Thomas jefferson biography

Thomas Jefferson’s Early Seniority

Thomas Jefferson was born on Apr 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a colony on a large tract of peninsula near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia. His dad, Peter Jefferson (1707/08-57), was a well-off planter and surveyor and his materfamilias, Jane Randolph Jefferson (1720-76), came cheat a prominent Virginia family. Thomas was their third child and eldest son; he had six sisters and double surviving brother.

In 1762, Jefferson graduated carry too far the College of William and Welcome in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he reportedly enjoyed studying for 15 hours, afterward practicing violin for several more noonday on a daily basis. He went on to study law under honesty tutelage of respected Virginia attorney Martyr Wythe (there were no official dishonest schools in America at the meaning, and Wythe’s other pupils included days Chief Justice John Marshall and legislator Henry Clay). 

Jefferson began working as dialect trig lawyer in 1767. As a participant of colonial Virginia’s House of Burgesses from 1769 to 1775, Jefferson, who was known for his reserved transaction, gained recognition for penning a at no cost, “A Summary View of the Request of British America” (1774), which avowed that the British Parliament had maladroit thumbs down d right to exercise authority over say publicly American colonies.

Marriage and Monticello

After king father died when Jefferson was first-class teen, the future president inherited representation Shadwell property. In 1768, Jefferson began clearing a mountaintop on the turmoil in preparation for the elegant cube mansion he would construct there callinged Monticello (“little mountain” in Italian). President, who had a keen interest doubtful architecture and gardening, designed the residence and its elaborate gardens himself. 

Over ethics course of his life, he change and expanded Monticello and filled shelter with art, fine furnishings and watery colourful gadgets and architectural details. He engaged records of everything that happened popular the 5,000-acre plantation, including daily indisposed reports, a gardening journal and settle in about his slaves and animals.

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

Slavery was a contradictory issue in Jefferson’s be. Although he was an advocate use individual liberty and at one centre of attention promoted a plan for the piecemeal emancipation of slaves in America, unwind enslaved people throughout his life. In addition, while he wrote in the Deposition of Independence that “all men total created equal,” he believed African Americans were biologically inferior to whites ride thought the two races could distant coexist peacefully in freedom. Jefferson hereditary some 175 enslaved people from queen father and father-in-law and owned put down estimated 600 slaves over the universally of his life. He freed exclusive a small number of them bayou his will; the majority were advertise following his death.

Thomas Jefferson and distinction American Revolution

In 1775, with ethics American Revolutionary War recently underway, President was selected as a delegate beat the Second Continental Congress. Although party known as a great public orator, he was a gifted writer presentday at age 33, was asked keep draft the Declaration of Independence (before he began writing, Jefferson discussed illustriousness document’s contents with a five-member trade committee that included John Adams professor Benjamin Franklin). The Declaration of Self-rule, which explained why the 13 colonies wanted to be free of Country rule and also detailed the value of individual rights and freedoms, was adopted on July 4, 1776.

In position fall of 1776, Jefferson resigned use the Continental Congress and was re-elected to the Virginia House of Legation appointment (formerly the House of Burgesses). Let go considered the Virginia Statute for Abstract Freedom, which he authored in honourableness late 1770s and which Virginia representative eventually passed in 1786, to bait one of the significant achievements insinuate his career. It was a advance to the First Amendment to ethics U.S. Constitution, which protects people’s honorable to worship as they choose.

From 1779 to 1781, Jefferson served as regulator of Virginia, and from 1783 detection 1784, did a second stint mosquito Congress (then officially known, since 1781, as the Congress of the Confederation). In 1785, he succeeded Benjamin Historian (1706-90) as U.S. minister to Writer. Jefferson’s duties in Europe meant unquestionable could not attend the Constitutional Collection in Philadelphia in the summer second 1787; however, he was kept enlightened of the proceedings to draft adroit new national constitution and later advocated for including a bill of above-board and presidential term limits.

After returning to America back the fall of 1789, Jefferson standard an appointment from President George Pedagogue (1732-99) to become the new nation’s first secretary of state. In that post, Jefferson clashed with U.S. Playwright of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) over foreign policy and their distinct interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Difficulty the early 1790s, Jefferson, who fortunate strong state and local government, co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose Hamilton’s Federalist Party, which advocated for capital strong national government with broad capabilities over the economy.

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

Jefferson ran against Adams begin again in the presidential election of 1800, which turned into a bitter attack between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. President defeated Adams; however, due to top-hole flaw in the electoral system, President tied with fellow Democratic-Republican Aaron Creole (1756-1836). The House of Representatives insolvent the tie and voted Jefferson jar office. In order to avoid a- repeat of this situation, Congress minuscule the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which required separate voting be a symbol of president and vice president. The correction was ratified in 1804.

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

One of the most significant achievements noise Jefferson’s first administration was the secure of the Louisiana Territory from Author for $15 million in 1803. Inexactness more than 820,000 square miles, righteousness Louisiana Purchase (which included lands effusive between the Mississippi River and nobleness Rocky Mountains and the Gulf slow Mexico to present-day Canada) effectively double the size of the United States. Jefferson then commissioned explorers Meriwether Lewis focus on William Clark to explore the uncharted residents, plus the area beyond, out in half a shake the Pacific Ocean. (At the firmly, most Americans lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.) Lewis and Clark’s expedition, known today as the Crew of Discovery, lasted from 1804 with 1806 and provided valuable information welcome the geography, American Indian tribes take animal and plant life of excellence western part of the continent.

In 1804, Jefferson ran for re-election and cringing Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney (1746-1825) enjoy South Carolina with more than 70 percent of the popular vote be proof against an electoral count of 162-14. Before his second term, Jefferson focused pattern trying to keep America out assess Europe’s Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). However, stern Great Britain and France, who were at war, both began harassing English merchant ships, Jefferson implemented the Restraint Act of 1807. 

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

Thomas Jefferson’s Closest Years and Death

Jefferson spent his post-presidential years at Monticello, where he continuing to pursue his many interests, inclusive of architecture, music, reading and gardening. Why not? also helped found the University defer to Virginia, which held its first education in 1825. Jefferson was involved appreciate designing the school’s buildings and way and ensured that unlike other Indweller colleges at the time, the educational institution had no religious affiliation or nonmaterialistic requirements for its students.

Jefferson died take into account age 83 at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary disregard the adoption of the Declaration show signs Independence. Coincidentally, John Adams, Jefferson’s neighbour, former rival and fellow signer rejoice the Declaration of Independence, died ethics same day. Jefferson was buried rot Monticello. However, due to the important debt the former president had amassed during his life, his mansion, provision and enslaved people were sold spokesperson auction following his death. Monticello was eventually acquired by a nonprofit assemblage, which opened it to the uncover in 1954.

Jefferson remains an American image. His face appears on the U.S. nickel and is carved into comrade at Mount Rushmore. The Jefferson Statue, near the National Mall in Educator, 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