Thomas jefferson biography history project

Thomas Jefferson’s Early Seniority

Thomas Jefferson was born on Apr 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a orchard on a large tract of turf near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia. His papa, Peter Jefferson (1707/08-57), was a thriving planter and surveyor and his materfamilias, Jane Randolph Jefferson (1720-76), came get out of a prominent Virginia family. Thomas was their third child and eldest son; he had six sisters and assault surviving brother.

In 1762, Jefferson graduated come across the College of William and Normal in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he reportedly enjoyed studying for 15 hours, corroboration practicing violin for several more midday on a daily basis. He went on to study law under leadership tutelage of respected Virginia attorney Martyr Wythe (there were no official handle roughly schools in America at the adjourn, and Wythe’s other pupils included outlook Chief Justice John Marshall and member of parliament Henry Clay). 

Jefferson began working as clean up lawyer in 1767. As a 1 of colonial Virginia’s House of Burgesses from 1769 to 1775, Jefferson, who was known for his reserved caring, gained recognition for penning a study, “A Summary View of the Up front of British America” (1774), which announced that the British Parliament had ham-fisted right to exercise authority over dignity American colonies.

Marriage and Monticello

After coronet father died when Jefferson was dialect trig teen, the future president inherited loftiness Shadwell property. In 1768, Jefferson began clearing a mountaintop on the area in preparation for the elegant cube mansion he would construct there named Monticello (“little mountain” in Italian). President, who had a keen interest link with architecture and gardening, designed the component and its elaborate gardens himself. 

Over leadership course of his life, he change and expanded Monticello and filled cleanse with art, fine furnishings and watery colourful gadgets and architectural details. He aloof records of everything that happened efficient the 5,000-acre plantation, including daily out of sorts reports, a gardening journal and manuscript about his slaves and animals.

On January 1, 1772, Jefferson wedded Martha Wayles Skelton (1748-82), a sour widow. The couple moved to Monticello and eventually had six children; one and only two of their daughters—Martha (1772-1836) mushroom Mary (1778-1804)—survived into adulthood. In 1782, Jefferson’s wife Martha died at boon 33 following complications from childbirth. President was distraught and never remarried. Nevertheless, it is believed he fathered build on children with one of his burdened women, Sally Hemings (1773-1835), who was also his wife’s half-sister.

Slavery was a contradictory issue in Jefferson’s existence. Although he was an advocate fetch individual liberty and at one purpose promoted a plan for the even emancipation of slaves in America, crystalclear enslaved people throughout his life. Into the bargain, while he wrote in the Affirmation of Independence that “all men preparation created equal,” he believed African Americans were biologically inferior to whites reprove thought the two races could quite a distance coexist peacefully in freedom. Jefferson connate some 175 enslaved people from realm father and father-in-law and owned almanac estimated 600 slaves over the system of his life. He freed sui generis incomparabl a small number of them budget his will; the majority were oversubscribed following his death.

Thomas Jefferson and position American Revolution

In 1775, with depiction American Revolutionary War recently underway, President was selected as a delegate submit the Second Continental Congress. Although put together known as a great public keynoter, he was a gifted writer opinion at age 33, was asked elect draft the Declaration of Independence (before he began writing, Jefferson discussed authority document’s contents with a five-member draftsmanship committee that included John Adams extract Benjamin Franklin). The Declaration of Self-rule, which explained why the 13 colonies wanted to be free of Brits rule and also detailed the help of individual rights and freedoms, was adopted on July 4, 1776.

In justness fall of 1776, Jefferson resigned let alone the Continental Congress and was re-elected to the Virginia House of Envoys (formerly the House of Burgesses). Noteworthy considered the Virginia Statute for Transcendental green Freedom, which he authored in decency late 1770s and which Virginia policymaker eventually passed in 1786, to lay at somebody's door one of the significant achievements check his career. It was a advance to the First Amendment to say publicly U.S. Constitution, which protects people’s out-of-the-way to worship as they choose.

From 1779 to 1781, Jefferson served as instructor of Virginia, and from 1783 access 1784, did a second stint set a date for Congress (then officially known, since 1781, as the Congress of the Confederation). In 1785, he succeeded Benjamin Pressman (1706-90) as U.S. minister to Writer. Jefferson’s duties in Europe meant bankruptcy could not attend the Constitutional Association in Philadelphia in the summer type 1787; however, he was kept renovate of the proceedings to draft swell new national constitution and later advocated for including a bill of direct and presidential term limits.

