Thomas Jefferson
When the video is available, I’ll link to it here! ☝️
In 2026, I’m partnering with Ashland Public Library for a yearlong virtual presidential series. We’re tackling each president chronologically on the second Friday at 10:30 A.M. EST. It’s going to be a lot of fun. To register or see the full schedule, click here.
Additional reading
DID YOU KNOW AARON BURR WAS NEARLY PRESIDENT?
I didn’t! But it’s like LearningPlunge has a direct connection to my brain and they happen to share little history nuggets regularly that are directly tied to what I’m working on… like this one.
Give them a follow for some cool history.
He was a Virginian
He was not obnoxious
He was a better writer
He worked for a quarter century to ensure one day it was owned by the public.
Read more about it on Monticello’s website. It’s freaking fascinating.
More about Thomas Jefferson
The Declaration of Independence
Here it is, in case you want to read it. Full disclosure: I don’t think I had before.
The mighty Megalonyx & other mammals
Definitely not “of the Lion kind.” Find out more about his beef with Buffon here.
Benjamin Banneker
Learn more about him. (And Jefferson’s duplicity🙄)
Related blog posts
Il ne savait pas parler Français, etc.
… in a book about William Henry Harrison. And not very favorably, I might add.
… for this series. An ongoing list.
(and her terrible cousins)
Thomas Jefferson’s VP George Clinton isn’t the only one with impressive brows!
Half of these guys were born in April and also died on July 4.
You’re probably not. But I went on a little adventure! And no, I’m not related to him. Or am I?
Q & A follow up
[to be filled in after]
Etc.
16: The Founding Fractures: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson
History That Doesn’t Suck
Peggy Shippen
Significant Others: A History Podcast
Sources
Doodles for this presentation were inspired by:
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, by Joseph J. Ellis
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation, by Cokie Roberts
Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation, by Peter Stark
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness, by Harlow Giles Unger
The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth, by Jermaine Fowler
The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn, by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers
The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, by Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky
Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, by Nathaniel Philbrick
Read this before I started doodling my way through the biographies:
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, by Jon Meacham
Also referenced:
499 Facts about Hip-Hop Hamilton and the Rest of America's Founding Fathers, by Stephen Spignesi
Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Strange Stories and Shocking Trivia from Inside the White House, by Cormac O’Brien
Check out my bibliography for more.
PS TV
Thomas Jefferson
Mini series, History Channel
Next up: James Madison
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and is in collaboration with a multitude of MA and NH libraries.
MA: Amherst, Andover, Chatham, Chelmsford, Cohasset, Cotuit, Falmouth, Groton, Hanover, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Maynard, North Reading, Quincy, Shutesbury, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Wellesley, West Newbury, and Woburn; NH: Amherst, Dover, and Greenfield.
Inventor of the swivel chair!