The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson: America’s Third President
Thomas Jefferson was elected president in 1800 in what he termed the “Revolution of 1800.” He promised to rework government and fundamentally change the direction of the Nation. As president, he doubled the size of the Nation with the Louisiana Purchase, cut federal spending dramatically, opened West Point as part of his program to democratize and expand the Nation, created enormous internal and external conflicts with his trade embargo, and launched the Nation into an extended period as a Jeffersonian Republic. Studying Jefferson during his eight years in the highest executive office provides important insights both into Jefferson and the nature of the presidency even today.
June 26 - 29, 2022
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
Lodging on Grounds is limited to SJS registered participants only.
Lawn Room
Registration $1,295 per person
(meals are included)
Add Lodging at Lawn Room
(3-nights) $180 per person
Single occupancy only
Brown College
Registration $1,295 per person
(meals are included)
Add Lodging at Brown College
(3-nights) $180 per person
Options for single or double occupancy
Off Grounds
Registration Only $1,295 per person
(meals are included)
Hotel Recommendations (Contact directly to reserve your room—limited rooms)
The Graduate Hotel $199/night
(call 434-295-4333 request UVA Lifetime Learning Jefferson Symposium rate)
Marriott Courtyard UVA Medical Center $139/night
(call 434- 817-2799 request UVA Lifetime Learning Jefferson Symposium rate)
FACULTY LEADER
JOHN A. RAGOSTA, PH.D., J.D.
Historian, Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, Monticello; former University of Virginia School of Law faculty
John Ragosta, a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, has taught law and history at the University of Virginia, George Washington University, and Oberlin, Hamilton, and Randolph Colleges. Currently a fellow at Virginia Humanities, Ragosta has also held fellowships at Colonial Williamsburg (through the Jack Miller Center) and at Monticello. He is the author of Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed (UVA Press, 2013), and Wellspring of Liberty: How Virginia’s Religious Dissenters Helped to Win the American Revolution & Secured Religious Liberty (Oxford University Press, 2010).
His most recent book is Patrick Henry: Proclaiming a Revolution (Routledge, 2016). He is co-editor of The Founding of Thomas Jefferson’s University (UVA, Press 2019). Before returning to academia, Ragosta was a partner at Dewey Ballantine LLP. An award-winning author and frequent commentator, Ragosta holds both a Ph.D. and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.
Lindsay M. Chervinsky
Kundrun Fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History
Lindsay M. Chervinsky is an expert on the Cabinet, presidential history, and U.S. government institutions. Currently, she is the Kundrun Fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential History. Previously, she was a historian at the White House Historical Association and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Chervinsky received her B.A. in history and political science from the George Washington University and completed her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. She is the author of the award-winning The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, which was published by Harvard University Press (April 2020) and the forthcoming An Honest Man: The Inimitable Presidency of John Adams (2024). Her writing has been published on CNN.com, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Ms. Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Hill, and more.
Justene Hill Edwards
History Professor, Corcoran Department of History, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia
Justene Hill Edwards teaches in the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia. She is a historian of African American history, specializing in the histories of slavery and American capitalism. Always highlighting the experiences of enslaved and formerly enslaved people, Hill Edwards explores the complicated relationship between economic freedom and political freedom for people of African descent in the United States. She is the author of Unfree Markets: The Slaves’ Economy and the Rise of Capitalism in South Carolina. Unfree Markets explores the economic lives of enslaved people, not as property or bonded laborers, but as active participants in their local economies. It provides the fullest account to date of the strategies that enslaved people used to create their own networks of commerce, from the colonial period to the Civil War. Hill Edwards’ next book, The Bank: African Americans’ Struggle for Economic Equality in Reconstruction America, is a history of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, known as the Freedman’s Bank, founded in 1865.
Holly Cowan Shulman
Research Professor of History, Editor of The Dolley Madison Digital Edition, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia
Holly Cowan Shulman is a Research Professor in the Corcoran Department of History and the editor in chief of the complete papers of Dolley Madison published by the University of Virginia Press: The Dolley Madison Digital Edition. She is currently working on a book about Dolley Madison, the institution of slavery, and Madison’s enslaved community. Among her other works, Shulman is also an editor of The Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia. Shulman earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and holds an M.A. from Columbia and a B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Kirt von Daacke
Assistant Dean, Undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences, and Professor of History in Corcoran Department of History in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia
Kirt von Daacke is Assistant Dean and Professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia. A historian, he co-chaired the UVA President’s Commission on Slavery from 2013 to 2019 and now co-chairs the new UVA President’s Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation. He is the author of Freedom Has a Face: Race, Identity, and Community in Jefferson’s Virginia, co-author of the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University 2018 Report, a contributing author to the edited volume Educated in Tyranny: Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s University, and is currently editing a new volume, After Emancipation: A History of Race, Community, and the University of Virginia. He also founded and leads “Jefferson’s University: The Early Life Project,” a major digital humanities initiative.
This symposium is designed for adult learners 18 and over.
This is a moderately active symposium that requires some walking on uneven terrain, climbing steps, and prolonged standing. This symposium will follow a leisurely pace, but it is entirely up to you to pace yourself according to your own capability. It is always possible to choose not to participate in certain activities.
Lifetime Learning in the University of Virginia Office of Engagement adheres to all University of Virginia and state of Virginia COVID guidelines. We invite you to review the UVA-Policy Directory for the most up-to-date information and requirements.
May 23, 2022, at 11:59 PM EDT
Check-in: Sunday, June 26, at 12:00 PM EDT
Check-out: Wednesday, June 29, at 11:00 AM EDT
Lifetime Learning will refund 100% of participant registration costs if the University of Virginia deems this program cannot take place.
Should a participant wish to cancel, a full refund can be requested until May 23 at 11:59 PM EDT with written notice emailed to Lifetime Learning at LifetimeLearningUVA@virginia.edu.
No refunds will be issued after May 23, 2022, unless UVA requires this program to be cancelled.
THOUGHTS FROM THE LAWN
The Thoughts From the Lawn blog features posts by UVA faculty related to upcoming lectures, books written, educational events, and research conducted on relevant topics. Join the discussion and share your thoughts.