(Mrs. Pittman crashes) - [Mrs. Pittman] Mr. Jefferson. - Yes. - [Mrs. Pittman] There
are several people here who wish an audience, sir. Are you available? - I am indeed. Good day friends, good day citizens of these new United States of America, good day friends from the Republic and friends from this
commonwealth of Virginia. Wherein I now sit in
this great cosmopolitan and fair city of Williamsburg, the city in which I
have lived for the past 20 years of my life. Coming here in the winter of '59 and '60. Mr. Jefferson made his way to this city to attend a college, the old
Royal College of King William and his wife Mary. I attended that institution. I have a-- Well, I must say I attended
that institution for two years, I received no degree and then
moved back in with my mother, which I hear is now an American tradition. You're welcome for starting
that one and those of you living under that
circumstance I assure you there is still the flicker
of candle before you. That there is still that
candle burning in the darkness. Press ever on, friends. You find yourself in that
situation, who knows, you might even become president some day. I wish to take questions from you. But before I do I have certain
understanding that you have some questions upon this
nation, upon this commonwealth, upon we, these citizens of
these new United States, about what is it that it
means to be a citizen. What is it that is the
state of this commonwealth? What is it that is the
state of this union? Equally, you might have
questions upon my circumstance, my upbringing, my domestic life. You might have questions
upon me as governor of this commonwealth of Virginia. Equally, I would be
very happy, I assure you to entertain questions upon
archeology, architecture, language, music, that is
natural philosophy, science, botany, zoology, chemistry,
astronomy, anatomy. It matters not to me,
friends, whether it be government theory,
philosophy or philosophers, there is not a blade of grass that grows uninteresting to me. Now, that being said, I apologize. I apologize for my lack of
skill at extemporaneous speech. It has been said of me
that I cannot string three sentences together, that
I have a bit of a stutter, to which I say true. (chuckles) These jokes are mostly for myself. Nonetheless, friends, if
you have not heard the news there is greatness upon us and
that is victory at Yorktown. Equally, there is darkness upon my person. I have left the high executive
office of governorship of this great commonwealth
under unhappy circumstances. I have been put on trial
by my friends, by my peers and now I find myself the happiest station that man can find, that is a citizen, just as you. A citizen under this Republic. And now we stand united, e pluribus unum, coming out of this crystalline
structure of government, out of many structures,
many creeds, many colors, many varieties of mankind put
through the crystal structure of government and then
pushed out of the other end through this government as one, united. That is where we find ourselves. The hope is that we might
remain united, friends. Though there will be
division amongst our number, though yes indeed there
will be a divisive nature amongst mankind that wishes
to tear this nation asunder and even, rest assured
there are men still living on this continent who wish
to see monarchy spread, who wish to see monarchy
in our new government. These are the very same men
who lived under the tyranny of monarchy and yet wish
to see that tyrannical seed spread upon this country. Disallow them. Assure them in the unity and
beautiful nature of mankind, multitudinous is its nature, that might be this new government. That the most beautiful and
most surest form of government is spread in the hands of the people, of you, of we, the people. That this government,
tumultuous in its nature, is the best government
man has yet created. Now that being said, I wish
to turn the conversation properly over to you. In proper parliamentary procedure
I have presented a motion, that motion being seconded. Thank you for your vote. And then voted upon. Thank you for your vote, again. And then, shall we say,
it is in the affirmative, in the majority. Congratulations, you majority. You now have the run of the room. This conversation is now
yours and I am yours, no longer as governor of
this commonwealth of Virginia in this year of 1781
but rather sit with you shoulder to shoulder, united. I have my woman here, Mrs. Pittman and she has been delightful
in her acquiescence towards relay me your
questions, your curiosities. There is nothing that
is taboo under the sun. Bring them to me, friends, and we shall, through the mutual conversation
of delight delve ever deeper into the collective
well of human knowledge. Mrs. Pittman, are there
curiosities already perambulating through the sphere? - [Mrs. Pittman] Yes, Mr. Jefferson. In fact, the first one is you, I believe, mentioned you were put on trial recently. Somebody is wondering if you
