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» Monticello Speakers Forum
Featured: Annette Gordon-Reed on the Hemings Family |
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Annette Gordon-Reed speaks about her new book, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, and answers questions at Monticello's Jefferson Library. |
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 Excerpts from the 2008 Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony This outdoor naturalization ceremony for new citizens on Monticello’s West Lawn is one of America’s most inspiring July 4 events. This year's ceremony featured the remarks of President George W. Bush. See the video » |
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 An evening with David BrooksDavid Brooks, New York Times columnist and weekly regular on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, speaks at Monticello about historical and modern divisions in American society using the tensions between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton as a touchstone (from June 2006).
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 Fashioning the American Diplomat It was as important then as today. What to wear? This is what Jefferson faced in 1786 when, while serving as the United States's Minister to France, he sat for the famous portaitist Mather Brown. Monticello Research Historian Gaye Wilson examines the details of this portrait—one of the earliest formal images of Jefferson—and compares it with those of his American and European peers. (from September 2005). Watch the video » |
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 Gardens and Grounds TourJoin Monticello's Director of Gardens and Grounds Peter Hatch for a an in-depth look a the unique horticultural world Jefferson created on his beloved mountaintop. Watch the video » |
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 Thomas Jefferson's Formative YearsJust prior to her death last September, Mary Lee Settle, author of O Beulah Land and recipient of the National Book Award, was working on a historical novel about Jefferson's childhood. On August 17, 2004, she shared her thoughts about researching this little known era of Jefferson's life and described how she planned to fill in the gaps. Watch the video » |
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 Bernard McMahon's Republican Seeds Can seeds be political? Can a gardening how-to book also be a radical tract? In this talk, Robert S. Cox, former Keeper of Manuscripts at the American Philosophical Society, introduces us to Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon, author of The American Gardener's Calendar, friend of Thomas Jefferson, and critical member of a large and colorful group that determined the fate of the scientific findings of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. (from Aug. 28, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 Bartram's Nursery and GardenThe Bartram Nursery is typically credited with being one of the first in the nation. But who were the members of this pioneering family? How did they become central to the growth of American botany, agriculture, and gardening? And what is their legacy? Elizabeth McLean, Research Associate in Botany at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, gives a the full story. (from Aug. 28, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 Antique Plant CataloguesYou get 'em. And believe it or not, your grandmother's grandmother might have too. Those seed and plant catalogs that come in the mail. But what kinds of plants did she grow? What were they called? What did they look like? Historian Denise Adams traces the history of these still familiar marketing tools and describes how she uses them to answer some of these questions. (from Aug. 28, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 Thomas Jefferson and George III In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson laid the blame for the American Revolution squarely at the feet of George III. But later historians have tended to downplay the monarch's role in the struggle. Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy, historian and Saunders Director of Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, makes the case Jefferson's view was probably the more accurate (from Sep. 14, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 Thomas Jefferson: Author of America by Christopher HitchensNoted journalist, television commentator, critic, and "partially recovered Marxist" Christopher Hitchens used wit, charm, and, occasionally, scorn to make his case for Jefferson as the key figure among the Founders in shaping America's political ideals (from Sep. 8, 2005). Watch the video » |
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 Jefferson's Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello Author, professor, and former fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, Andrew Burstein gave an overview of his recent book, which examines Jefferson's interest in health and medicine and the influence it may have had on him (from Aug. 2, 2005). Watch the video » |
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 Monticello's Director of Gardens and Grounds Peter Hatch discusses the central role home nurseries played at some of the nation's earlier gardens and how they often reveal the human and humorous sides of the nation's gardening pioneers (from Aug. 27, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 Address to New Citizens on July 4th, 2005 World-renowned architect I.M. Pei speaks about his admiration for Thomas Jefferson and his own experiences immigrating to the United States from China before an audience that includes 75 applicants for citizenship (from July 4, 2005). Watch the video » |
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 Jefferson and Religion Was Jefferson an atheist? A deist? An Episcopalian? A Unitarian? In an entertaining and informative talk, William and Mary Professor of Religion David Holmes answers these questions while relating catchy rhymes, biting quotes, and a burning at the stake (from June 21, 2005). Watch the video » |
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 Isaac Newton and Thomas JeffersonMordechai Feingold, Professor of History at the California Institute of Technology, talks about the legacy of Newton, whom Jefferson considered to be one of the "three greatest men the world has every produced." (from May 24, 2005). Watch the video » |
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 Jefferson and the Barbary WarUniversity of Virginia professor James R. Sofka gives an informal talk on The Jeffersonian Idea of National Security using the Barbary conflict as a case study. (from July 13, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 Address to New Citizens on July 4th, 2004Director of the recently opened National Museum of the American Indian, W. Richard West speaks before America's newest citizens on the nation's 228th anniversary. (from July 4, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 Thomas Jefferson: Writing a Short BiographyRichard B. Bernstein, noted legal historian and author of a new short biography of Thomas Jefferson, talks about the current state of Jefferson's legacy and the evolution of his own interest in the early history of the American Republic (from May 25, 2004). Watch the video » |
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 John Paul Jones and Thomas JeffersonEvan Thomas, author and editor at Newseek magazine, provides a fresh look at John Paul Jones (from July 18, 2003). Watch the video » |
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 Re-examining the Journals from the Lewis and Clark ExpeditionNotre Dame University professor Thomas P. Slaughter on what Lewis and Clark and the other journal authors were up to in the creation of their million-and-a-half-word record of their renowned journey (from May 13, 2003). Watch the video » |
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 A Conversation with Ted KoppelTed Koppel on important issues of the day in the historical setting of Monticello's West Lawn (from July 17, 2002). Watch the video » |
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 Jefferson Library DedicationPulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough gives the keynote speech at the dedication of the new Jefferson Library (from on April 13, 2002). Watch the video » |
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 Thomas Jefferson and Sheep Monticello's Shannon Senior Research Historian Cinder Stanton on Jefferson's attempts to raise sheep and create a domestic wool industry (from June 29, 2000). Watch the video » |
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 Gossip, Dueling, and Political CultureYale professor Joanne B. Freeman on the tools politicians used in the era before recognized political parties (from July 22, 1999). Watch the video » |
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