#1389 Jefferson-Adams Letters (Part Two)
Listening to America
Listening to America
4.6 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2020
⏱️ 57 minutes
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Summary
We present the second of four conversations between the author and historian Joseph J. Ellis and The Thomas Jefferson Hour creator Clay S. Jenkinson about the letters exchanged between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams from 1812 until the death of both men on July 4, 1826. In this second episode, they discuss some of what the letters reveal about both men including their thoughts on slavery in America. As Joseph Ellis says in the program, "Jefferson is the most resonant figure in American history because he straddles the greatest insights and the worst instincts."
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours & retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our new merch. You can find Clay's publications on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good Day Thomas Jefferson Hour Podcast Listeners and welcome to this week's program. |
| 0:06.7 | Part two of an extended discussion conversation. |
| 0:12.4 | We're so pleased to present this with discussion conversation this week. |
| 0:12.5 | We're so pleased to present this with Professor Joseph Ellis on the Jefferson |
| 0:18.7 | Adams Letters and just a fascinating conversation this week. |
| 0:23.0 | I'm in one place, Joseph Ellis is in another in Vermont, David Swenson is in a third, |
| 0:28.5 | we're practicing social distancing. |
| 0:31.0 | That makes it a little bit more difficult technically, but we're having a great |
| 0:34.7 | conversation. Let me tell you the origins of this for a long time. I've wanted to help Joseph Ellis |
| 0:41.7 | debrief. He has another book maybe five more to write, but he's |
| 0:46.8 | towards the end of a long and extremely distinguished career as an American |
| 0:51.3 | historian and he is filled as you know with insights and |
| 0:54.4 | humor and great great guy and an enormous sense of perspective looking |
| 1:01.1 | back on his on his examinations of the life of Washington, the life of Jefferson, the life of |
| 1:06.1 | Hamilton, the life of John and Avigail Adams, and so on. |
| 1:09.5 | And so I've wanted to have this opportunity just to have a sustained dialogue with him and he's agreed to it because he's in a sense trapped in place in Vermont and this are |
| 1:27.0 | are very important to be able to schedule otherwise so it's really great. |
| 1:25.4 | Like he said I who else do I have to talk to but I mean these are these are very |
| 1:29.4 | important programs to me they are to listen to the two of you exchange knowledge ideas |
| 1:36.4 | about all of this and you know when I first started the show back when I was like |
| 1:42.1 | 15 years old I think. |
| 1:44.0 | And so were you. |
... |
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