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Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.
- Thomas Jefferson’s Early Years
- Marriage and Monticello
- Thomas Jefferson and The American Revolution
- Jefferson's Path to The Presidency
- Jefferson Becomes Third U.S. President
- Thomas Jefferson’s Later Years and Death
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a plantation on a large tract of land near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia. His father, Peter Jefferson (1707/08-57), was a successful planter and surveyor and his mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson (1720-76), came from a prominent Virginia family. Thomas was their third child and eldest ...
After his father died when Jefferson was a teen, the future president inherited the Shadwell property. In 1768, Jefferson began clearing a mountaintop on the land in preparation for the elegant brick mansion he would construct there called Monticello(“little mountain” in Italian). Jefferson, who had a keen interest in architecture and gardening, de...
In 1775, with the American Revolutionary War recently underway, Jefferson was selected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. Although not known as a great public speaker, he was a gifted writer and at age 33, was asked to draft the Declaration of Independence (before he began writing, Jefferson discussed the document’s contents with a f...
After returning to America in the fall of 1789, Jefferson accepted an appointment from President George Washington (1732-99) to become the new nation’s first secretary of state. In this post, Jefferson clashed with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) over foreign policy and their differing interpretations of the U.S. Co...
Jefferson was sworn into office on March 4, 1801; he was the first presidential inauguration held in Washington, D.C. (George Washington was inaugurated in New Yorkin 1789; in 1793, he was sworn into office in Philadelphia, as was his successor, John Adams, in 1797.) Instead of riding in a horse-drawn carriage, Jefferson broke with tradition and wa...
Jefferson spent his post-presidential years at Monticello, where he continued to pursue his many interests, including architecture, music, reading and gardening. He also helped found the University of Virginia, which held its first classes in 1825. Jefferson was involved with designing the school’s buildings and curriculum and ensured that unlike o...
Jun 30, 2024 · Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, who also drafted the Declaration of Independence and served as the first secretary of state. As president, he was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. He was also the founder and architect of the University of Virginia.
- Thomas Jefferson was the primary draftsman of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and the nation’s first secretary of state (1789–...
- As a teenager, Thomas Jefferson boarded with the local schoolmaster to learn Latin and Greek. In 1760 he entered the College of William & Mary in W...
- Thomas Jefferson was known for his shyness (apart from his two inaugural addresses as president, there is no record of Jefferson delivering any pub...
- Thomas Jefferson’s ideas about politics and government greatly influenced early American history. He believed that the American Revolution represen...
- Thomas Jefferson is remembered for being the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. The fa...
Jul 3, 2024 · Quick Facts. FULL NAME: Thomas Jefferson. BORN: April 13, 1743. DIED: July 4, 1826. BIRTHPLACE: Shadwell, Virginia. SPOUSE: Martha Jefferson (1772-1782) CHILDREN: 12. ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries....
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TJ to Roger Weightman, 24 June 1826, Jefferson Writings, 1516-17. Learn about Thomas Jefferson, best known for being the 3rd US President, and writing the Declaration of Independence. Explore his life, his plantation, & his enduring legacy.
Thomas Jefferson, a spokesman for democracy, was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States...
Nov 17, 2015 · Thomas Jefferson. First published Tue Nov 17, 2015; substantive revision Mon Dec 16, 2019. Scholars in general have not taken seriously Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) as a philosopher, perhaps because he never wrote a formal philosophical treatise. Yet Jefferson was a prodigious writer, and his writings were suffuse with philosophical content.
