Special Ticketed Fundraiser
May 15: Jefferson on Protecting Democracy
Hear Jefferson’s insights on navigating the political divides that defined our democracy.
Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m.
Tickets - $17.76
**STUDENTS admitted free at door**
Haddonfield United Methodist Church
29 Warwick Rd, Haddonfield, NJ 08033
"In the Course of Human Events..."
Working with Friends & Foes to Protect Democracy
The election of 1800 brought about a constitutional crisis that almost split the nation and undermined our fledgling government “by the people” before it had a chance to truly take flight.
That election was the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another under the new United States Constitution. In the opinion of our third president, Thomas Jefferson, that made it the culmination of the American Revolution. But it very nearly failed to turn out that way.
Join Thomas Jefferson on Wednesday, May 15 as he examines how the United States successfully navigated this first great test of our constitutional elective system.
Through stories of his relationships with three men that he knew and worked with personally —John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr—Jefferson shares his insights on how the founding generation avoided this near disaster. Then Jefferson contrasts American survival with the stories of three men that he knew well but not personally —Caesar, Gorgias, and Napoleon— who represent a crucial Jeffersonian theory about the demise of their respective popular governments: the Roman Republic, the ancient Athenian democracy and France’s First Republic.
Jefferson presents a possible roadmap for our own contemporary struggles on “the boisterous sea of liberty” as he considers great thinkers that he and other founders turned to as authorities and guides: Locke, Hobbes and Montesquieu.
Covering 2,000 years of the human struggle to establish and nourish self-government, this visionary founder offers us something that was precious to him: hope.
Special Event
Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m.
Tickets - $17.76
~Students admitted free at door~
Haddonfield United Methodist Church
29 Warwick Rd, Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Meet Steve Edenbo of the American Historical Theatre
Steve Edenbo came to Haddonfield with Eben Kuhns (Hamilton) in 2022 in Jefferson v. Hamilton: Conflict and Constitution.
The pair didn’t disappoint! Not only did the show quickly sell out -- they received a standing ovation at closing!
They presented a debate between the two most controversial founding fathers, Jefferson and Hamilton, in which discussions centered on the topics most relevant to their day and to ours: state versus national authority in government, the framing of the Constitution and its interpretation, the establishment of the First National Bank and its constitutionality, and the people’s voice in government.
A Wolf by the Ear, created for Independence National Historical Parks, clarifies Jefferson’s feelings about slavery. “We have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other,” wrote Jefferson in 1824.
Edenbo shares Jefferson’s love of reading, writing, and good wine, as well as a love of the outdoors and the need to balance intimate friendships with solitude.
He has a background in research and writing; His theater experience includes improvisation, voice and singing.
Edenbo has interpreted Jefferson at venues around the country including Monticello, The National Archives, Independence National Historical Park and the Smithsonian Institution among others.
He's interpreted Jefferson at numerous schools and colleges, as well as for professional development seminars throughout the country for judges, lawyers and educators.
To learn more about Steve Edenbo and the American Historical Theatre, visit AHTheatre.org.