“But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all republicans, we are all federalists.” Thomas Jefferson: 1st Inaugural, 1801

"My chief object is to let the good sense of the nation have fair play, believing it will best take care of itself." Thomas Jefferson, 1802

"No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth.” Thomas Jefferson, 1804

“I am tired of an office where I can do no more good than many others, who would be glad to be employed in it.  To myself, personally, it brings nothing but unceasing drudgery and daily loss of friends…My only consolation is in the belief that my fellow citizens at large will give me credit for good intentions.” Thomas Jefferson, 1807
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PROGRAM FEATURES
During a program designed for instruction and delight you will:

• Make a private after-hours visit to Thomas Jefferson's mountaintop plantation, Monticello (1768-1796; 1796-1809), and enjoy a guided tour that will allow you to explore areas not normally open to visitors.  This will be a special opportunity to linger over Monticello's special Entrance Hall circa 1807-1809 exhibit, reflecting the period when Jefferson displayed natural history specimens and Native American objects sent to him by Lewis and Clark.


 

• Trace, with an expert faculty, Thomas Jefferson's thoughts and concerns about the Presidency, how they evolved, and how they impacted the peoples of a young nation.

• Enjoy a reception and dinner in U.Va.'s Jefferson-designed Rotunda (1826), a half-scale model of the Pantheon in Rome and the signature landmark of the University.  The site of our dinner, the Dome Room, originally housed the University library.


 

• Explore the development of political parties in the 1790s and the attendant tensions, conflicts, and resolutions.  Study Jefferson’s role as party leader and analyze his effectiveness in managing Congress in unprecedented ways.

• Tour the Academical Village, the heart of the Jefferson designed University of Virginia (1817-1826), with a talented architectural historian.


 

• Study a cast of characters in Jefferson’s social and political circles that included many of the most important people in the early Republic.


 

• Examine the gripping Presidential election of 1800 and its consequences for Jefferson, for a political culture in transition, for the common citizen, and for America’s role on the World stage.

• Discuss Jefferson’s domestic and foreign policy successes and failures as President.

• Settle into the Jefferson Symposium tradition of relaxing informal evening conversations and discussions as the shadows steal quietly across the beautiful Lawn.

• and much more...Return to top

Architecture enthusiasts are in for a treat.  Both Monticello and the University of Virginia’s Academical Village are on the UNESCO World Heritage List of fewer than 400 sites worldwide recognized for universal cultural value transcending political and geographic boundaries. Other sites on the World Heritage List include the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids. 

THE PROGRAM FACULTY
Among the faculty of experts leading the Jefferson Symposium's interactive sessions are:

• Joanne Freeman, faculty co-director, is Professor of History in the Yale University Department of History.  She is the author of Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic and the editor of Alexander Hamilton: Writings.  She also has published articles on politics, the code of honor, and dueling in The William and Mary Quarterly, The Journal of the Early Republic, and The Yale Law Journal.

• Edward Gaynor is Associate Director of Special Collections at the University of Virginia Library.

• Matthew Holden is the Doherty Professor Emeritus of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia and a leading authority on public policy and American government.  Among his major books are Continuity and Disruption: Essays in Public Administration and The Divisible Republic.

• J. Jefferson Looney is Editor-in-Chief of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, at the International Center for Jefferson Studies, Thomas Jefferson Foundation.Return to top

• Peter S. Onuf, faculty co-director, is Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History at the Corcoran Department of History, University of Virginia.  He is author of Jefferson's Empire: The Language of American Nationalism and is co-editor of The Revolution of 1800: Democracy, Race, and the New Republic and editor of Jeffersonian Legacies.

• Herbert E. Sloan is the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of History at Barnard College.  His published works include Principle and Interest: Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Debt and “The Earth Belongs to the Living,” an essay in Jeffersonian Legacies. 

• Andrew Trees has taught at the University of Virginia, Rhodes College, and Rutgers University, Newark.  He currently is an instructor in History at the Horace Mann School.  In 2003 Princeton University Press published his book The Founding Fathers and the Politics of Character. 

• Camille Wells has worked as an architectural historian for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.  She teaches and lectures widely, is the author of several essays on the landscapes and buildings of early Virginia, and was editor of the first two volumes in the Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture series. Return to top

• Program Director: Tom Dowd, Senior Director of Program Development, University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies.  Return to top

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This program is perfect for anyone who enjoys travel and learning opportunities that provide intellectual stimulation in a welcoming and congenial environment.  The Jefferson Symposium offers unsurpassed value, rich content, and a history of exceptional participant satisfaction.  At program's end you will leave with a broader, richer understanding of Thomas Jefferson, the Presidency, and late-18th and early 19th century America.

Join us and discover that, as one past participant wrote, "The symposium creates a forum for thinking and discussing that we just don't encounter as we play our everyday roles; it helps us explore ourselves and what we believe."  Return to top

THE PROGRAM LOCATION

This program will take place on the historic grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia is the product of the vision and determination of Thomas Jefferson.  Reflecting three of Jefferson’s strongest interests - education, architecture, and gardening - the core of the University is the Jefferson-designed Academical Village.  With its ranges, its terraced green Lawn flanked by colonnaded walkways connecting Pavilions and student rooms, and overseen at its north end by the magnificent Rotunda, the Academical Village has been proclaimed the most significant architectural achievement of the nation’s first 200 years.

