In the past half-century, the question of character has loomed large in discussions of the American presidency. Does a person lacking integrity also lack the moral capital true leadership requires? Must the president be someone we can hold up as a model to our children? Why has presidential character become a major public concern? Related Themes: history, presidents

Clay S. Jenkinson began presenting Thomas Jefferson in character in 1984 and has since made presentations in nearly every state to thousands of gatherings, including school children, supreme court justices, and a gala celebration of the 250th anniversary of Jefferson's birth at a White House event hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Jenkinson is a Rhodes and Danforth scholar and winner of one of the first five National Endowment of the Humanities' highest honor: the Charles Frankel Prize (now called The National Humanities Medal). Related Themes: history, presidents