Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson


The third president of the United States, a diplomat, statesman,
architect, scientist, and philosopher, Thomas Jefferson is one of
the most eminent figures in American history. No leader in the
period of the American Enlightenment was as articulate, wise, or
conscious of the implications and consequences of a free society
as Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a
tobacco plantation in Virginia. His father, Peter Jefferson, was
a self-made success, and although uneducated he was a very
intelligent man. His mother, Jane Randolph was a member of one of
the most distinguished families in Virginia . Peter Jefferson
died when Thomas was 14 and left him valuable lands and property.
Denied a formal education himself, he directed that his son be
given complete classical training. He studied with Reverend Mr.
Maury, a classical scholar, for two years and in 1760 he attended
William and Mary College.

After graduating from William and Mary in 1762, Jefferson studied
law for five years under George Wythe. In January of 1772, he
married Martha Wayles Skelton and established a residence at
Monticello. When they moved to Monticello, only a small one room
building was completed. Jefferson was thirty when he began his
political career. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgess
in 1769, where his first action was an unsuccessful bill allowing
owners to free their slaves.

The impending crisis in British-Colonial relations overshadowed
routine affairs of legislature. In 1774, the first of the
Intolerable Acts closed the port of Boston until Massachusetts
paid for the Boston Tea Party of the preceding year. Jefferson
and other younger members of the Virginia Assembly ordained a day
of fasting and prayer to demonstrate their sympathy with
Massachusetts. Thereupon, Virginia's Royal Governor Dunmore once
again dissolved the assembly (Koch and Peden 20). The members met
and planned to call together an inter-colonial congress.
Jefferson began writing resolutions which were radical and better
written than those from other counties and colonies. Although his
resolutions were considered too revolutionary and not adopted,
they were printed and widely circulated and subsequently all
important writing assignments were entrusted to Jefferson.
When Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia in June, 1775, as a
Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress, he already
possessed, as John Adams remarked, "a reputation for literature,
science, and a happy talent of composition" (Koch and Peden 21).
When he returned in 1776, he was appointed to the five-man
committee, including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, which was
charged with the most momentous assignment ever given in the
history of America: the drafting of a formal declaration of
independence from Great Britain (Daugherty 109). Jefferson was
responsible for preparing the draft. The document, was finally
approved by Congress on July 4, 1776. Cut and occasionally
altered by Adams, or Franklin, or the Congress itself, the
Declaration is almost completely Jefferson's, and is the triumph
and culmination of his early career. At this time, had he wanted
to be a political leader, he could have easily attained a
position in government. Instead, he chose to return to Monticello
and give his public service to Virginia. Returning to the
Virginia House of Delegates in October 1776, Jefferson set to
work on reforming the laws of Virginia. He also proposed a
rational plan of statewide education and attempted to write
religious toleration into the laws of Virginia by separating
Church and State by writing the "Bill for Establishing Religious
Freedom."

In June of 1779, Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia. He
commenced his career as a public executive, confident of his
abilities, assured of the respect and almost the affection of his
commonwealth. However, he took up his duties at a time when the
British were raiding Virginia. General George Washington did not
have resources available to send to Virginia. Jefferson, during
one of the raids, narrowly escaped capture at the hands of the
British troops; and the legislators were forced to flee from
their new capital city of Richmond. Jefferson, as head of the
state, was singled out for criticism and abuse. At the end of his
second term, he announced his retirement. General Washington's
approval of Jefferson's actions as Governor is in marked contrast
to the heated charges of dereliction of duty made by certain
members of the legislature. After Washington's approval the
legislature passed a resolution officially clearing Jefferson of
all charges (Smith 134,135).

Jefferson returned home to Monticello in 1781, and buried himself
in writing about Virginia. The pages of text turned into a
manuscript later known as the Notes on Virginia. This book, rich
in its minute analysis of the details of external nature as in
its clarification of moral political, and social issues, was read
by scientists of two continents for years to come (Smith 142).
His wife, ill since the birth of their last daughter, died in
September 1782. In sorrow for his wife, Jefferson declined
numerous appointments. In June 1783, he was elected as a delegate
to the Confederation Congress where he headed important
committees and drafted many reports and official papers. He
advocated the necessity of more favorable international
commercial relations, and in 1784, compiled instructions for
ministers negotiating commercial treaties with European nations.
In May 1784, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary of the
United States to assist Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, both of
whom had preceded him to Europe to arrange commercial agreements
(Koch and Peden 24). He traveled throughout Europe and every
place he went, he was not only an American diplomat, but a
student of the useful sciences. He took notes on making wine and
cheese, planting and harvesting crops, and raising livestock. He
sent home to America information on the different cultures, the
actual seeds of a variety of grasses not native to America, olive
plants, and Italian rice. He remained in Paris until 1789 (Smith
170).

