This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way.
The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q.
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Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Um This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people.
Up next, another installment in our series About Us, the Story of America series with Hillsdale College Professor and author of the terrific book Land of Hope. Bill McClay. The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson marked a drastic change from that of his predecessors, George Washington and John Adams. Jefferson was a party man through and through, but some of his best decisions were made by putting the country first. Let's get into this story.
Take it away, Bill. There's a saying, and it's usually said rather cynically, that sometimes a politician has to rise above principle. It's supposed to be a kind of humorous statement, but actually there's truth to it.
Sometimes statesmanship. the art of governing well which is an art and not a science. the art of statesmanship. requires One to rise above principle, one to recognize that The time is not right. May never be right.
For the implementation of the principles that one so dearly loves, you can stay in opposition and be a political voice. A voice crying in the wilderness, but a voice But if you want to be effective, if you want to get things done, if you want to be a practically good president. You have to come to terms with the opposition. Thomas Jefferson was a very popular president. He came into office in a very divided time and managed to produce national unity.
And he had a vision for America's future. It was a different vision than the vision that Alexander Hamilton had so. influentially promoted. But he gave voice to it, and in the process he learned a very important lesson about politics. And that is that there's a higher Requirement.
incumbent on the great statesman, and that is the well-being of the polity itself.
So Jefferson understood all of this and he... He rose above principle. The the the conflicts with the judiciary that we've described in a previous episode were very bitter pill to swallow, and he never stopped swallowing it all the rest of his life. But the other important a violation of his principles. led to his greatest accomplishment.
And that was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France. It was an accomplishment of great importance for Two reasons. One of them is defensive. It removed a foreign presence. from America's western border.
And in command of the port city, New Orleans, that governed. Commerce. from the midsection, what would be the midsection of the country, but it was the westernmost part of the country. It freed New Orleans. from being a choke point.
That could at the flick of a policy switch cripple much of the American economy.
So it freed things in that way, but it also, there's a second way. That it was a great accomplishment. And this is more. Expansive. Not less defensive than expansive.
It redefined America in a certain way, which had been a coastal nation. With strong Ties both explicit and implicit to Europe. with a derivative culture from Europe. And it made it into a continental republic, a sprawling. Continental Republic.
Not yet from sea to shining sea, but Headed in that direction as it's easy for us to see in retrospect.
So from a coastal nation to a a half of a continent nation. with rich Farmland. Right for agricultural exploitation in the years ahead. And this was part of Jefferson's dream, his v vision of America. It was one heck of a land deal.
Probably the greatest land deal. in American history. It was the land basically between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. From the Gulf of Mexico to what today would be the state of Montana. And all for a mere fifteen million dollars.
Which was worth worth more than 15 million. it would be now, but still, for that kind of land acquisition. It was an amazing deal. And it was a dream come true. Jefferson.
Who's Vision of America was an agricultural vision. He thought. That those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if he had a chosen people. He wasn't kidding. He thought agriculture was a particularly.
effective school of virtue. They didn't live off of the finagling and calculation. of a paper economy based on finance, the sort of thing that appealed to Hamilton. No, an agricultural nation would be a much more down-to-earth in every sense of the word nation.
So, the acquisition of all this land meant that you could have generations upon generations. That would be able to find new farmland and to take up the mantle of self-sufficient farming. and create a uniquely virtuous people on the face of the earth. Mm-hmm. But the problem was, Jefferson had to violate his political principles.
to get That deal done. Because it involved expanding the president's executive power. And remember, he was very much the strict constructionist when it came to the Constitution. That government governs best, it governs least. Strong presidencies were not his cup of tea.
or his glass of wine in in Jefferson's case.
So he expanded the executive power. way beyond anything that he'd ever imagined. in ways that he'd argued against vehemently in the past. And yet he had to do this. He had to operate this way in order to be able to take the deal.
that was offered while it was on the table.
So again, he opposed things. that he ended up doing. after he'd taken the oath of office. But he didn't do so out of lack of principle. He rose above principle.
political necessity. Was he in play? When we come back. More of the story of Thomas Jefferson's presidency. Here on Our American Stories.
