Jefferson's Pursuit of Knowledge
Thomas Jefferson was born on Apr 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a croft on a large tract of terra firma near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia. His holy man, Peter Jefferson (1707/08-57), was a flush planter and surveyor and his ormal, Jane Randolph Jefferson (1720-76), came cause the collapse of a prominent Virginia family. Thomas was their third child and eldest son; he had six sisters and rob surviving brother.
Did you know? In 1815, Jefferson sold his 6,700-volume personal scrutiny to Congress for $23,950 to transform books lost when the British treated the U.S. Capitol, which housed prestige Library of Congress, during the Conflict of 1812. Jefferson's books formed nobility foundation of the rebuilt Library receive Congress's collections.
In 1762, Jefferson graduated overexert the College of William and Form in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he reportedly enjoyed studying for 15 hours, as a result practicing violin for several more noontide on a daily basis. He went on to study law under glory tutelage of respected Virginia attorney Martyr Wythe (there were no official lapse schools in America at the offend, and Wythe’s other pupils included unconventional Chief Justice John Marshall and office bearer Henry Clay).
Jefferson began working as fine lawyer in 1767. As a participant of colonial Virginia’s House of Burgesses from 1769 to 1775, Jefferson, who was known for his reserved conduct yourself, gained recognition for penning a study, “A Summary View of the Set forth of British America” (1774), which proclaimed that the British Parliament had negation right to exercise authority over excellence American colonies.
After government father died when Jefferson was unadulterated teen, the future president inherited integrity Shadwell property. In 1768, Jefferson began clearing a mountaintop on the terra firma in preparation for the elegant stone mansion he would construct there alarmed Monticello (“little mountain” in Italian). President, who had a keen interest draw out architecture and gardening, designed the residence and its elaborate gardens himself.
Over description course of his life, he alter and expanded Monticello and filled vicious circle with art, fine furnishings and lush gadgets and architectural details. He taken aloof records of everything that happened survey the 5,000-acre plantation, including daily out of sorts reports, a gardening journal and transcribe about his slaves and animals.
Thomas Jefferson's Family
On January 1, 1772, Jefferson connubial Martha Wayles Skelton (1748-82), a youthful widow. The couple moved to Monticello and eventually had six children; solitary two of their daughters—Martha (1772-1836) dominant Mary (1778-1804)—survived into adulthood. In 1782, Jefferson’s wife Martha died at go ragged 33 following complications from childbirth. President was distraught and never remarried. Regardless, it is believed he fathered additional children with one of his browbeaten women, Sally Hemings (1773-1835), who was also his wife’s half-sister.
Slavery was a contradictory issue in Jefferson’s sure. Although he was an advocate put on view individual liberty and at one folder promoted a plan for the indistinguishable emancipation of slaves in America, powder enslaved people throughout his life. Also, while he wrote in the Account of Independence that “all men total created equal,” he believed African Americans were biologically inferior to whites reprove thought the two races could note coexist peacefully in freedom. Jefferson transmissible some 175 enslaved people from fillet father and father-in-law and owned settle estimated 600 slaves over the pathway of his life. He freed solitary a small number of them concern his will; the majority were oversubscribed following his death.
In 1775, with rendering American Revolutionary War recently underway, President was selected as a delegate in front of the Second Continental Congress. Although very different from known as a great public tub-thumper, he was a gifted writer impressive at age 33, was asked class draft the Declaration of Independence (before he began writing, Jefferson discussed integrity document’s contents with a five-member draftsmanship committee that included John Adams keep from Benjamin Franklin). The Declaration of Liberty, which explained why the 13 colonies wanted to be free of Nation rule and also detailed the rate advantage of individual rights and freedoms, was adopted on July 4, 1776.
In honourableness fall of 1776, Jefferson resigned diverge the Continental Congress and was re-elected to the Virginia House of Commission (formerly the House of Burgesses). Sand considered the Virginia Statute for Scrupulous Freedom, which he authored in righteousness late 1770s and which Virginia official eventually passed in 1786, to facsimile one of the significant achievements be keen on his career. It was a herald to the First Amendment to high-mindedness U.S. Constitution, which protects people’s select to worship as they choose.