Upon his return President Washington asked Jefferson to be
Secretary of State. Jefferson accepted the post and found himself
at odds with the Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.
Jefferson thought that all of Hamilton's acts were dominated by
one purpose: to establish government by and for a privileged few.
Jefferson repeatedly thought of retiring from the cabinet post in
which he was constantly pitted against Hamilton, the most power-
hungry man in the capital. After negotiating the country's
foreign affairs, Jefferson once again retired to Monticello.
During retirement, Jefferson supervised the farming of his
estates and designed a plow which revolutionized agriculture; he
tended his library like a garden; he changed the architectural
plans for Monticello, and supervised the construction. After
three rather active years of "retirement", Jefferson accepted the
Republican Party's nomination in 1796 for President. He lost by
three votes, which under the prevailing system, meant he was
elected Vice President and the Federalist, John Adams, was
elected president. The Federalist Administration turned upon its
political opponents by passing the Alien Act, to deport foreign
radicals and liberal, propagandists and agitators, and the
Sedition Act, to curb the press. The Sedition Act empowered the
Administration to fine, imprison, and prosecute any opposition
writer and thus the Republicans were muzzled in the remaining
years of Adams' Administration (Randall 523, 528). In 1800,
Jefferson and Aaron Burr ran for office. The electoral vote, in
marked contrast to the popular vote, resulted in a tie between
Jefferson and Burr. The Federalists threatened Jefferson to
bargain with them or they would elect Burr. Jefferson, however,
stood firm and made no promises, until the Federalists gave up.
As President, Jefferson's first project was to remove the bias
which had recently infected America. His policy of general
reconciliation and reform and his success in freeing the victims
of the Alien and Sedition laws were generally supported by a
favorable Congress (Randall 549). His popularity during his first
term was greater than at any time during his career. In this term
he was confronted with the most momentous problem of his career.
Spain transferred to France its rights to the port of New
Orleans, and the stretch of land constituting the province of
Louisiana. Louisiana in the strong hands of the French rather
than the weak hands of Spain placed an almost overwhelming
obstacle in the path of American growth and prosperity. It was
essential that America acquire the Louisiana territory, either
through peaceful negotiation or by war. When French dictator
Napoleon, suddenly offered to sell for $15,000,000 not only the
port of New Orleans but the entire fabulous slice of land from
the Mississippi to the Rockies, Jefferson was faced with the
problem of taking the offer or wait for a Constitutional
amendment authorizing such an act. After tremendous strain,
Jefferson authorized the purchase (Smith 266). Thus his first
term closed in a blaze of glory when the people, united in their
national good fortune, almost unanimously sent Jefferson back for
a second term. Busy as he was during these years, Jefferson had
found time to follow his favorite intellectual pursuits. He had
not only aided in establishing a National Library, but had made
many valuable additions to his own private collection.

His second term was full of difficulties. To avoid war, Jefferson
promoted the Non-Intercourse Act of 1806 and the Embargo of 1807.
The Embargo was heavily criticized and had not been effective. To
make matters worse, the domestic front was racked with defections
and desertions. When his term expired on March 3, 1809, he was
thrilled to be leaving politics and returning to Monticello
(Mclaughlin 376).

Jefferson's daughter Martha said that in retirement her father
never abandon a friend or principle. He and John Adams, their
earlier political differences reconciled, wrote many letters.
Jefferson frequently complained about the time consumed in
maintaining his ever increasing correspondence but he could not
resist an intellectual challenge or turn down an appeal for his
opinion, advice, or help, and continued to discuss with frankness
and a brilliant clarity such diverse subjects as anthropology and
political theory, religion and zoology (Koch and Peden 40).
Jefferson's major concern during his last years was education and
educational philosophy. He considered knowledge not only a means
to an end, but an end in itself. He felt education was the key to
virtue as it was to happiness. He reopened his campaign for a
system of general education in Virginia. Through his efforts, the
University of Virginia, the first American University to be free
of official church connection, was established and was
Jefferson's daily concern during his last seven years (Koch and
Peden 39). He sent abroad an agent to select the faculty, he
chose the books for the library, drew up the curriculum, designed
the buildings, and supervised their construction. The University
finally opened in 1825, the winter before his death. Despite his
preoccupation with the University, he continued to pursue a
multitude of other tasks. In his eightieth year, for example, he
wrote on politics, sending President Monroe long expositions
later known to the world in Monroe's version as the Monroe
Doctrine (Daugherty 326).

Among all his interests, there was one intrusion on his time and
thought which caused Jefferson endless embarrassment. His
finances, always shaky, finally collapsed. Jefferson had
frequently advanced money to friends who fancied themselves more
hard-pressed than he, and occasionally had been forced to make
good on their notes when they found it impossible to do so. He
had spent money lavishly on his libraries and the arts, on
Monticello, and on his children's education. His passion for
architecture cost him a small fortune. At the final stage of his
financial distress, Jefferson petitioned the Virginia legislature
to grant him permission to dispose of Monticello and its farms by
lottery. The almost immediate response of private citizens, in
New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, on hearing this news was
to donate a sum of over $16,000 to aid the leader who had devoted
his industry and resourcefulness to all America for half a century
(Smith 304).

On July 4, 1826, Jefferson died at Monticello. He was buried on
the hillside beside his wife. He had written the script for his
headstone himself:
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
and Father of the University of Virginia.
On our family vacation last fall to Virginia, my wife and I
toured Jefferson's Monticello home and also viewed his grave
site. We both found it very interesting that of all the
accomplishments that Jefferson listed on his headstone he
apparently did not think it important enough to mention that he
had been twice elected and served as president of the United
States.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Daugherty, Sonia. Thomas Jefferson: Fighter for Freedom and Human
Rights. New York:
Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1961.
Koch, Adrienne, and William Peden. The Life and Selected Writings
Of Thomas Jefferson.
New York: Random House Publishers, 1993.
McLaughlin, Jack. Jefferson and Monticello The Biography Of A
Builder. 1st ed. New
York: Henry Holt and Company Publishers, 1988.
Randall, Willard Sterne. Thomas Jefferson A Life. 1st ed. New
York: Henry Holt and
Company Publishers, 1993.
Smith, Page. Jefferson A Revealing Biography. New York: American
Heritage Publishing Company, 1976.