This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories. And all of our history stories are brought to us by our generous sponsors, including Hillsdale College, where students go to learn all the things that are beautiful in life. and all the things that matter in life. If you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their free and terrific online courses. Go to hillsdale.edu.
That's hillsdale.edu. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. Most Mother's Day gifts end up in a drawer, but a song lives in the heart forever.
This year, tryjoybox.com is giving away 1 million free custom songs to celebrate 1 million incredible moms. Just share a few memories, and Joybox produces an original track in greeting card just for her instantly. It's the most personal gift you'll ever give, and right now, it's completely free. Make Mom the star of her own song at tryjoybox.com. One million songs, zero dollars, only at tryjoybox.com.
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500.
Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing.
Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures.
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So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit Redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com. And we continue here with our American stories and our series about us, the Story of America series. When we last left off, Bill McClay was telling us about how Thomas Jefferson put country over party when buying the Louisiana Territory from France.
Let's return to the story. Here again is Bill McClay. After the Louisiana Purchase was completed, Jefferson was very, very excited about the whole thing. Remember, Jefferson, among his many interests and talents, was a great scientist. He had a great scientific curiosity.
He was curious about what sort of. Animals are there in this territory? What sort of flora are there? What sort of growing things? What sort of people?
Uh and so he commissioned Very quickly. An exploratory mission called the Corps of Discovery Expedition. We usually call it the Lewis and Gark Expedition after. Captain Meriwether Lewis, who was Jefferson's private secretary. and 2nd Lieutenant William Clark, Lewis and Clark.
These were army officers who were Seasoned In the sense that they'd had experience on the frontier, which made them Perfect candidates for the job at hand, and the job. It's a big job. Survey the area's geography. study the plant and animal life. Establish relations with native tribes, track the natural resources of the newly purchased land.
A very big task. You can consider that the Lewis and Clark expedition was the greatest road trip in American history. They left St. Louis, the city of St. Louis, on the Mississippi River.
In May of eighteen oh four, It's just a year a year after, less a year after the actual purchase occurs.
So Jefferson didn't waste any time. And it was a group, it was a really a party. The road trip was a party. A group of 50 men traveling up the Missouri River. Crossing the Continental Divide, and making their way along the Columbia River to The Pacific.
what's close to Portland, Oregon. by November of eighteen oh five.
So they were on the road for a long time. May of 1804, departure, arrival in. Portland, November of 1805, and returning home, September of 1806.
So over two years on the road. That's quite a road trip. And something many of you may not know: there's a gateway arch. Beautiful. Object of kind of public sculpture almost in the city of St.
Louis. Which everyone thinks of as being related to St. Louis as the gateway to the West.
Well, yes, but it was directly to commemorate. and honor the pioneering, adventurous spirit of Lewis and Clark, the core of discovery. and ultimately Jefferson himself. But there were problems at home. Things less exciting to the scientific-minded Jefferson.
Actually, the kinds of things that made politics such a frustrating business for him. Once again. America found itself caught in a battle between the two great European powers of the time, the British and the French. the British former foes, the French, Former allies, maybe to some extent still allies, but not entirely. Both were waging war on each other, and their weapon was economic warfare.
America tried to stay neutral, but the British ignored these claims. They captured American seamen. and sailors, and forced them to serve in the Royal Navy. This practice went by rather. anodyne name.
It was called Impressing. but nobody on our side was impressed by it. It was a hostile act against America and Americans. And kidnapping, plain and simple. At least from the American point of view.
Jefferson, who had never had not wanted to be a great world power. He didn't want to have a big navy. In fact, Jefferson would have been happy to have a Navy that was the equivalent, in today's terms, of a fleet of PT boats. Just to guard the coastal areas of the country, but otherwise stay aloof from the world. He did not want a war.
He did not want a war with the great European powers, either one of them? Let alone both, and that was not likely to happen, but he hoped that he could stem. the tide seemingly moving towards warfare. By getting the Congress to pass the Embargo Act of 1807. And that he thought the Embargo Act would do that because it would prohibit.
American ships. from entry into foreign ports. Which meant that those ships could not engage in commerce. Either two or from foreign nations. And that would keep them out of harm's way.
