Thomas Jefferson's voice helped shape
our nation. He was a great revolutionary hero, as well as
the third President of the United States of
America.
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13,
1743, in Shadwell, Virginia. During his childhood, he became
very educated at small private schools. He learned to be
fluent in five different languages, and write in two more
languages. He grew up and went to William and Mary college
and became a lawyer. He was accepted into the Virginia Bar
in 1767 and then was later elected to the Virginia House of
Burgesses in 1769. From his father, a planter and surveyor,
he inherited 5000 acres of land.
In the course of his lifetime, Thomas
Jefferson wrote over sixteen thousand letters to
King
George III.
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He ran for President in 1796,
but lost to John
Adams. He ran in
1801 against John Adams again, but this time,
Jefferson won. He ran for a second term and won
again.
Jefferson wrote the first
draft of the Declaration
of Independence.
During his first term as President, his wife,
Martha Wayles Skeleton, and his two children died.
Jefferson was president until 1809. While he was
president, Jefferson was able to reduce the
national debt by a third by eleminating the tax on
whiskey. He sent the navy to fight against the
pirates in the Mediterranean. He also bought the
Louisiana Territory from Napoleon in
1803.
In 1826, he died on the
Fourth of July while the country was celebrating
the fiftieth anniversary of our Declaration of
Independence. His death was an event that saddened
our nation. Ironically, Thomas Jefferson and John
Adams died on exactly the same day.
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Image courtesy of Art Today.
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Visit the Thomas
Jefferson Memorial.
The U.S. History has biographies of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, including Thomas
Jefferson.
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