could perhaps say more on that. - You wish me to delve
into my own darkness of being put on trial. - [Mrs. Pittman] Well,
in fact, Elizabeth asks, "Isn't true that you fled Richmond "and left your wife and children there?" - Well, Elizabeth, I
apologize for these rumors that have been spread about this colony, state, I apologize. Old habits, you know. I grew up a loyalist, I grew up a subject and now we find ourselves
with these old habits being dashed away upon
the rocks of newness. I did not leave my family behind. As I recall, I was standing
on my little mountain June 3rd this year of 1781 when we were overrun. We were overrun by the British
who have since, of course, overrun Virginia since
their victory at Yorktown. You know, when I was
governor at my first term, I have since served two terms, when I was governor of my first
term Washington, I believe, wrote to me and inquired as to whether the Virginia Line of men
might be better served serving with the Continental Line. I saw great logos in his argument and so sent the Virginia Line away. (chuckles) Would that I had
known then what I know now. Our Virginia Line being sent away, well then, left Virginia unguarded. And wouldn't you know, when
Virginia was unguarded, Virginia was invaded under
my term as your governor. We have it to understand
that their object one was to, and I quote, "Disrupt government." Our capital has since been
removed from Williamsburg, this fair city, to Richmond Town. And their object being
to disrupt government their object was Richmond Town, where we had removed our state government. Those troops then occupying Richmond Town, I recalled government to my
home, to Charlottesville. Wherein those very same
troops continued, pursuing, harassing, haranguing us. My home was overrun. You know, when I recalled
government to my home at Charlottesville, my home Monticello, on, as I recall, June 28th, do you know how many delegates
showed up on June 28th? Aside from me, as the governor, of course. One. One man showed up when our
government was recalled. Finally on June 3rd, June
2nd, we had a quorum. Now, my term was to be ended on June 2nd, my term as governor. I'd made it known to the men
who were present, finally, at that quorum at my home Monticello, my home at Charlottesville,
I made it known that I was not to stand a third term, which is allowable by our
Virginia constitution. You can stand three
consecutive one-year terms before you are so disallowed
by our term limits, as Mr. Henry was. I'd made it known that I was
not to seek a third term. But it was a Friday and I
know not how your men of state stand but our statesmen, our politicians commonly do not wish
to work on the weekend. And so they pushed the
thing until June 4th and wouldn't you know on June
4th, my home was invaded. There came a man riding up the
mountain, Jack Jouett Junior. He rode 40 miles in one night to warn us that they were
coming, that we must separate. I was standing in the garden. I have a thousand foot long
garden there are Monticello. I wanted a 2,000 foot long
garden but my wife says there must be an end to things so there's a compromise for you. I was standing there tending to my kale and Jack Jouett Junior came
up, riding up with scratches upon his face, scars that
he still carries to this day and warned us that the
British were coming. I roused the delegates that were there, offered them breakfast. I am a Virginian. Some wine. I am a Virginian. And then issued them forth. And then I sent my family away down the south side of the mountain to a neighboring plantation
for their own safety. So did I leave them behind? Absolutely not. I was the last man remaining,
aside from my people, there are the hill, my
little mountain Monticello, when they finally came riding up. I watched my fields burn,
my livestock slaughtered what they did not carry off. But my family was away, first
and foremost, before me. I thank you, Elizabeth, for your question. I hope that we can squash these rumors that ride like fire upon
tinder of our minds. Let me tell you, that is
the God's honest truth of the matter. - [Mrs. Pittman] Abba, speaking
of wine, Mr. Jefferson, they ask, "Can you tell us "some of your favorite wine types? "Do you prefer red, white or sparkling?" - You wish to know about wine. What a delightful topic
upon these dark ages. A light that is before us. I always keep hope, you
know at the bow of the ship and fear at the stern, and I assure you that you cannot keep hope at the bow without a
nice glass of Madeira. That is the wine of my
choice, the wine of my youth. Madeira, of course, taking
its title from the island upon which that wine is
grown, the island of Madeira, very creatively named, off
of the coast of Portugal. I greatly enjoy Madeira
and spend a great amount of my monies upon Madeira. My palate has not yet
expanded, you understand, expanded to the great
