Ethan Allen Institute’s 30th Jefferson Day Event Was A Success

 

Each year since its founding the Ethan Allen Institute has presented a program to honor Thomas Jefferson’s legacy of liberty whose principles are reflected in the Institute’s mission.

“Thomas Jefferson and the Curse of Slavery” was the theme of the Institute’s 30thannual Jefferson Day Event. It was held at the Rutland Free Library on April 12. It featured a showing of the second half of Ken Burns’ acclaimed PBS documentary on Thomas Jefferson’s life with a focus on how, over the years, the Apostle of Liberty finally reached a troubled standoff with slavery in the early years of the new nation.

The program was presented by a man deeply involved in the production of this splendid documentary.  Kevin Kertscher is a noted film editor who worked closely with Ken Burns and his script writers to give viewers a revealing and fair minded account of Jefferson’s life, his philosophy and his relationship with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman on his Monticello plantation who was Jefferson’s deceased wife’s half-sister.

Following the showing of the film Mr. Kertscher described the challenges of putting together the film from the historical record, much of it still mired in controversy.

The program was co-sponsored with the Jefferson Legacy Foundation and Tom Cabot, Jack Welch, and Mark Candon.  It was introduced by EAI President Myers Mermel. Gov. Jim Douglas was a special guest.

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  • Thaddeus Cline
    commented 2023-05-08 17:28:34 -0400
    Why does it not surprise me that you had a Ken Burns production.
    After he totally got the Gulf of Tonkin situation wrong in Vietnam .
    Thank God you will have Gorge Will who at least does not get history wrong .
    From Fox to News Max you guys clearly like to follow a narrative you want to believe.
    And you never simply Google the facts to be sure what you herd was right .
    Now when VT Digger posts their opinion piece on the Koch bothers telling you who, what, when ,where, and how to say things to the people who won’t check the facts or even check were the subjective facts come from . And of course then not listing the objective ones.
    The fact you never list the conservative economists who have blown through the the bull that trickle don economics works . Says it all right there.
    I feel bad for your kids who will have to relearn all the lies you’ve let by as they grew up , simply because you never did.
    Not only will they find truth they’ll have to learn what the difference is between subjective facts and objective ones .
  • David Flemming
    published this page in EAI Blog 2023-02-27 11:11:53 -0500