thomas jefferson

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Thomas Jefferson wished to be remembered for three achievements in his public life . He had served as governor of Virginia , as U .S . minister to France , as secretary of state under George Washington , as vice-president in the administration of John Adams , and as president of the United States from 1801 to 1809 . On his tombstone , however , which he designed and for which he wrote the inscription , there is no mention of these offices . Rather , it reads that Thomas Jefferson was "author of the Declaration of American Independence , of the Statute

of Virginia for religious freedom , and Father of the University of Virginia " and , as he requested "not a word more " Historians might want to add other accomplishments--for example , his distinction as an architect naturalist , and linguist--but in the main they would concur with his own assessment

Early Life

Jefferson was born at Shadwell in what is now Albemarle County , Va , on Apr . 13 , 1743 . He treated his pedigree lightly , but his mother , Jane Randolph Jefferson , came from one of the first families of Virginia his father , Peter Jefferson , was a well-to-do landowner , although not in the class of the wealthiest planters . Jefferson attended (1760-62 ) the College of William and Mary and then studied law with George WYTHE . In 1769 he began six years of service as a representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses . The following year he began building Monticello on land inherited from his father . The mansion , which he designed in every detail , took years to complete , but part of it was ready for occupancy when he married Martha Wayles Skelton on Jan . 1 , 1772 . They had six children , two of whom survived into adulthood

Martha Washington Jefferson (1772-1836 Jane Randolph Jefferson (1774-75 infant son (1777 Mary Jefferson (1778-1804 Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson (1780-81 Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson (1782-84

Jefferson 's reputation began to reach beyond Virginia in 1774 , when he wrote a political pamphlet , A Summary View of the Rights of British America . Arguing on the basis of natural rights theory , Jefferson claimed that colonial allegiance to the king was voluntary "The God who gave us life " he wrote "gave us liberty at the same time : the hand of force may destroy , but cannot disjoin them

Declaration of Independence

Elected to the Second Continental Congress , meeting in Philadelphia Jefferson was appointed on June 11 , 1776 , to head a committee of five in preparing the Declaration of Independence . He was its primary author although his initial draft was amended after consultation with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and altered both stylistically and substantively by Congress . Jefferson 's reference to the voluntary allegiance of colonists to the crown was struck also deleted was a clause that censured the monarchy for imposing slavery upon America

Based upon the same natural rights theory contained in A Summary View to which it bears a strong resemblance , the Declaration of Independence made Jefferson internationally famous . Years later that fame evoked the jealousy of John Adams , who complained that the declaration 's ideas were...