History in Context: Thomas Jefferson on War
Monday, June 22 2026
Thomas Jefferson’s view of war was shaped by a deep study of history and hope for a new path for a young American nation.
- Published in Features
Planning America’s 25th Anniversary Celebration — Long Lost Document Discovered?
Monday, June 15 2026
Researchers at the National Archives recently made a startling discovery, uncovering a portion of a document that appears to discuss event planning for America’s 25th Anniversary.
- Published in Features
Who Was the Indispensable President?
Monday, April 27 2026
How would you answer the question of which U.S. president was indispensable to the Republic?
- Published in Features
Thomas Jefferson at the Brink of Immortality
Monday, March 16 2026
As the country approaches its 250th birthday, Clay profiles the 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson, the youngest member of the Virginia delegation, as he made his way to the Second Continental Congress and his date with immortality.
- Published in Features
Jefferson and Slavery: Ken Burns on MS-NOW
Tuesday, November 25 2025
Clay considers Ken Burns' recent portrayal of Thomas Jefferson in a recent interview, where Burns suggests the Declaration's "all men are created equal" applied only to propertied white males, urging a more nuanced look at Jefferson's universal ideals, racial suspicions, and his own contradictions as a slaveholder.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Humor on Trial in an Age of Disruption
Monday, September 22 2025
Free speech and the future in context.
- Published in Features
A Lewis and Clark Report Card: The Phases of a Journey
Tuesday, September 16 2025
How did the Lewis and Clark Expedition stack up against the model for the classic journey? Clay makes his assessment.
- Published in Features
Drowning the Missouri River — Lewis and Clark on the Reservoirs!
Monday, September 01 2025
The Missouri was a wild, free-flowing river when Lewis and Clark began their epic western journey in 1804. Today, much of that river is a series of reservoirs.
- Published in Features
Hunting Rivers’ Sources on the Upper Missouri
Monday, August 04 2025
Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and Clay Jenkinson all share a fascination with the origins of rivers.
- Published in Features
Exploring the Ohio River with Captain Lewis
Tuesday, June 24 2025
Following the path of Meriwether Lewis, Clay notes that while the famous explorer could be an outstanding journal writer, he was frustratingly unreliable in keeping a daily account of his transcontinental travels. No known journals exist for about half of the 28-month expedition.
- Published in Features