wines that might be found upon the vaunted scene of Europe. These albarinos, these
margaux and bordeaux, we shall have to wait a few years. But for now, my heart
as it is in Virginia, my palate is upon Madeira. I recommend it. Stock your stores, friends. Madeira. - [Mrs. Pittman] Speaking
of wine and other hobbies, Carla has asked other than reading, what is your favorite hobby? - My favorite hobby other than reading. Well, I'm never a day off my horse. I say as much, I find horseback
riding the most agreeable form of exercise. My horses I spend a
great deal of money upon. They are not pets, to
me, they are my friends and as such I treat them. MY friends I ride, as I
said, every single day. In fact, I have spent
a great deal of money upon the Fearnought here in Virginia. The Fearnought as a series
of thoroughbreds upon which, if you have access, you
might find that spending a bit of coin access to those. My newest and most agreeable
horse, his name is Caractacus. Caractacus is my greatest
horse upon this moment and I ride him everyday. I should equally say that
I always carry my musket or at least my brace pistols with me. I say that I never miss a
bird from less than 30 yards with my Turkish pistols so
perhaps horseback riding and then a close second
is shooting at the fowl upon this country with
my pistols. (chuckles) - [Mrs. Pittman] Thank you, Mr. Jefferson. Several people have
inquired after your health, including Holly who asks, "Considering the health
issues facing us right now, "was there a time in your
life where something similar "occurred and if so,
how was that handled?" - Well, my health is quite fine, if you mean my physical health. My internal landscaped
has been somewhat dashed as of recently by this
trial put on by my friends. But nonetheless, inoculation, I suspect, is
what you're speaking of. Rest assured, friends, there
is nothing to be feared from inoculation. This sickness that has grown among mankind for many, many centuries might
be by the sciences of mankind and man's understanding
upon this world cured. Man might become immune, just
as man does through knowledge of being immune by the
mistakes made generations prior so might man become immune to
the illnesses and sicknesses. I was inoculated in
Philadelphia, as I recall. I had just passed the bar, I
had just become an attorney and I went to Philadelphia
where I was inoculated, laid up for several weeks, you understand. Inoculation does take
some time for your person to become accustomed to. My inoculation being in
Philadelphia stayed there for several weeks and
then myself becoming cured of that disease. Now I have continued my
inoculation practices to my family and, of course, to my people. My people, that is my slaves, those who situate themselves around me. There was nothing to be feared from truth, from honest reasoned
truth, fact, and science. And science has proved
that inoculation to be the best move forward towards mankind creating a better security for
their own persons in society. Have I answered the question? I hope so. - [Mrs. Pittman] I think you have. Charlotte, who is 10
years old, wants to ask, "What were your biggest challenges "when writing the
Declaration of Independence?" - The Declaration of Independence
and challenges therein. Well, first and foremost I should say that it's not easy to become a traitor. It's not easy to decide that the country under which you lived
is no longer a country under which you wish to live. To look at your government and say not only can we do better,
not only should we do better, but I will take it under
my own arms, my own person, to take up arms against my own country. To even shed blood. You know in 1776 when I had
the unhappy circumstance to author that document, you
realize I was tearing down the entire government under
which I lived my entire life, under which my parents
lived their entire lives, my grandparents and their
parents before them. It's not an easy or light decision, which is why I make statement
in that same Declaration that governments should not be changed for light and transient causes. But when you exist under a government that has so long enforced tyranny over you and has for so long
removed rights from you, then mankind has no choice but
to either alter the systems of government under which we live or to abolish it and create
a new system of government. That's the unhappy circumstance that we found ourselves in '76. But let me point you to this,
the radical nature of '76 isn't that we declared independence. The radical and audacious
nature of '76 isn't that even that we took the crown
off of one man's head. The radical nature of 1776 is
that after taking the crown off of one man's head, we
then turned right round and placed that crown upon all men. We had all of us, all of us,
existed under a government where one man wore a crown. One. By divine right, by blood right and we were now instituting a new system that truly allowed all men to have access to natural
