Tag Archives: Virginia

4.02 – Madison Pre-Presidency Part Two

February 27, 202204 - James MadisonAlexander Hamilton, Articles of Confederation, Benjamin Franklin, Constitutional Convention, Dolley Madison, Edmund Randolph, Elbridge Gerry, Federalists, George Mason, George Washington, Gouverneur Morris, Henry Lee, James Madison, James Monroe, John Jay, Patrick Henry, Richard Cutts, Robert Morris, Rufus King, slavery, Thomas Jefferson, Virginiapresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1785-1809

After scoring some key political victories in Virginia, Madison decided to lead an effort to reform the government of the United States. However, he would find that getting the Constitutional Convention to agree on a new federal structure was only half the battle, and he would soon acquire some powerful enemies in the ratification campaign. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Scene at the Signing of the United States Constitution” by Howard Chandler Christy [c. 1940], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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4.01 – Madison Pre-Presidency Part One

February 6, 202204 - James MadisonAaron Burr, Edmund Randolph, James Madison, John Blair, New Jersey, Patrick Henry, Philip Freneau, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, William Bradfordpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1653-1785

As part of a family that had been on a steady rise in society since its earliest days in the Virginia colony, James Madison, Jr. was expected to do great things from the time of his birth, but his family could scarcely have imagined the heights to which he would rise. After an accelerated collegiate career and a few initial stumbles as a young man, Madison gradually worked his way into becoming a force in state and national politics. However, as someone not content with ignoring issues in the status quo, Madison would soon find his calling as a champion for innovation. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “James Madison, Class of 1771” by James Sharples [c. pre-1811], courtesy of 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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SATT 004 – Thomas Jefferson

November 7, 2021Seat at The TableAlexander Hamilton, Democratic-Republican Party, Edmund Randolph, Federalists, France, George Washington, Great Britain, Henry Knox, James Madison, John Adams, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson, Virginiapresidencies

Tenure of Office: March 22, 1790 – December 31, 1793

We’ve spent a good amount of time in the narrative talking about Jefferson as the third US president, but in this episode, while also exploring his life and career as a whole, we focus in a bit on Jefferson’s tenure as Secretary of State in the Washington administration.

Thanks so much to my special guests for this episode, Howard and Jess from Plodding Through the Presidents!

Featured Image: “Portrait of Thomas Jefferson” by Charles Willson Peale [c. 1791], courtesy of Wikipedia

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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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3.26 – Present but Absent: The Hemings Family of Monticello

January 31, 202103 - Thomas JeffersonDolley Madison, France, James Callendar, James Madison, James Monroe, John Wayles Eppes, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Sally Hemings, slavery, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, Virginiapresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1735-1873

Throughout Jefferson’s life and career, he was surrounded and served by various enslaved individuals of three generations of the same family. In this episode, we examine the lives of the Hemings family as some worked to attain their freedom, other Hemingses disappeared from the historical record without a trace, and one became the most famous enslaved individual in the United States for bearing the third President’s children. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “View of the West Front of Monticello and Garden” by Jane Braddock [c. 1825], courtesy of Wikipedia

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

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3.02 – Jefferson Pre-Presidency Part Two

August 31, 201903 - Thomas JeffersonAbigail Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Democratic-Republican Party, Edmund Randolph, Federalists, France, James Madison, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Marquis de Lafayette, Patrick Henry, Sally Hemings, slavery, Thomas Jefferson, Virginiapresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1774-1801

Between the publication of “Summary View of the Rights of British America” and his assuming the presidency, Jefferson made a name for himself by drafting the Declaration of Independence, struggled to see his home state of Virginia through the Revolution as governor, experienced a devastating personal loss, and served the new nation at home and abroad. Though his rise in national prominence as the leader of the opposition would ultimately lead to him becoming the third President, not only his public record but also various facets of Jefferson’s personal life would pose challenges for the new administration before it even began. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Images: “Thomas Jefferson” by Mather Brown [c. 1786], courtesy of Wikipedia, and “Thomas Jefferson” by Rembrandt Peale [c. 1800], courtesy of Wikipedia

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3.01 – Jefferson Pre-Presidency Part One

August 17, 201903 - Thomas JeffersonGeorge Washington, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Patrick Henry, slavery, Thomas Jefferson, Virginiapresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1612-1774

From his birth in Albemarle County, VA, Thomas Jefferson’s personality and public career began to take shape through his education at William and Mary, and his introduction to the world of politics in colonial Virginia. Along the way, he would be influenced by family members and mentors and would in turn start to impact his own young family, his neighbors, those individuals he enslaved, and the course of events in British North America. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Rebuilt Wren building with Italianate towers c. 1859” [1875], courtesy of Wikipedia

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2.21 – I am Gabriel, That Stands in the Presence of God

May 5, 201902 - John AdamsAlien and Sedition Acts, France, Haitian Revolution, James Monroe, Napoleon Bonaparte, slavery, Thomas Jefferson, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Virginiapresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1792-1801

The revolution in Saint-Domingue inspires enslaved people in the United States to seek their freedom in the 1790s at a time that the slaveocracy was becoming more ingrained in the American economy, society, and legal codes. With a focus on Virginia, this episode will explore the shifts in the American slave system in the late 1790s and the planned insurrection that has come to be known as Gabriel’s Rebellion. Sources used in this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Struggle for freedom in a Maryland barn.” by William Still [c. 1872], courtesy of Wikipedia

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2.15 – Hot Time, Summer in the Country

February 10, 201902 - John AdamsAbigail Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Alien and Sedition Acts, Charles Lee, Democratic-Republican Party, Edmund Pendleton, Federalists, Fries's Rebellion, George Washington, James McHenry, James Wilkinson, John Adams, Oliver Wolcott Jr, Rufus King, slavery, Spain, Theodore Sedgwick, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mifflin, Timothy Pickering, Virginia, Washington DC, William Duanepresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1797-1799

John Adams makes a fateful decision that threatens his administration and its ability to react quickly to developing events. Meanwhile, General James Wilkinson’s past collusion with the Spanish is discovered by a government agent in the Mississippi Territory. Closer to home, Fries’s Rebellion comes to a close as harassment of Democratic-Republican newspaper editors ramps up. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Watercolor of Peacefield Before the 1800 Addition” by E Malcom [c. 1798], courtesy of Wikipedia

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Presidencies of the United States

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

Tag Archives: Virginia

4.02 – Madison Pre-Presidency Part Two

4.01 – Madison Pre-Presidency Part One

3.40 – Jefferson Post-Presidency

SATT 004 – Thomas Jefferson

3.34 – Conspiracy

3.26 – Present but Absent: The Hemings Family of Monticello

3.02 – Jefferson Pre-Presidency Part Two

3.01 – Jefferson Pre-Presidency Part One

2.21 – I am Gabriel, That Stands in the Presence of God

2.15 – Hot Time, Summer in the Country