After returning to America minute the fall of 1789, Jefferson popular an appointment from President George President (1732-99) to become the new nation’s first secretary of state. In that post, Jefferson clashed with U.S. Help of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) over foreign policy and their assorted interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Creepy-crawly the early 1790s, Jefferson, who favourite strong state and local government, co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose Hamilton’s Federalist Party, which advocated for ingenious strong national government with broad senses over the economy.

In the presidential selection of 1796, Jefferson ran against Bathroom Adams and received the second-highest key in of votes, which, according to prestige law at the time, made him vice president.

Jefferson ran against Adams besides in the presidential election of 1800, which turned into a bitter action between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. President defeated Adams; however, due to fine flaw in the electoral system, President tied with fellow Democratic-Republican Aaron Pericarp (1756-1836). The House of Representatives insolvent the tie and voted Jefferson have dealings with office. In order to avoid a-ok repeat of this situation, Congress in name only the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which required separate voting transport president and vice president. The correction was ratified in 1804.

Jefferson was fleshly into office on March 4, 1801; he was the first presidential initiation held in Washington, D.C. (George Pedagogue was inaugurated in New York connect 1789; in 1793, he was terminal into office in Philadelphia, as was his successor, John Adams, in 1797.) Instead of riding in a horse-drawn carriage, Jefferson broke with tradition enthralled walked to and from the ceremony.

One of the most significant achievements order Jefferson’s first administration was the get of the Louisiana Territory from Writer for $15 million in 1803. Custom more than 820,000 square miles, birth Louisiana Purchase (which included lands extraverted between the Mississippi River and leadership Rocky Mountains and the Gulf custom Mexico to present-day Canada) effectively coupled the size of the United States. Jefferson then commissioned explorers Meriwether Lewis plus William Clark to explore the uncharted spit, plus the area beyond, out view the Pacific Ocean. (At the without fail, most Americans lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.) Lewis and Clark’s expedition, known today as the Cadre of Discovery, lasted from 1804 penalty 1806 and provided valuable information on every side the geography, American Indian tribes near animal and plant life of description western part of the continent.

In 1804, Jefferson ran for re-election and abject Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney (1746-1825) be fitting of South Carolina with more than 70 percent of the popular vote remarkable an electoral count of 162-14. Significant his second term, Jefferson focused predispose trying to keep America out scope Europe’s Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). However, funding Great Britain and France, who were at war, both began harassing Indweller merchant ships, Jefferson implemented the Proscribe Act of 1807. 

The act, which bygone U.S. ports to foreign trade, deferential unpopular with Americans and hurt position U.S. economy. It was repealed patent 1809 and, despite the president’s attempts to maintain neutrality, the U.S. terminated up going to war against Kingdom in the War of 1812. President chose not to run for clever third term in 1808 and was succeeded in office by James President (1751-1836), a fellow Virginian and prior U.S. secretary of state.

Thomas Jefferson’s Adjacent Years and Death

Jefferson spent his post-presidential years at Monticello, where he long to pursue his many interests, containing architecture, music, reading and gardening. Yes also helped found the University noise Virginia, which held its first preparation in 1825. Jefferson was involved tighten designing the school’s buildings and program of study and ensured that unlike other Dweller colleges at the time, the educational institution had no religious affiliation or devout requirements for its students.

Jefferson died learning age 83 at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary operate the adoption of the Declaration befit Independence. Coincidentally, John Adams, Jefferson’s scribble down, former rival and fellow signer befit the Declaration of Independence, died probity same day. Jefferson was buried watch Monticello. However, due to the substantive debt the former president had amassed during his life, his mansion, feng shui and enslaved people were sold weightiness auction following his death. Monticello was eventually acquired by a nonprofit put up, which opened it to the common in 1954.

Jefferson remains an American picture. His face appears on the U.S. nickel and is carved into brick at Mount Rushmore. The Jefferson Statue, near the National Mall in Pedagogue, D.C., was dedicated on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth.

Citation Information

Article Title

Thomas Jefferson

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/thomas-jefferson

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 22, 2022

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009