FREE ESSAY ON THOMAS JEFFERSON

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most profound and important figures in 
American History. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United 
States of America, a diplomat, statesman, architect, scientist, and 
philosopher. No leader in this period of American History was as articulate, 
wise, or aware of the problems 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 an extremely smart 
man, not to mention a self-made success, all despite the fact he was formally 
uneducated. His mother, Jane Randolph was a member of one of the most 
distinguished families in Virginia. Peter Jefferson died when Thomas was 
14, leaving him many valuable properties and lands. As a result of being 
formally uneducated himself he demanded his son Thomas be schooled. 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 made himself a 
home in Monticello to raise a family. When he and Martha moved to 
Monticello, only a small one room building was completed for them to stay 
in.
Jefferson was thirty years old when he first 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 continuing problem in British-Colonial relations overshadowed 
routine action 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. As a result, 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 more 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. 
Because of these resolutions 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 retired in 1776, he was appointed to a five-man committee, 
including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, which was given 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 
continued his career as a public executive, confident of his abilities, of the 
respect, and the affection of his common wealth. 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 legislatures were forced to flee from their new capital city of 
Richmond. Jefferson, as head of 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 made in contrast to 
the charges of betraying his duty, made by certain members in 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 of Virginia. This book went into great detail about the 
beauty of external nature as in its clarification of moral, political, and social 
issues, was read by scientist 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 decided to turn down 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 preferred the necessity of stronger 
international commercial relations, and in 1784, wrote 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, 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 late 1789 (Smith 170). When he got back from 
Europe President Washington asked Jefferson to be Secretary of State. 
Jefferson accepted the post and found himself disagreeing with the 
Seceratary 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 position in which he was constantly arguing against Hamilton, the 
power-hungry man in the capitol. After negotiating the country's foreign 
problems, Jefferson once again retired to Monticello. During retirement, 
Jefferson supervised the farming of his many lands and designed a plow 
which revolutionized agriculture; he tended 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, liberal propagandists, and agitators, also the 
Sedition Act, to hold the press. The Sedition Act gave the Administration the 
power to fine, imprison, and prosecute any opposing writer, so therefore the 
Republicans were kept quiet in the remaining years of Adam's 
Administration (Randall 523, 528). 
In 1800, Jefferson and Aaron Burr ran for office. The electoral vote, 
in contrast to the popular vote, resulted in a tie between Jefferson and Burr. 
The Federalist 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 important problem 
of his career. Spain transferred to France its rights to the port of new 
Orleans, and the section of land controlling 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 extremely important that America control the 
Louisiana territory, either through peaceful negotiation or by war. When 
French dictator Napoleon, suddenly offered to sell for fifteen million dollars, 
not only the port of New Orleans, but also the entire piece of French owned 
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 much thinking, Jefferson authorized the 
purchase (Smith 266). Therefore his first term ended in a blaze of glory. The 
people, happy with the good fortune of their nation, 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 full of defections and desertions. When his 
term expired on march 3, 1809, he was thrilled to be leaving politics and 
returned to Monticello (McLaughlin 376).
Jefferson's daughter Martha said that in retirement her father never 
abandoned 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 friendship, but 
could not resist an intellectual challenge, or turn down an appeal for his 
opinion, advice, or help. He continued to discuss with quick thinking and a 
brilliant clarity such divers 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 as a means to an 
end, but an end in itself. He felt education was the key to life 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 out an agent to select the faculty, he chose 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 flaw on his time and thought 
which caused Jefferson endless embarrassment. His finances, always shaky, 
finally collapsed. Jefferson had frequently advanced money to friends who 
cared much more for possessions than he, and occasionally had been forced 
to make good on their notes when they found it impossible to do so. He 
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 sixteen thousand dollars to aid the leader who had devoted his industry 
and resourcefulness to all America for half of 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.
With absolute brilliance and an unbelievable sense of what was best 
for the American people Thomas Jefferson established himself as one of the 
best and most contributive leaders in American history.