Conversations With History: Thomas Jefferson

An Interview with Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay Jenkinson

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, an avid inventor, and principal author of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt will be played by actor Clay Jenkinson. Jenkinson is a humanities scholar, author, and social commentator who has devoted most of his professional career to public humanities programs and is considered one of the most entertaining public speakers in the United States. His performances are always humorous, educational, thought-provoking, and enlightening, while maintaining a steady focus on ideas. Jenkinson is also one of the nation’s leading interpreters of Thomas Jefferson. He has lectured about and portrayed Jefferson in forty-nine states over a period of fifteen years. Jenkinson also portrays Meriwether Lewis, John Wesley Powell, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Theodore Roosevelt. He has performed before Supreme Court Justices, Presidents, eighteen state legislatures, and countless public, corporate, and student audiences as well as appearing on The Today Show, Politically Incorrect, The Colbert Report, and CNN.