Sharing History: 100 Years of Telling American Stories at Monticello

Every object tells a story, right? So, imagine what 5,000 might have to say. In this episode, Monticello curators Susan Stein, Diane Ehrenpreis, and Emilie Johnson discuss the extensive collection of objects they and their predecessors have amassed over the past 100 years related to Thomas Jefferson and his famous Virginia home and plantation. They highlight some of the most significant items belonging to Jefferson and his family, and objects connected to the enslaved people who lived and worked at Monticello. The curators explore how the collecting priorities and interpretive approach have evolved over time to provide a more complete picture of Jefferson as a thinker and founder, but also the complicated reality of slavery and the diverse lives of all those who called Monticello home.

Monticello today is an American icon, Jefferson's architectural masterpiece, and a symbol of the American story. It's on the back of the U.S. Nickel. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Replicas of it dot the American landscape, both real and imaginary. But it wasn't always so. At the end of the 19th century, many doubted Jefferson had even designed it. But that changed with the rediscovery of Jefferson's architectural drawings in the early 20th century. What followed is a story of remarkable careers, passionate dedication, economic challenges, and innovative approaches that have made Monticello one of the most enduring places in the American imagination.

On April 13, 1909, Maud Littleton, wife of a well known New York attorney and politician, fulfilled a life-long desire to visit Monticello. Despite a "kind and hospitable" reception by the house's then-owner Jefferson Monroe Levy, Littleton was not impressed and shortly after launched a years-long public campaign first to purchase and then to wrest Monticello from Levy, whose family had owned and preserved the property for nearly 80 years. For both Levy and Littleton, Monticello was a shrine to its original owner and national hero, Thomas Jefferson. For both it was a place worth fighting for "to the last ditch." In this episode of Sharing History, journalist, author, documentary filmmaker, Steven Pressman -- with help from author Marc Leepson and Susan Stein, Monticello's Richard Gilder Senior Curator, Special Projects -- describes the battles that took place in Congress and across the nation in a time before national parks or the widespread appearance of privately operated historic sites.

When the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation took possession of Monticello, it didn’t just have a house to restore, it had a reputation to restore: Jefferson’s. In his own lifetime, Jefferson was a controversial partisan figure, beloved by many as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and reviled by others for his political views. Following the Civil War, Jefferson's esteem in the public eye had plummeted because of his views on race and states' rights. By the turn of the 20th century, he was, as one admirer called him, the "forgotten man."

In this episode of Sharing History, we explore how the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation and a coalition of civic groups, politicians, and ordinary citizens came together to restore and reinvent Jefferson's image and remind Americans of his essential contributions. The revival of Jefferson's reputation required a deliberate campaign in the media, history books, public schools and politics. We’ll look at key moments in the rehabilitation of Jefferson's reputation that stressed the timeless relevance of Jefferson's ideals and positive legacies. Hosted by Frank Cogliano, Acting Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, Stephen Light, Interim Vice President for Guest Experiences at Monticello, and Monticello Digital Guide David Thorson.

In 1923, the newly created Thomas Jefferson Foundation fulfilled its primary purpose by acquiring Monticello to preserve it in Jefferson’s memory. But now it had another problem: money. Faced with a large mortgage and impending repairs to the main house, the new owners had to move fast to hire staff and find novel ways to pay for it all. Along the way, the Foundation would employ ingenious fundraising, stage some very unusual publicity stunts, and in the end, help restore not only Jefferson’s home but his reputation as one of America’s Founders.

The battle for Monticello was waged with pamphlets and letters. It was waged in Congress and in newspapers. It was even waged Good Housekeeping! It was a knock-down, drag-out, often dirty fight that ultimately ushered in a new era of how Americans preserved, honored, and examined their history. Join us for the first installment of "Sharing History: 100 Years of Telling American Stories at Monticello," a limited podcast series about the history of Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which was founded in 1923 to acquire Jefferson's mountaintop home and open it to the public.