Rich in history, architectural treasures, and natural beauty, Charlottesville is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 120 miles southwest of Washington, DC, and 70 miles west of Richmond.  Charlottesville (airport code = CHO) has extensive air service provided by US Airways, United Air Lines, and Delta Air Lines.  Ground transportation is provided by Amtrak and Greyhound.   Return to top

Before you arrive, you will be sent useful program materials and information about the University of Virginia and Charlottesville. 

Need travel assistance and/or trip protection? Our preferred travel provider is Peace Frogs Travel/Outfitters, offering traveler's insurance and deeply discounted travel. 

Check the Charlottesville weather.Return to top

PROGRAM LODGING

During the program you will have the option of staying in the University of Virginia's original Jefferson designed student rooms on the Lawn*, in Mr. Jefferson's Academical Village.  These single occupancy rooms have telephones and are served by centrally located restroom and bath facilities. The Lawn rooms are not air-conditioned but there is a fan in each Lawn room and Charlottesville weather is usually very pleasant in June. During the academic year, the Lawn rooms are reserved for undergraduate students in their final year who have contributed significantly to the University and to the community. 

Air-conditioned dormitory lodging is available in U.Va.'s Brown College at Monroe Hill, which is located very near the center of the University.

*Due to simultaneous registration via phone, fax, mail, and Internet, it is possible that a Lawn room may not be available when we receive your registration and payment.  In the event that you have paid for a Lawn room and none is available, we will notify you, discuss other lodging options, and explain our refund procedure.

We have also reserved limited blocks of rooms at:

• the Red Roof Inn at 1309 West Main Street, a five-minute walk from the University of Virginia. These rooms are available at a special reduced rate of $59.99 plus tax per room per night, single or double.  To book one of these rooms call the hotel directly at 1-434-295-4333.  The group number for the Jefferson Symposium block of rooms is B-246SYMPJE.

• the Best Western Cavalier Inn at 105 N. Emmet Street, a five minute walk from the University of Virginia.  These rooms are available at the special rate of $70.00 plus tax.  To book a room at the Cavalier Inn call the hotel directly at 1-434-296-8111 and ask about rooms for the Jefferson Symposium. 

Other nearby hotels offering reasonable room rates are also a lodging option.  From inns and bed and breakfasts to luxury hotels, Charlottesville/Albemarle County provides visitors with comfortable accommodations to suit every need.  Extensive information about local lodging is available at www.charlottesvilletourism.org. Return to top

PROGRAM SCHEDULE 
(subject to change)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16 2:00 pm: Program Check-In
4:00 pm: Program Introduction
4:30 pm: Session 1: The Revolution of 1800, Peter Onuf 
6:00 pm: Opening Reception, Colonnade Club Garden
Free Evening  Return to top THURSDAY, JUNE 17 7:30 am: Breakfast, Colonnade Hotel (1817)
9:00 am: Session 2: Party Conflict in the 1790s, Herbert Sloan
10:30 am: Refreshment Break
11:00 am: Session 3: Dramatis Personae, Andrew Trees
12:45 pm: Lunch
2:15 pm: Session 4: The Election of 1800: An Affair of Honor, Joanne Freeman
3:45 pm: Free Time
5:30 pm: Depart for Monticello
6:00 pm: Session 5: Special After-Hours Tour of Monticello (1768-96; 1796-1809)
Free Evening  Return to top FRIDAY, JUNE 18 7:30 am: Breakfast, Colonnade Hotel
9:00 am: Session 6: Jefferson and Finance, Herbert Sloan
10:30 am: Refreshment Break
11:00 am: Session 7: Jefferson, Federalism, and Foreign Policy, Peter Onuf
12:45 pm: Lunch
2:00-4:30 pm: Session 8: Researching Jefferson Electronically-in Two Groups (2:00 & 3:30), Edward Gaynor
2:00-4:30 pm: Session 9: Tours of the Academical Village-in Two Groups (2:00 & 3:30), Camille Wells 
7:00 pm: Reception and Dinner, The Rotunda
8:30 pm: Session 10: Jefferson, Marshall, and Burr, Matthew Holden  Return to top SATURDAY, JUNE 19 7:30 am: Breakfast, Colonnade Hotel
9:00 am: Session 11: Jefferson and His Friends: Party Organization and Mobilization, Joanne Freeman
10:30 am: Refreshment Break
11:00 am: Session 12: The Post-Presidency Jefferson, J. Jefferson Looney
12:45 pm: Lunch
2:00 pm: Session 13: Legacies of the Jefferson Presidency, A Faculty Conversation
3:30 pm: Refreshment Break
4:00-5:30 pm: Session 14: Small Group Discussions with Faculty
Free evening   Return to top SUNDAY, JUNE 20 8:00 am: Breakfast 
9:30 am: Session 15: Concluding Panel Discussion, All Faculty
11:00 am: Program Concludes   Return to top