Tom was a tall and thin young man. He had big hands and feet. He had red hair and freckles all over his face. Tom wanted to study law so he attended the College of William and Mary. When he was twenty-four years old Thomas was ready to be a lawyer. In 1769 Virginia choose him to be their representative to the legislature. Jefferson had been elected to the legislature at an important time. Many people did not like how England ruled the colonies. In Virginia, Patrick Henry was a leader of people who didn't like taxes and Thomas liked him very much . He thought that colonists should be able to move west. Matters got worse. (If you click on the Declaration of Independence you can read all the words that Jefferson wrote in 1776)
In April 1775, some British soldiers and colonists got into a fight. Each side got ready for a war. Jefferson was elected to go to a meeting. It was called the Continental Congress. More and more people wanted to be free from England. Richard Henry Lee wanted the colonies to join together to fight England. The congress thought he was right. Five men were elected to right the Declaration of Independence. Three of them was Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. Thomas wrote it. 
He had many ideas about the rights of people and the rights of government. He thought people had a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In 1776 these ideas were new to the world.
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and voted on by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Bells were rang and the document was read to many patriots. The War for Independence was real and it had a true meaning for independence from Great Britan.