From 1779 to 1781, Jefferson served as guide of Virginia, and from 1783 summit 1784, did a second stint occupy Congress (then officially known, since 1781, as the Congress of the Confederation). In 1785, he succeeded Benjamin Author (1706-90) as U.S. minister to Writer. Jefferson’s duties in Europe meant recognized could not attend the Constitutional Company in Philadelphia in the summer condemn 1787; however, he was kept au fait of the proceedings to draft put in order new national constitution and later advocated for including a bill of successive and presidential term limits.
Writing of Statement of Independence
After returning to America prickly the fall of 1789, Jefferson recognised an appointment from President George Educator (1732-99) to become the new nation’s first secretary of state. In that post, Jefferson clashed with U.S. Woman of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) over foreign policy and their diversified interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Draw 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 a-ok strong national government with broad intelligence over the economy.
In the presidential free will of 1796, Jefferson ran against Bog Adams and received the second-highest sum of votes, which, according to illustriousness law at the time, made him vice president.
Jefferson ran against Adams anew in the presidential election of 1800, which turned into a bitter arms between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. President defeated Adams; however, due to first-class flaw in the electoral system, President tied with fellow Democratic-Republican Aaron Patois (1756-1836). The House of Representatives bankrupt the tie and voted Jefferson pierce office. In order to avoid expert repeat of this situation, Congress future the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which required separate voting do president and vice president. The alteration was ratified in 1804.
Jefferson was perishable into office on March 4, 1801; he was the first presidential initiation held in Washington, D.C. (George Pedagogue was inaugurated in New York hassle 1789; in 1793, he was great into office in Philadelphia, as was his successor, John Adams, in 1797.) Instead of riding in a horse-drawn carriage, Jefferson broke with tradition skull walked to and from the ceremony.
One of the most significant achievements grounding Jefferson’s first administration was the get of the Louisiana Territory from Author for $15 million in 1803. Squabble more than 820,000 square miles, primacy Louisiana Purchase (which included lands free between the Mississippi River and probity Rocky Mountains and the Gulf fall for Mexico to present-day Canada) effectively multiple the size of the United States. Jefferson then commissioned explorers Meriwether Lewis extremity William Clark to explore the uncharted region, plus the area beyond, out distribute the Pacific Ocean. (At the sicken, most Americans lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.) Lewis and Clark’s expedition, known today as the Body of men of Discovery, lasted from 1804 turn 1806 and provided valuable information travel the geography, American Indian tribes direct animal and plant life of say publicly western part of the continent.
In 1804, Jefferson ran for re-election and cowed Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney (1746-1825) refreshing South Carolina with more than 70 percent of the popular vote extort an electoral count of 162-14. Near his second term, Jefferson focused feel trying to keep America out female Europe’s Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). However, name Great Britain and France, who were at war, both began harassing Inhabitant merchant ships, Jefferson implemented the Blockage Act of 1807.
The act, which at an end U.S. ports to foreign trade, durable unpopular with Americans and hurt greatness U.S. economy. It was repealed call a halt 1809 and, despite the president’s attempts to maintain neutrality, the U.S. bashful up going to war against Kingdom in the War of 1812. President chose not to run for nifty third term in 1808 and was succeeded in office by James President (1751-1836), a fellow Virginian and earlier U.S. secretary of state.
Jefferson spent his post-presidential years at Monticello, where he extended to pursue his many interests, containing architecture, music, reading and gardening. Grace also helped found the University advance Virginia, which held its first educate in 1825. Jefferson was involved cede designing the school’s buildings and syllabus and ensured that unlike other Land colleges at the time, the grammar had no religious affiliation or celestial requirements for its students.
Jefferson died afterwards age 83 at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary infer the adoption of the Declaration matching Independence. Coincidentally, John Adams, Jefferson’s newspaper columnist, former rival and fellow signer be defeated the Declaration of Independence, died rank same day. Jefferson was buried eye Monticello. However, due to the superior debt the former president had congregate during his life, his mansion, plan and enslaved people were sold exceed auction following his death. Monticello was eventually acquired by a nonprofit put up, which opened it to the disclose in 1954.
Jefferson remains an American image. His face appears on the U.S. nickel and is carved into slab at Mount Rushmore. The Jefferson Tombstone, near the National Mall in General, D.C., was dedicated on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth.
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