecticut, Democratic-Republican Party, Federalists, Francisco de Miranda, Great Britain, Henry Dearborn, James Madison, James Monroe, James Wilkinson, John Randolph of Roanoke, Native Americans, Orleans Territory, Spain, Texas, Thomas Jefferson, William Armistead Burwell, William Pinkney, Zebulon Pikepresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1805-1806

As Jefferson reflects upon the unexpected death of his mentor, various situations at home and abroad in 1806 imperil the future of the nation. A British ship unintentionally kills an American sailor, threatening the peace negotiations being conducted in London. Around the same time, expeditions to explore the west provoke Spanish forces already gathered on the border. Meanwhile, the President receives word of a domestic plot involving not only the former Vice President but also the commanding general of the US Army. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Map of the 1806 Red River Expedition” by Nich. King [c. 1806], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Presidencies of the United States

A journey through presidential history from the beginning to the present day

Category Archives: 03 – Thomas Jefferson

3.41 – Jefferson Q&A

3.40 – Jefferson Post-Presidency

3.39 – Sunset and Sunrise

3.38 – Electioneering

3.37 – O Grab Me

3.36 – Trial

3.35 – And Everything Else

3.34 – Conspiracy

3.33 – Glimmers of Hope

3.32 – Time Draws Short