The Historical Legacy of Thomas Jefferson

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2023

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a special Independence Day episode, scholars Akhil Amar of Yale Law School and Peter Onuf of the University of Virginia join host Jeffrey Rosen for a discussion on the historical legacy of founding father Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. In a National Constitution Center event a few months ago, Professor Amar announced his intention to “break up with” Thomas Jefferson; and in this episode of We the People, we explore why he’s decided to break up with Jefferson—including his actions and views on slavery—and what aspects of Jefferson's legacy deserve defense. Professors Amar and Onuf also explore the positive and negative aspects of his legacy and influence on the country, as well as recommendations on how to understand and study Jefferson today. Resources: Akhil Amar, The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840 (2021) Peter Onuf, The Mind of Thomas Jefferson (2007) Peter Onuf and Annette Gordon-Reed, “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs”: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination (2017) Peter Onuf, Jefferson and the Virginians: Democracy, Constitutions, and Empire (2018) Should We Break up with the Founders?, We the People episode (April 2023) Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Happy 4th of July and this week we explore the legacy of Thomas Jefferson.
0:05.4	Hello friends, I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president, CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome to We The People. and
0:13.4	the president CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome to We The People,
0:14.8	a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:17.3	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit
0:20.6	chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution
0:25.0	among the American people.
0:27.0	In a National Constitution Center conversation a few months ago,
0:32.0	Professor Akil Omar of Yale Law School announced his intention to
0:36.0	break up with Thomas Jefferson.
0:39.2	And in this episode of We The People, we explore why he Decided to Break Up with Jefferson and what aspects of Jefferson's legacy deserve defense.
0:49.0	We're honored to be joined not only by Professor Amar but by one of the leading Jefferson Scholars in America,
0:56.3	Professor Peter Anof, and it was so wonderful to convene both of them today.
1:01.6	Aquille, welcome back to We The People.
1:04.2	Thanks for having me, Jeff.
1:05.8	And Peter Aneth is Thomas Jefferson Foundation,
1:08.6	Professor Emeritus in the Corcoran Department of History
1:11.0	at the University of Virginia. And and Peter it's a wonderful to
1:14.7	welcome you to We The People. Yes thanks I'm happy to be here.
1:18.8	Aquille in your appearance at the NCC and in a forthcoming essay, which will be published soon in the National Review, you argue that you've decided to break up with Jefferson and you emphasize that his constitutional legacy, in particular
1:37.5	his vision of states' rights versus national power and strict construction versus broad construction of the Constitution
1:45.4	as well as his legacy on slavery have persuaded this you to announce this dramatic
	...

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