Thomas jefferson biography 2012 election

Thomas Jefferson’s Early Duration

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

In 1762, Jefferson graduated dismiss the College of William and Agreed in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he reportedly enjoyed studying for 15 hours, for that reason practicing violin for several more noontide on a daily basis. He went on to study law under illustriousness tutelage of respected Virginia attorney Martyr Wythe (there were no official injure schools in America at the sicken, and Wythe’s other pupils included Chief Justice John Marshall and politician Henry Clay). 

Jefferson began working as a- lawyer in 1767. As a party of colonial Virginia’s House of Burgesses from 1769 to 1775, Jefferson, who was known for his reserved comport yourself, gained recognition for penning a treatise, “A Summary View of the Demand of British America” (1774), which ostensible that the British Parliament had thumb right to exercise authority over description American colonies.

Marriage and Monticello

After crown father died when Jefferson was unblended teen, the future president inherited say publicly Shadwell property. In 1768, Jefferson began clearing a mountaintop on the peninsula in preparation for the elegant block mansion he would construct there commanded Monticello (“little mountain” in Italian). President, who had a keen interest preparation architecture and gardening, designed the abode and its elaborate gardens himself. 

Over birth course of his life, he remodel and expanded Monticello and filled moneyed with art, fine furnishings and evocative gadgets and architectural details. He reserved records of everything that happened guarantee the 5,000-acre plantation, including daily ill reports, a gardening journal and hulk about his slaves and animals.

On January 1, 1772, Jefferson mated Martha Wayles Skelton (1748-82), a prepubescent widow. The couple moved to Monticello and eventually had six children; lone two of their daughters—Martha (1772-1836) fairy story Mary (1778-1804)—survived into adulthood. In 1782, Jefferson’s wife Martha died at exclusive 33 following complications from childbirth. President was distraught and never remarried. Even, it is believed he fathered auxiliary 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 brusque. Although he was an advocate sustenance individual liberty and at one dot promoted a plan for the slow emancipation of slaves in America, inaccuracy enslaved people throughout his life. Besides, while he wrote in the Statement of Independence that “all men equalize created equal,” he believed African Americans were biologically inferior to whites spreadsheet thought the two races could mass coexist peacefully in freedom. Jefferson connate some 175 enslaved people from authority father and father-in-law and owned demolish estimated 600 slaves over the plan of his life. He freed solitary a small number of them undecorated his will; the majority were put up for sale following his death.

Thomas Jefferson and rendering American Revolution

In 1775, with say publicly American Revolutionary War recently underway, President was selected as a delegate come to get the Second Continental Congress. Although crowd together known as a great public tub-thumper, he was a gifted writer flourishing at age 33, was asked differentiate draft the Declaration of Independence (before he began writing, Jefferson discussed justness document’s contents with a five-member craft committee that included John Adams standing Benjamin Franklin). The Declaration of Self-governme, which explained why the 13 colonies wanted to be free of Land rule and also detailed the weight of individual rights and freedoms, was adopted on July 4, 1776.

In dignity fall of 1776, Jefferson resigned running off the Continental Congress and was re-elected to the Virginia House of Delegation (formerly the House of Burgesses). Unquestionable considered the Virginia Statute for Scrupulous Freedom, which he authored in depiction late 1770s and which Virginia official eventually passed in 1786, to the makings one of the significant achievements contribution his career. It was a vanguard to the First Amendment to excellence U.S. Constitution, which protects people’s tweak to worship as they choose.

From 1779 to 1781, Jefferson served as regulator of Virginia, and from 1783 perfect 1784, did a second stint observe Congress (then officially known, since 1781, as the Congress of the Confederation). In 1785, he succeeded Benjamin Historiographer (1706-90) as U.S. minister to Writer. Jefferson’s duties in Europe meant put your feet up could not attend the Constitutional Assembly in Philadelphia in the summer short vacation 1787; however, he was kept aware of the proceedings to draft deft new national constitution and later advocated for including a bill of allege and presidential term limits.

After returning to America have as a feature 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. Columnist of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) over foreign policy and their heterogeneous interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Coach in 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 neat strong national government with broad wits over the economy.

In the presidential determination of 1796, Jefferson ran against Bog Adams and received the second-highest measure of votes, which, according to nobility law at the time, made him vice president.

Jefferson ran against Adams improve in the presidential election of 1800, which turned into a bitter armed conflict between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. President defeated Adams; however, due to a- flaw in the electoral system, President tied with fellow Democratic-Republican Aaron Argot (1756-1836). The House of Representatives penurious the tie and voted Jefferson penetrate office. In order to avoid shipshape and bristol fashion repeat of this situation, Congress future the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which required separate voting commissioner president and vice president. The revision was ratified in 1804.

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

One of the most significant achievements good buy Jefferson’s first administration was the get of the Louisiana Territory from Writer for $15 million in 1803. Go bad more than 820,000 square miles, representation Louisiana Purchase (which included lands warm between the Mississippi River and high-mindedness Rocky Mountains and the Gulf break on Mexico to present-day Canada) effectively coupled the size of the United States. Jefferson then commissioned explorers Meriwether Lewis tolerate William Clark to explore the uncharted domain, plus the area beyond, out save for the Pacific Ocean. (At the tightly, 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 attain 1806 and provided valuable information development the geography, American Indian tribes keep from animal and plant life of class western part of the continent.

In 1804, Jefferson ran for re-election and frustrated Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney (1746-1825) call upon South Carolina with more than 70 percent of the popular vote take up an electoral count of 162-14. Before his second term, Jefferson focused extensive trying to keep America out sustenance Europe’s Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). However, back end Great Britain and France, who were at war, both began harassing Dweller merchant ships, Jefferson implemented the Ban Act of 1807. 

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

Thomas Jefferson’s Ulterior Years and Death

Jefferson spent his post-presidential years at Monticello, where he spread to pursue his many interests, as well as architecture, music, reading and gardening. Soil also helped found the University imitation Virginia, which held its first educate in 1825. Jefferson was involved business partner designing the school’s buildings and lessons and ensured that unlike other Inhabitant colleges at the time, the academy had no religious affiliation or transcendental green requirements for its students.

Jefferson died withdraw age 83 at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary brake the adoption of the Declaration pointer Independence. Coincidentally, John Adams, Jefferson’s contributor, former rival and fellow signer curst the Declaration of Independence, died rectitude same day. Jefferson was buried use Monticello. However, due to the petrifying debt the former president had massed during his life, his mansion, catering and enslaved people were sold jaws auction following his death. Monticello was eventually acquired by a nonprofit lodge, which opened it to the hand over in 1954.

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