Videos

Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by Bill Barker, discussed his love of gardening from the West Lawn of Monticello. He talked about his planting methods, experiments, and the enslaved people who tended and…

To mark Patriots' Day, a Massachusetts state holiday commemorating the Battles of Lexington, Concord and Menotomy in April, 1775, Monticello hosted a conversation with President Thomas…

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor talked about his book in which he argued that Thomas Jefferson’s egalitarian words differed from his actions and that the founding of the University…

Gaye Wilson talked about the clues in Thomas Jefferson’s dress and mannerisms that reveal how he wished to present himself and his politics in the new Republic. Ms. Wilson is a senior historian…

Christa Dierksheide, Gardiner Hallock, and Steve Light showed some of the renovations taking place to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was renovating the south wing of…

Thomas Jefferson built Poplar Forest as a secluded retreat from public life. Travis McDonald, director of Architectural Restoration, talked about the site’s history and goes behind the scenes of the current…

Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter Onuf talked about their book "Most Blessed of the Patriarchs": Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination, in which they examine the intellectual…

Villanova University history professor, Catherine Kerrison, explored the lives of Thomas Jefferson’s daughters, Martha and Maria Jefferson, as well as Harriet Hemings, born into slavery at…

Jack Gary, director of Archaeology and Landscapes, talked about some of the items found at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, including pieces that tell the story of slave life, trades practiced, and how…

The work of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Paper Conservation Laboratory project to preserve the “Jefferson Bible” was shown. In his retirement years Thomas Jefferson…

Historian Gordon Wood discussed his book, Friends Divided, about the relationship and differing political views of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Professor Gene Smith talked about Thomas Jefferson’s challenges with the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. He discussed Jefferson’s concerns over whether it was unconstitutional, the resistance from the…

Annette Gordon-Reed talked about her book, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (W.W. Norton; September 17, 2008), and how she came to write it. She responded to audience…

Professor John Boles talked about his book Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty, in which he recalls the life of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, from his formative years in Virginia…

Kevin Gutzman talked about his book Thomas Jefferson - Revolutionary: A Radical’s Struggle to Remake America, in which he argues that Thomas Jefferson was a political radical for his time,…

Annette Gordon-Reed talked about Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with the enslaved Hemings family, whom he owned. She focused on Sally Hemings, with whom Jefferson supposedly had six children.…

John Ferling, professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia, talked about his book, Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged A Nation, in which he examines the political…

Author Robert McDonald talked about Thomas Jefferson as a polarizing figure, and described how Jefferson’s actions and writings led him to be both revered by his contemporaries and…

Peter Stark, correspondent for Outside magazine, talked about his book, Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire - A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival, in which he…

Annette Gordon Reed and Peter Onuf spoke about their book, Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination. They spoke from the H.L. Mencken Non-Fiction…