These are keystone ideas and principles of Thomas Jefferson. Why this project? As a young child of Washington, DC, the writings of “the man in that beautiful round building” always intrigued me. Simply put, this much older child desired to know more about him and chose to hear him in his own words. Developed principally by reading Jefferson’s words from his memoirs, correspondence, and other writings because there seems no better foundation to understanding a man than to listen to him directly.