The "Thomas Jefferson" Documentary Premieres Today

February 17, 2025 - The History Channel is commemorating President's Day with the premiere of its new documentary series on Thomas Jefferson. Set to air at 7 PM Central time, the documentary is set to be a multi-part series. With each episode available for streaming on the History Channel website the next day after its premiere.

The "Thomas Jefferson" documentary series is the first installment in what the History Channel is planning as a "History Honors 250" celebration; given that next year will mark 250 years since the USA first declared its independence from the King of England. Indeed, pivotal in declaring the 13 colonies free from the British monarchy, was Thomas Jefferson. For, as the series states, "His words shaped our nation."

The primary author of The Declaration of Independence, the highly educated Thomas Jefferson penned the revolutionary preamble to The Declaration of Independence which states that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

While modernity has tried to mock the founding fathers for these words by stating that when they said "All men are created equal", they only meant themselves; at the time they were written the rigid class system of lords and serfs and kings by accident of birth rather than merit, was still in place all over the world. Consequently, when Thomas Jefferson coined the term "All men are created equal", it was a source of inspiration for the pioneering colonials since it didn't limit equality to only the nobles and first-born sons of the King and princes. In fact, the phrase "All men are created equal" has become emblematic of the American ideal in its democratic republic system of government.

Additionally, as the new country's third president, Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the country via the Louisiana Purchase and ordered the Lewis and Clark expedition to chart and explore the newly acquired lands.

Devastated when his beloved wife Martha passed away, Jefferson pledged to her that he would never marry again. And perhaps the most controversial aspect of Jefferson's life stems from this pledge, as he then began an intimate physical relationship with his late wife's half-sister, Sally Hemmings. Since Hemmings was in his household staff in the state of involuntary servitude, this somewhat sordid aspect of his life is often used to discredit the ideals he espoused in his writings. But, whether he fully abided by his ideals or not, The Declaration of Independence has served to inspire future generations to stand for freedom and self-government, even 250 years after Jefferson wrote it.

A preview of the History Channel documentary series is available here: https://play.history.com/shows/thomas-jefferson/season-1/episode-1/preview-thomas-jefferson

Luisa Reyes is an attorney in Tuscaloosa with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Judson, a master's degree in library science, and a law degree from Samford's Cumberland School of Law. She is also a piano instructor and vocalist.