rights of government. My document was mine. I wrote it solely. I wrote several drafts which you may read, if you have access to Doctor Google. Equally, that draft was sent
to my committee of five men Doctor Franklin, Sherman,
Livingston, Adams, myself, of course. They made minor alterations. I said, "We hold these truths
to be sacred and undeniable." Doctor Franklin, I believe it was, who suggested self-evident. I don't know, I suppose it will stick. Then we submitted out of
our committee of five men to the committee of a whole. That document was presented
on June 28th of '76. They chose to table the
issue and then take a vote for we cannot adopt a
document of independence if we have not first
voted for independence. So the vote was to be
had and the vote was, and let's not forget as to your point, the first vote for independence
was split, seven to six. Seven for, six against. We were divided even
in the summer of 1776. The vote finally for independence
was taken on July the 2nd, which is our nation's birthday,
our nation's natal day, as John Adams said, should
be remembered ad infinitum with parade and firework. So I hope that you, every single year, celebrate July the 2nd
as our nation's birthday. After we voted for independence,
then finally after two days of batter and back and
forth Congress emasculated my document and it became
theirs, it became ours, our nation's document, this
Declaration of Independence, in which included an anti-slavery
clause, was taken out. This anti-slavery clause being
taken out by South Carolina and Georgia. Now this is our document and
that document was finally, of course, agreed upon, the
ratified version, on July 4. - [Mrs. Pittman] To go
backwards a little bit, Mr. Jefferson, several
people have asked about the beginning of your
understanding of the law and particular about your
law professor, Mr. Wythe. In fact, Alice has asked, "Was Mr. Wythe a hard law professor?" And someone else has asked
why you did not finish your time at William and Marry. - Who was it that asked
about my time with law? - Alice.
- Alice. I thank you, Alice. I hope that you have some
curiosity upon government theory, upon law, lex scripta
and codified government as it moves forward and
always will through time. I hesitate to say your curiosity should, well, remain nothing more than that as there are no allowances
for women to become attorneys but there's nothing to bar you from, well, having a curiosity about the bar but you will never pass, you understand. Mr. Wythe is-- He's a resident of the
city of Williamsburg. He is my mentor, he is my friend
and in fact, I say as much he is my mentor in my youth and my friend throughout my entire life. Mr. Wythe is Virginia's
preeminent attorney and he took it upon me to find his answer in the affirmative. He did not need to take
me on as a student. There is only two ways truly a man may become an attorney in my time. That's either you can
leave this continent, you can go to an inn of
court, I-N-N of court. You can go to London if you
wish to understand the language or Edinburgh is you wish to
not understand the language or you can take the exam here. You can study with a well-respected, well- established attorney. I chose Mr. Wythe and Mr. Wythe chose me. And I studied under him for three years. Sometimes that study took
place here in Williamsburg and occasionally, in the
last year specifically, a great deal of that study
took place at my home. He gave me a great books to
read, Blackstone, of course, Cook, of course, as well as
philosophizers upon our time, ancient in their nature and
more current in their creation from Jean-Jacques Rousseau
to Aristotle to Montesquieu to John Locke, of course. In his "Second Treatise of
Government", John Locke says that all men are born free and equal. Those studies of those men and
those philosophies took place here in Williamsburg under
Mr. George Wythe who was, strangely enough, a signer of that Declaration of
America's Independence. There is a great circle, a
great progression of thought wherein one generation
passes the torch to the next and that generation catching
from the one prior passes it to the next and the next and the next, on from Aristotle to Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Mr. George Wythe to me and now to you. You are now the bearers of this torch. Just as I studied under Wythe, so might you take our
philosophies and bring them forth in your time. There is nothing different, Alice. Man has been doing the same thing. So long as man can read,
so long as man is educated we might carry that torch and we might, in this new Republic, outlast the Romans. Wouldn't that be nice? I like that. - [Mrs. Pittman] Mr. Jefferson, Jessica, as well as several other people have asked about your wife and children. - Yes. - [Mrs. Pittman] She has said
that she'S not learned much about your wife and children
and would you be willing to enlighten us about your personal life? - My personal life as it
