WILLIAMSBURG — How did the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, spend his days? Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Nation Builder Kurt Smith, who portrays Jefferson, reminds us that even presidents put their pants on “one leg at a time.”
“We sometimes look at Jefferson (and the other presidents) as grandiose. We look at their grand projects, grand writings, and gestures. But that is just one view of these humans, and it tends to put them on this high pedestal and remove the humanity from them,” said Smith.
Because Jefferson kept copious notes on his daily life, historians, such as Smith, can imagine what filled the president’s days.
“While his letters and public papers subject us to one type of understanding of the man, his memorandum books present us with an opportunity to enjoy the tiniest, quiet moments in his life,” said Smith.
One humanizing fact that Smith shares is that Jefferson awoke with the sun and dunked his feet in a cold-water bath each day, citing the health benefits.
Jefferson was known to make daily notations of expenses, purchases, air temperature, observations and quotes.
Jefferson was extremely interested in the world around him, particularly nature. It is recorded that he paid to see a pig, twice. According to Smith, a note in Jefferson’s memorandum was as followed:
April 11, 1769 – Pd. for seeing a hog weighing more than 1050 lb
October 27, 1769 – Pd. for seeing a tyger
November 7, 1769 – Pd. for seeing a great hog
“Yes, it was the same pig,” said Smith, with a laugh.
Smith points out another Jefferson fact that is often overlooked. Jefferson became a single father after the death of his beloved wife, Martha, a role that was taken very seriously. Jefferson created curriculum for his daughters and expected that they live a full and busy life.
“How much more humanizing can a person get? The majority of Jefferson’s life, he saw himself as just a dad,” said Smith.
“What grand lesson might be teased from Jefferson’s daily records of such pedestrian and humdrum activity?” asks Smith, “In these tiny and quiet notes, jotted in solitude, is the fact that he was a human. On the same day his countrymen passed a vote on his treasonous declaration, he might have been itching to get outside to take the ambient air temperature. He bought toys and daydreamed about renovating his house. He lived, at times, a mundane life; other times, it was extraordinary.”
An observation made by Ellen Morgan Peltz, Public Relations Manager for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, “Presidents, then and now, have a brand they are putting out. So, finding out who they are underneath that brand shows the person. One thing I love about Colonial Williamsburg is we strive to show the person through flesh and bone. Through interpretation, we can breathe life into history and make it more relatable.”
Visitors can interact with Thomas Jefferson at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation through Visit a Nation Builder performances, special performances at the Hennage Auditorium inside the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, and impromptu audiences in the Historic Area. For up-to-date information on daily programming, visit the CW Planner on colonialwilliamsburg.org.
