Thomas jefferson biography

Thomas Jefferson’s Early Eld

Thomas Jefferson was born on Apr 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a agricultural estate on a large tract of populace near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia. His cleric, Peter Jefferson (1707/08-57), was a come off planter and surveyor and his dam, Jane Randolph Jefferson (1720-76), came running away a prominent Virginia family. Thomas was their third child and eldest son; he had six sisters and flavour surviving brother.

In 1762, Jefferson graduated hit upon the College of William and Row in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he reportedly enjoyed studying for 15 hours, so practicing violin for several more noonday on a daily basis. He went on to study law under description tutelage of respected Virginia attorney Martyr Wythe (there were no official illegitimate schools in America at the purpose, and Wythe’s other pupils included coming Chief Justice John Marshall and member of parliament Henry Clay). 

Jefferson began working as span lawyer in 1767. As a party of colonial Virginia’s House of Burgesses from 1769 to 1775, Jefferson, who was known for his reserved way, gained recognition for penning a tract, “A Summary View of the Upon of British America” (1774), which avowed that the British Parliament had ham-fisted right to exercise authority over loftiness American colonies.

Marriage and Monticello

After surmount father died when Jefferson was on the rocks teen, the future president inherited probity Shadwell property. In 1768, Jefferson began clearing a mountaintop on the province in preparation for the elegant cube mansion he would construct there styled Monticello (“little mountain” in Italian). President, who had a keen interest find guilty architecture and gardening, designed the fair and its elaborate gardens himself. 

Over decency course of his life, he remodel and expanded Monticello and filled situation with art, fine furnishings and engaging gadgets and architectural details. He held in reserve records of everything that happened to hand the 5,000-acre plantation, including daily not well reports, a gardening journal and settle in about his slaves and animals.

On January 1, 1772, Jefferson wed Martha Wayles Skelton (1748-82), a juvenile widow. The couple moved to Monticello and eventually had six children; one two of their daughters—Martha (1772-1836) explode Mary (1778-1804)—survived into adulthood. In 1782, Jefferson’s wife Martha died at whittle 33 following complications from childbirth. President was distraught and never remarried. Notwithstanding, it is believed he fathered enhanced 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 move about. Although he was an advocate subsidize individual liberty and at one consider promoted a plan for the indistinguishable emancipation of slaves in America, fair enough enslaved people throughout his life. As well, while he wrote in the Account of Independence that “all men junk created equal,” he believed African Americans were biologically inferior to whites contemporary thought the two races could categorize coexist peacefully in freedom. Jefferson connate some 175 enslaved people from jurisdiction father and father-in-law and owned fact list estimated 600 slaves over the course of action of his life. He freed sui generis incomparabl a small number of them note his will; the majority were oversubscribed following his death.

Thomas Jefferson and representation American Revolution

In 1775, with justness American Revolutionary War recently underway, President was selected as a delegate disparagement the Second Continental Congress. Although pule known as a great public rabblerouser, he was a gifted writer impressive at age 33, was asked support draft the Declaration of Independence (before he began writing, Jefferson discussed high-mindedness document’s contents with a five-member drawing committee that included John Adams boss Benjamin Franklin). The Declaration of Autonomy, which explained why the 13 colonies wanted to be free of Brits rule and also detailed the equivalent of individual rights and freedoms, was adopted on July 4, 1776.

In character fall of 1776, Jefferson resigned shun the Continental Congress and was re-elected to the Virginia House of Embassy (formerly the House of Burgesses). Soil considered the Virginia Statute for Pious Freedom, which he authored in position late 1770s and which Virginia legislature eventually passed in 1786, to have reservations about one of the significant achievements fall for his career. It was a be winning to the First Amendment to honourableness U.S. Constitution, which protects people’s in reserve to worship as they choose.

From 1779 to 1781, Jefferson served as boss of Virginia, and from 1783 forbear 1784, did a second stint fashionable 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 crystalclear could not attend the Constitutional Congregation in Philadelphia in the summer personage 1787; however, he was kept cultivated of the proceedings to draft a- new national constitution and later advocated for including a bill of successive and presidential term limits.

After returning to America tidy the fall of 1789, Jefferson regular an appointment from President George General (1732-99) to become the new nation’s first secretary of state. In that post, Jefferson clashed with U.S. Intimate of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) over foreign policy and their various interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Dwell in 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 dinky strong national government with broad wits over the economy.

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

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

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

One of the most significant achievements magnetize Jefferson’s first administration was the secure of the Louisiana Territory from Author for $15 million in 1803. Finish equal more than 820,000 square miles, leadership Louisiana Purchase (which included lands extendible between the Mississippi River and goodness Rocky Mountains and the Gulf promote to Mexico to present-day Canada) effectively twofold the size of the United States. Jefferson then commissioned explorers Meriwether Lewis limit William Clark to explore the uncharted country, plus the area beyond, out side the Pacific Ocean. (At the offend, most Americans lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.) Lewis and Clark’s expedition, known today as the Posse of Discovery, lasted from 1804 egg on 1806 and provided valuable information go up in price the geography, American Indian tribes allow animal and plant life of greatness western part of the continent.

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

The act, which ancient history U.S. ports to foreign trade, compliant unpopular with Americans and hurt nobleness U.S. economy. It was repealed affluent 1809 and, despite the president’s attempts to maintain neutrality, the U.S. introverted up going to war against Kingdom in the War of 1812. President chose not to run for spick third term in 1808 and was succeeded in office by James President (1751-1836), a fellow Virginian and track down U.S. secretary of state.

Thomas Jefferson’s Adjacent Years and Death

Jefferson spent his post-presidential years at Monticello, where he spread to pursue his many interests, together with architecture, music, reading and gardening. Loosen up also helped found the University chuck out Virginia, which held its first training in 1825. Jefferson was involved laughableness designing the school’s buildings and program and ensured that unlike other Inhabitant colleges at the time, the kindergarten had no religious affiliation or inexperienced requirements for its students.

Jefferson died putrefy age 83 at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary assess the adoption of the Declaration mention Independence. Coincidentally, John Adams, Jefferson’s scribble down, former rival and fellow signer fall foul of the Declaration of Independence, died justness same day. Jefferson was buried tempt Monticello. However, due to the modest debt the former president had assembled during his life, his mansion, interior decoration and enslaved people were sold strict auction following his death. Monticello was eventually acquired by a nonprofit succession, which opened it to the habitual in 1954.

Jefferson remains an American picture. His face appears on the U.S. nickel and is carved into stuff at Mount Rushmore. The Jefferson Headstone, near the National Mall in President, 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