Thomas Jefferson's - Action

Thomas Jefferson (April 13 [O.S. April 2] 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776). He was elected the second Vice President of the United States (1797–1801), serving under John Adams and in 1800 was elected the third President (1801–09). Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, which motivated American colonists to break from Great Britain and form a new nation. He produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national level.

Primarily of English ancestry, Jefferson was born and educated in Virginia. He graduated from the College of William & Mary and briefly practiced law, at times defending slaves seeking their freedom. During the American Revolution, he represented Virginia in the Continental Congress that adopted the Declaration, drafted the law for religious freedom as a Virginia legislator, and served as a wartime governor (1779–1781). He became the United States Minister to France in May 1785, and subsequently the nation's first Secretary of State in 1790–1793 under President George Washington. Jefferson and James Madison organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party during the formation of the First Party System. With Madison, he anonymously wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798–1799, which sought to embolden states' rights in opposition to the national government by nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts.

As President Jefferson pursued the nation's shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies respectively. He also organized the Louisiana Purchase almost doubling the country's territory. As a result of peace negotiations with France, his administration reduced military forces. He was reelected in 1804. Jefferson's second term was beset with difficulties at home, including the trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr. American foreign trade was diminished when Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act of 1807, responding to British threats to U.S. shipping. In 1803, Jefferson began a controversial process of Indian tribe removal to the newly organized Louisiana Territory, and, in 1807, signed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves.

Jefferson mastered many disciplines which ranged from surveying and mathematics to horticulture and mechanics. He was a proven architect in the classical tradition. Jefferson's keen interest in religion and philosophy earned him the presidency of the American Philosophical Society. He shunned organized religion, but was influenced by both Christianity and deism. He was well versed in linguistics and spoke several languages. He founded the University of Virginia after retiring from public office. He was a prolific letter writer and corresponded with many prominent and important people throughout his adult life. His only full-length book, Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), is considered the most important American book published before 1800.

Jefferson owned several plantations which were worked by hundreds of slaves. Most historians now believe that after the death of his wife in 1782, he had a relationship with his slave Sally Hemings and fathered at least one of her children. Historical opinion of Jefferson has generally been exalted over the years. In recent times he has been criticized by some historians for owning slaves, however presidential scholars overall continue to rank Jefferson among the greatest presidents.

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 (April 2, 1743 OS), at the family home in Shadwell in the Colony of Virginia, the third of ten children. He was of English and possibly Welsh descent and was born a British subject. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a planter and surveyor who died when Jefferson was fourteen; his mother was Jane Randolph. Peter Jefferson moved his family to Tuckahoe Plantation in 1745 upon the death of a friend who had named him guardian of his children. The Jeffersons returned to Shadwell in 1752, where Peter died in 1757; his estate was divided between his two sons, young Thomas and Randolph. Thomas inherited approximately 5,000 acres (2,000 ha; 7.8 sq mi) of land, including Monticello. He assumed full authority over his property at age 21.

Jefferson began his childhood education beside the Randolph children with tutors at Tuckahoe. In 1752, he began attending a local school run by a Scottish Presbyterian minister. At age nine, he started studying Latin, Greek, and French; he learned to ride horses and began nature studies. He was taught from 1758 to 1760 by Reverend James Maury near Gordonsville, Virginia, where he studied history, science, and the classics while boarding with Maury's family.

Jefferson entered the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, at age 16, and studied mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophy under Professor William Small. Small introduced him to the British Empiricists including John Locke, Francis Bacon, and Isaac Newton. Jefferson improved his French, Greek, and his skill at the violin. He graduated, two years after starting, in 1762. He read the law under Professor George Wythe's tutelage to obtain his law license, while working as a law clerk in Wythe's office. He also read a wide variety of English classics and political works.

Jefferson treasured his books. In 1770 his Shadwell home, including a library of 200 volumes inherited from his father, was destroyed by fire. Nevertheless, by 1773 he had replenished his library with 1,250 titles, and in 1814, his collection grew to almost 6,500 volumes. After the British burned the Library of Congress that year, he sold more than 6,000 books to the Library for $23,950. Though he had intended to pay off some of his large debt, he resumed collecting for his personal library, writing to John Adams, "I cannot live without books"