#1449 Second and Fourth

Listening to America

Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2021

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week the annual Thomas Jefferson Hour Independence Day show with Clay Jenkinson and Joseph Ellis. Ellis makes the case that John Adams was right in his belief that Independence Day should be celebrated on July 2nd, the day congress voted on the matter, but both agree that due to the simultaneous deaths of Adams and Jefferson on July 4th, that date will forever stand. They also discuss parts of the Declaration of Independence which were removed and the great dangers accepted by the signers of the document.

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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 and 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 and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Good day, Thomas Jefferson, our podcast listeners and a happy independence day to all of you.
0:06.7	Thank you so much for listening. We have just a wonderful conversation to present to you this week
0:13.3	with Professor Joseph Ellis and Clay Jenkinson talking about independence day. And you'll know what
0:19.6	I say independence day, not the fourth or the second or May 15th or whatever. It turns out that
0:26.1	it should be. Joseph Ellis is an Adams like we know that. We love that about him that he was
0:31.8	he was rabbit punching Jefferson all day today trying to say oh you know the fourth is I was
0:37.9	really just a news release and that the real day was the second and you know Jefferson ran
0:44.6	away with the revolution and it wasn't even an original document and it was all based on John Locke
0:50.4	George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights and yada yada yada yada the fact is
0:56.3	and then but then he admitted David he admitted that the magic sentence of American history
1:02.5	is that one the 35 words we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men
1:08.1	equal that they are adopted by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are
1:13.6	life liberty and the pursuit of happiness even a profound Adam's right has to acknowledge that
1:20.2	that's the sentence. I think you're being a little defensive for our man Jefferson I thought
1:27.6	Joe Ellis was eloquent in his praise of Jefferson that almost to the point of being
1:36.2	recognizing him as an indispensable man which of course he is in in the American Revolution but
1:41.8	it's a great conversation a lot about the dates but around all of that what happened why it happened
1:49.2	I thought it was real interesting the section of the conversation about just how much jeopardy
1:55.9	the signers were in about how long it actually took them all to sign it I think you were he said
2:03.6	it was October before the final signature was put on and then also some discussion about
2:10.5	you asking what everybody's going to do on the fourth and how we're going to recognize it but it
2:16.9	was it was pretty musical almost religious towards the end of this discussion. I love the fourth
	...

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