pertains to my wife is quite a domestic question but
I understand, Jessica, that me being a public
figure might have my personal and domestic life exposed to
the whim and understanding of the public. I married my wife in 1772. She was married prior to me, you know. Her first husband was Bathurst Skelton. He died quite suddenly of an-- Well, there was a sudden
instance that took his life and caused him to shed his
mortal coil upon this earth. And she became a widow and
I was her father's attorney. When her husband died, I
began calling on her father, as his attorney, a bit more frequently. Just purely out of understanding
from client to attorney, you understand and well,
wouldn't you know it that in those conversations,
well, a relationship began. As I recall, there was one moment when she was still in mourning, she was in her year of annus
luctus, a year of mourning and there came a moment when
I was calling on her father for purely attorney privileges and there was the light
touch of a pianoforte wafting the second street
and second-story window and my horse perked up its
ears and trotted right over. I had no say in the matter, none. It was the wisest choice
my horse ever made. I knocked upon the door
and inquired as to whether the widow Skelton might be
amenable to me accompanying her. Me with my violin, my
pochette, a violin which is a small violin, it sits
in the crook of your arm, just that big. Can you imagine a
smaller device that holds all of the world's music? Anyway, we played "The
Flowers of Edinburgh" and then we wanted to
marry in '71 but her child by her first marriage
past away and so we chose to push the wedding off. We said we'd push it off
until some time in '72. And so on January 1 of '72, we married. We could not stay apart. We married at her father's plantation among a terrible snowstorm and
then we spent our honeymoon also at her father's plantation,
which was a true delight. A true, true delight. I recommend that for anyone
who is becoming married to spend your entire
honeymoon at your in-laws. It's a real pleasure. And then we had our first
child the next year, Martha. You know when my Martha
discovered that she was with child we had the question which
is, "What do we name her?" If it is a girl, what do we name her? If it a boy? She said, "If it is a
boy, we should name her "after your father Peter Jefferson." And I said, "That's fine and
good but what if it is a girl?" And she said, "We should
name her after you, Martha." And she said Virginia
has too many Marthas. So fine, we'll name her
after my sister Martha. And so the next year, Martha,
Martha, and I celebrated our first Christmastide at Monticello. Since I've had several
children with my wife Martha, childbirth is not easy upon
her and we lose a great number but we are hoping to carry our progeny into the next generation. And someday we'll have more
grandchildren than John Adams. Hypothetically. Have I answered your question?
- Mr. Jefferson. - Yes. - [Mrs. Pittman] We are approaching the end of your availability but we have so many questions coming in. I was wondering if you would
be able to rapid-fire answer some of our questions? First question.
- Yes, let us say 30 seconds each. Very good.
- Yes, first question from Kimberly, "Do you have
pets and do you like cats?" - Do I have pets, Kimberly,
and do I like cats? Well, there are some mousers at Monticello and they do what mousers do. My pets, I have a deer park at Monticello and if you come, Kimberly, you might, as is common to my
custom, if I have you over we can have a fine dinner
and then I'll put some corn in your hand and you can
reach it over the fence into my deer park and feed
them out of your hand. Equally, and lastly, I
have some mockingbirds that are my dear friends and as you know, mockingbirds have a great
fluency with notes and tones and I have attempted, my favorite
mockingbird is named Dick, and I have attempted to
teach Dick how to speak Greek and Latin. - Jenny--
- It's not gone well. - [Mrs. Pittman] I can imagine. Jenny-Lynn asks, "What
is your favorite flower?" - My favorite flower, Jenny-Lynn. Well, I like all flowers
but I suppose any flower, Jenny-Lynn, thank you, is
the flower that produces the best fruit. I say that the best gift
that may be introduced to any country is the
introduction of a new plant. Now I have encouraged a
many new plants to come in, including rice and peas
and beans, kale even. So any flower, in my opinion,
that produces the proper fruit which may be produced with
the greatest efficiency upon the sustenance of mankind, well that is a flower worth
producing, reproducing and spreading about
this entire new country. Thank you, Jenny-Lynn. - [Mrs. Pittman] Jordie asks,
"What tavern is your favorite "in Williamsburg?" - What tavern is my
favorite in Williamsburg? Any tavern that is open. Next question. - [Mrs. Pittman] Kaylin wants to know if you love mac and cheese like her cousin Kurt does.