To make a long story short, the embargo was a failure, a complete and utter failure. It caused more economic pain at home. than it did in England. That's my definition of a policy failure in wartime.
So, Jefferson had little choice but to repeal the embargo, which he did, leaving a very bitter taste in his mouth. Of course, no president likes. To not only have his policies defeated, but to be humiliated over them. Still, He could have probably served another term. Jefferson had so b debilitated The capacity of the Federalist Party to govern kind of driven them crazy.
So there was no barrier Constitutionally speaking, or limit to the number of terms Jefferson could serve. But after two terms in office, he took the example of Washington, his fellow Virginian. and retired. This wasn't just out of veneration for Washington. He had begun His eight years with a resounding victory at a very, very, very tense time in national life.
I want to impress that upon you. How the election of 1800 looked to many people like the end of the Constitutional Republic barely getting started before dying in its cradle. And Jefferson calmed the waters.
So he begun with this resounding victory, but he ended. Very weary and discouraged, obviously, the failure of the embargo act. one of the chief sources of that, but not the only one. He was worn down by a multitude. Of political battles that he couldn't win and problems he couldn't solve.
And He was beginning to have health problems. rheumatism, headaches.
So he was able to return. to his beloved home Monticello in Charlottesville. He would refer to his time in office as splendid misery. And he came to wonder whether he was just not suited for public office. He had that same wondering when he was a much younger man, governor of Virginia, and it's returned a sense, maybe I'm not cut out for this.
He said this to a friend. Never did a prisoner released from his chains feel such relief as I shall on shaking off the shackles of power. Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science. By rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived have forced me to commit myself on the boisterous ocean.
of political passions. I thank God. for the opportunity. of retiring from them.
So once he was back in Charlottesville, he went to work on what was perhaps. His biggest, boldest. Most enduring project.
Next to the Declaration, of course. He established the University of Virginia. He played a central role not merely in the founding of the school, but the magnificent design of the school. It's an architectural design. That followed straight through to the landscaping.
It's really one of the great architectural accomplishments. of American history, not only of his time. Even today. When we come back. More of the story of Thomas Jefferson's presidency and what came after here.
on Our American Stories. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. Most Mother's Day gifts end up in a drawer, but a song lives in the heart forever.
This year, tryjoybox.com is giving away 1 million free custom songs to celebrate 1 million incredible moms. Just share a few memories, and Joybox produces an original track and greeting card just for her instantly. It's the most personal gift you'll ever give, and right now it's completely free. Make money. Mom, the star of her own song at tryjoybox.com.
One million songs, zero dollars, only at tryjoybox.com. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work.
It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com/slash podcast.
Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice.
Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Mm. Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or back yards you haven't even stepped foot in, all from the comfort of pretty much anywhere.
Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own, but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears.
Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2,200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win, not just Windows Shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait, this could actually be home.
So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit Redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com. And we return to our American stories in our series about us. The Story of America series.
We also return to the final portion of our story on Thomas Jefferson. telling it is Hillsdale College professor and author of Land of Hope. Bill McClay. When we last left off, Jefferson had left office after losing his love, his appetite for politics. It had been a bitter eight years in office for him.
And soon he'd reach out to an old friend. Let's return to the story. You couldn't ask for. I mean, if Hollywood had invented this, we would have said it's unbelievable. But it actually happened.
Jefferson died. On July 4th, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary. Of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the day. that John Adams died as well. This is enormously powerful symbol.
looked at this and they were in awe. How can this be that these two founding fathers of the American experiment? Who, for much of their careers, after their lives, were bitterly antagonistic. And ran against one another for the highest office in the land. But in the latter part of their lives, began a correspondence that's one of the classic works.
of American history. Everyone should read the Adams Jefferson Correspondence. They had a period Of being friendly, then a period of bitterness, and then they restored. their friendship. and reflected.
on a very deep level about what what were the requirements of leadership, of virtue, of all manner of things. relating to the conditions for American democracy to prosper. Here's an example. Letter written. It's his final letter actually to Adams.
So that's poignant. in itself. And here Jefferson's words. May it be to the world. What I believe it will be.
to some parts sooner, to other parts later, but finally to all The signal. of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. He's talking about the American Revolution, the Declaration. The whole kickabool. of what the Spirit of 76 was about.
