By DERRICK GALINDO
Student Reporter
Which president of the United States was an architect, an expert in library science, one of the first to learn calculus and one of the fathers of modern paleontology and archaeology practices?
Students and all those in attendance at the Presidential Lecture Series learned all this and more about the third American president, Thomas Jefferson.
The NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies and Department of Social Sciences sponsored the Presidential Lecture Series on Tuesday. Students in attendance were part of the recording of Clay Jenkinson’s podcast “Listening to America.”
Jenkinson is a native of North Dakota and a humanities scholar. His many works include books covering topics about Thomas Jefferson, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Theodore Roosevelt and many more. He is also a historical impersonator, or Chautauqua. He has performed as many historical figures all over the United States.
During this lecture, Dr. Aaron Mason, professor of political science, joined Jenkinson in discussion of Thomas Jefferson and the American West.
Over the 1 1/2 hours, they discussed Jefferson’s presidency and the work he did in securing the Louisiana Purchase. Despite neither of Jefferson or Bonaparte knowing what was in the area up for purchase, this opened America to what lay in the west.
The topic of the West led to discussion of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, and the clash of ideals between Jefferson and Roosevelt. Despite the time between Jefferson’s death and Roosevelt’s birth, Jefferson and Roosevelt held different beliefs.
From lifestyle to government, they could not be more different. They were so different that Roosevelt even despised Jefferson and his ideas.
One of the last major topics covered that afternoon was very topical to today’s society. The concept of American Exceptionalism.
“… Name another nation that’s tried to do the things we do,” Jenkinson said. “You can’t drive this country without being filled with a sense of joy and wonder of the things we have. You could spend years just getting to know Wyoming. You could spend years getting to know Oklahoma. The historic sites, the different rivers, the landscapes, the mountains, the prairies, the indigenous people who’ve been here. This is a very remarkable experience. In America, you could go to a national park, sit around a campfire at night, eat canned beans, drink canned coffee, and look under the stars and be filled with joy and wonder that you live in the United States of America.”