- Kaylin wants to know if I like mac and cheese. - [Mrs. Pittman] Yes, macaroni and cheese. - Oh, macaroni. Oh, macaroni is a type of-- I understand. I've never been to France. I've never been to another country, unless you count
Massachusetts, and most men do. So I suspect that I might
attend the vaunted scenes of Europe at some point and
might introduce to this country some type of macaroni,
which is their terminology for a noodle. And a noodle being formed into
this type might be produced upon some cheese upon which
might be placed, I recommend, into some mold. A mold gelatinous in its nature
and place it in your center so that you might discover with
your friends, your patrons, and those sitting around
you whether the thing is a solid or a liquid. It shakes, you know. So put your mac and cheese into a mold, gelatinous in its nature. That's what I recommend. What else? - [Mrs. Pittman] Macie
asks, "How old were you "when you became governor?" - How old was I, Macie,
when I became governor? Well, a gentleman never tells his age and I would not dare tell
mine upon this strange stage we find ourself today. I will certainly say this. I was born in the year 1743. 1743. April, in fact of 1743
and I was elected governor in June of 1779, so
I'll let you do the math and well, you need something to do while you're whiling away
your hours at your home. - [Mrs. Pittman] Barbara
asks, "What is your favorite "Christmas tradition?" - My favorite Christmas tradition
is meeting with my family. Christmastide is-- I'm a man of state and
commonly that pulls me away from my home eight months out of the year. And eight months out of
the year I find myself away from my wife, away from my children, away from my beautiful home, that mountain topped treat at Monticello. My favorite aspect of Christmas is that I have no state business
to attend to but my family. I can truly spend at least
12 days of Christmastide with them, solely with them,
and occasionally pull myself away from my wife and children
to write a few letters. I cannot help but writing and
I cannot help but reading. - [Mrs. Pittman] Ellie,
age six, and Ben, age four, have asked, "How long
have you played the violin "and which music do you
enjoy listening to?" - Ellie and Ben, upon
the violin and music, I enjoy Corelli, I enjoy
Abel, I enjoy Handel. If you would know these
names, these are great names that take their place upon
my music stand at home. I began learning violin
at a very young age. I was the fortunate
son of a gentry family, which means the gentry
family had some money. And I being the eldest
son of a gentry family, it's understood of me that
I would receive a great amalgamation of education
included of which is horseback riding, dancing,
of course, languages, music, and understanding of ancient
philosophies and grammar, et cetera. Music, I say, is the passion of my soul. I hope it will be the passion
of yours going forward. I continue to play my violin. In fact, I played my violin
in between writing drafts of the Declaration of
America's Independence. My violin was my
instrument of inspiration. - [Mrs. Pittman] Several people
have asked, Mr. Jefferson, do you know George Washington
and his beautiful wife Martha? - Do I know George
Washington and his what? - [Mrs. Pittman] Beautiful wife Martha. - Is she-- I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that. - [Mrs. Pittman] Another Martha. - Another Martha. His wife Martha.