Let me repeat it again. May it be to the world. But I believe it will be. To some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all. The signal.
Of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves. and to assume the blessings and security of self. government. The form which we have substituted restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason. and freedom of opinion.
All eyes are opened or opening. to the rights of man. The general spread of the lights of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth. That the mass of man has not been borne with saddles on their backs. nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God.
Oh, that's fantastic. These are grounds of hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day Forever refresh our recollections of these rites. and an undiminished devotion to them. Before we go on, I do want to mention one thing.
Jefferson had his opinions, and when he mentions the chains under which monkish ignorance. and superstition. had persuaded them to bind themselves in that first sentence. He is talking about religion here, and he's probably mainly talking about the Roman Catholic Church. Although he sort of had this opinion more generally about organized Christian.
Religion. And you know, you just have to take that. That's part of who Jefferson was. He was a man devoted to the Enlightenment, to the age of reason, to the notion that reason. has a kind of competence.
To address itself to all things because we live. in a world governed by a nature. capital N nature. That has its laws, that has an intelligible order. And when I say intelligible, I mean we can understand it.
We can get what nature is about. Modern contemporary physics today is a little more tangled than that, the Newtonian physics of. of Thomas Jefferson's day. But at any rate, he had great confidence in reason, and I take that more than his swipes. at organized religion to be the essential.
character of Jefferson. I also want to point out how wonderful this image is. The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor favor few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God. You can feel some of that American republicanism. a stir in your own heart.
I think when you hear those words, the idea that some people are born to rule and some people are born to be ruled over, that's not American. That's antithetical. to what we believe we are, to the belief that we have that anyone Ideally, he should be able to go as far as his or her talents can take them. That's what America is about. One final note on Jefferson.
He was a man who was conscious of his own importance, his fame. And you might think that Jefferson, when he designed his own tombstone, which being Jefferson and always wanting to design things, when he did this, he he chose very carefully the words engraved in the stone on that tombstone, which you can go see in Monticello.
Well worth the visit. And here's the entire epitaph. Here was buried Thomas Jefferson. Author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia. That's a beautiful resume.
Yeah. But what does it leave out? Yeah. Well It leaves that Two terms. As the third President of the United States, he leaves it out.
He leaves out all his other political accomplishments: being Secretary of State, being Governor of Virginia, his ambassadorial roles. All of that is left out. All of these in his mind Relate. to this mission of enlightenment. allowing the human mind The freedom, the latitude.
to express itself freely. the world. to worship or not worship God. And to establish an institution as a pattern for other institutions. To develop the power of reason.
Remember, this is not the first university in America, the first college. But the others Harvard, Yale, these are all founded to be seminaries. They're founded for religious instruction. That's so... The University of Virginia.
The University of Virginia. Wasn't about training ministers. It was about training free minds. And that Has turned out to be more the future of American higher education than the other. And it's also a very good description of who and what Thomas Jefferson was in our national life.
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery, himself, a Hillsdale College graduate. And a special thanks to Professor Bill McClay, who teaches history at Hillsdale College. A special thanks always to Hillsdale College. for sponsoring this show as well and being such a fundamental part of it. The story of Thomas Jefferson, as told by Bill McClay, his terrific book, Land of Hope, Get It Wherever You Can.
Here on Our American Stories. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. Most Mother's Day gifts end up in a drawer, but a song lives in the heart forever.
This year, TryJoybox.com is giving away 1 million free custom songs to celebrate 1 million incredible moms. Just share a few. memories and Joybox produces an original track and greeting card just for her instantly. It's the most personal gift you'll ever give and right now it's completely free. Make mom the star of her own song at tryjoybox.com.
One million songs, zero dollars, only at tryjoybox.com. At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all seem to be in a rush these days. from work to driving our kids around. But when you're behind the wheel, please. Do not speed.
A few minutes saved by going faster. is never worth a risk.
So follow the speed limit. Enjoy the drive. Maybe bring some snacks for the kids. and know that along the way, you're getting quality time with your family. Paid for by Nitza.