- Washington. - Ah, yes. I have met with Washington, of course. I was elected, of
course, in the year 1769, here in Williamsburg and
Washington already being a member of the House of Burgesses, we have served together since 1769. We served together at
the Continental Congress and I cannot say that
I know his wife Martha but I have, of course, understood
that he has been married. And I understand that she is
a delightful, lovely woman of some, perhaps polite conversation and I hope and have no
doubt that the four of us, that is my wife Martha,
George and his wife Martha will have a lifelong communal
friendship of happiness. There will never ever be
a moment of distinction between our two families. We shall ever remain
united as we were in 1776 all the way through until
the rest of our lives. - [Mrs. Pittman] I have no
doubt about it, Mr. Jefferson. - I'm certain. - [Mrs. Pittman] We
have one last question. And please don't feel like
you have to be rapid on this. Bethany has asked, "Can you
elaborate on why you believe "history is perhaps one of
the most important subjects "to study?" Bethany, you have it and
that is that history, I say, is the most important subject
that there is to study. There are multitudinous
subjects which man might find great curiosity, great interest and might improve mankind at large. We've equally spoken of
philosophy and the sciences and specifically as it pertains to anatomy and mankind's inoculation. But the point of history is this, if you, Bethany, were to
walk into a lending library and open up, perhaps
you were in Philadelphia and you entered into Doctor
Franklin's lending library and you were to walk
into the history section and you were to open up a book of history and you were to blow off the
dust and open its creaky pages and read them and you might say, "My God, what ancient tired old mistakes." And then you would close that
book and you would reshelve it in the correct position, Bethany, and then you would step
out of that lending library into terra incognita and you would learn from those mistakes. You would understand
them so as to not repeat the same mistakes made generations prior. You would step out into terra incognita and then you would make new mistakes. Man is imperfect. I say it this way, man
cannot create a government that is better than mankind itself. It's impossible. The government that you create,
Bethany, will be imperfect as the government that
we created was imperfect. We are man, we are flawed but the hope is that by studying history we might understand the
mistakes made generations prior and not repeat them in future generations. Now, here's the thing, Bethany. Some day your mistake, should
this Republic last so long, your mistakes (chuckles)
will be written about by the flicker of candle. There will be men who
will look at your life and they will say this was a
mistake and that was a mistake and this might be exonerated. And someday, your mistakes will be bound in leather tome volumes and they will be bound
in lending libraries and someday your children
and grandchildren might someday enter into
those lending libraries and walk down the history section and they will pick up a
volume and they will open it, its pages creaking and they will say, "My God, Bethany, what
ancient tired old mistakes." You will be faulty as our government is faulty. But the hope is, with an
understanding of history, with an understanding
of reading and writing, that our future generation
might learn from these mistakes. If you see that your government is repeating the same mistakes
made generations prior this means one of two things. Either one, man is not reading history or two, more dangerously,
man is reading history and then choosing willfully
to remain ignorant of the lessons contained therein. You might as well not even open up a book in the first place. History is a manual for
mankind to be better. In our government, we
allow for change over time which means you will get
the government you want, not the government we created. And if you wish the government you want, you must understand the
mistakes made generations prior. This is my ardent drum that I shall beat for the rest of my life
and that is education. Education is the key to this
entire experiment working. And if you achieve an
education, if you can read and you do read history,
then we shall, together, outlast the Romans, Bethany. Shall we? I believe we can. Is that it? - [Mrs. Pittman] I believe you have another appointment, sir. - I have another appointment. - [Mrs. Pittman] Your
wife needs you at home. - Oh, my wife always needs me. Very good. Well then, friends, allow
me to say thank you. Thank you for this
delightful conversation, a mutual confab that we
have delved ever deeper into the collective
well of human knowledge. I hope that you shall join us again. In these strange time, we shall no doubt be meeting you here. Here in the city of Williamsburg
but most importantly here, right upon this face, this
screen that you see before you. We shall meet you where the people are and together we shall move ever forward, we shall bear this torch from
one generation to the next. Friends, stay in touch and if you would, perhaps if you have some, I know not, electronic form of communication and I suspect that you do
as we are now communicating at this moment, might you subscribe to us that way we can continue to
communicate in every form that we might deem possible. I have no idea what I'm talking
about but the word subscribe keeps appearing in my mind
so please click the button, subscribe, send us your information and we can continue to supply information. A beautiful delight upon
this fledgling country moving forward to your beautiful persons as now citizens of these new
United States of America. Thank you, friends. Signing off, Thomas Jefferson. (Mrs. Pittman thuds)
