Encyclopedia
Thomas Jefferson was the third
President of the United States , principal author of the
Declaration of Independence , and an influential
founder of the
United States. With
James Madison he founded the
Jeffersonian Republican Party in 1792. Major events during his presidency include the
Louisiana Purchase , the
Embargo Act of 1807, and the
Lewis and Clark Expedition .
A political philosopher who promoted republicanism and the
separation of church and state, he was the author of the
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom , which was the basis of the
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the
United States Constitution. He was the eponym of
Jeffersonian democracy and the founder and leader of the
Jeffersonian Republican Party, which dominated
American politics for over a quarter-century. Jefferson also served as the second
Governor of Virginia , first
United States Secretary of State , and second
Vice President .
In addition to his political career, Jefferson was a
plantation owner, horticulturist,
architect,
archaeologist,
paleontologist, author, inventor, violinist, and the
founder of the University of Virginia. President
John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine
Nobel Prize winners of the Western Hemisphere to the White House in 1962, saying, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
Early life and education
Jefferson was born on April 2, 1743 according to the
Julian calendar used at the time, but under the
Gregorian calendar adopted during his lifetime, he was born on April 13.
He was born into a prosperous Virginia family, the third of ten children . His mother was Jane Randolph, daughter of Isham Randolph, and a cousin of
Peyton Randolph. Jefferson's father was Peter Jefferson, a planter and surveyor who owned a
plantation in Albemarle County named Shadwell. Following a fire that burned down the family home at Shadwell, Peter Jefferson moved his family to Edge Hill, Virginia.
In 1752, Jefferson began attending a local school run by William Douglas, a
Scottish reverend. At the age of nine, Jefferson began studying the classical languages —
Latin and Greek — as well as
French. In 1757, when he was 14 years old, his father died. Jefferson inherited about 5,000 acres of land and dozens of
slaves. He built his home there, which eventually became known as
Monticello.
After his father's death, he was taught at the school of the learned James Maury, a reverend, from 1758 to 1760. The school was in
Fredericksburg parish, twelve miles from Shadwell, and Jefferson boarded with Maury's family. There he received a classical education and studied history and
natural science.
Jefferson entered the
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg at the age of 16, and studied there from 1760 to 1762. He then entered philosophy school and studied
mathematics,
metaphysics, and
philosophy under Professor William Small, who introduced the enthusiastic Jefferson to the writings of the
British Empiricists, including
John Locke,
Francis Bacon, and
Sir Isaac Newton . He also perfected his French, carried his Greek grammar book wherever he went, practiced the
violin, and favored
Tacitus and
Homer. A keen and diligent student, Jefferson displayed an avid curiosity in all fields and, according to family tradition, frequently studied fifteen hours a day. His closest college friend, John Page of Rosewell, reported that Jefferson "could tear himself away from his dearest friends, to fly to his studies."
In college, Jefferson was a member of the secret Flat Hat Club, now the namesake of the William & Mary daily student newspaper. He lodged and boarded at the College in the building known today as the Sir Christopher Wren Building, attending communal meals in the Great Hall and morning and evening prayers in the Chapel. After graduating in 1762 with highest honors, he studied law with his friend and mentor,
George Wythe, and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767.
In 1772, Jefferson married a widow, Martha Wayles Skelton . They had six children:
Martha Jefferson Randolph , Jane Randolph , a stillborn or unnamed son , Mary Wayles , Lucy Elizabeth , and Lucy Elizabeth . Martha Wayles Skelton died on September 6, 1782, and Jefferson never remarried.
Political career from 1774 to 1800
Jefferson practiced law and served in the Virginia
House of Burgesses. In 1774, he wrote , which was intended as instructions for the Virginia delegates to a national congress. The pamphlet was a powerful argument of American terms for a settlement with Britain. It helped speed the way to independence, and marked Jefferson as one of the most thoughtful patriot spokesmen.
Jefferson was the primary author of the
Declaration of Independence and a contributor to American political and civil culture. The Continental Congress delegated the task of writing the Declaration to a
Committee of Five that unanimously solicited Jefferson to prepare the draft of the Declaration alone.
In September 1776, Jefferson returned to Virginia and was elected to the new Virginia House of Delegates. During his term in the House, Jefferson set out to reform and update Virginia's system of laws to reflect its new status as a democratic state. He drafted 126 bills in three years, including laws to abolish primogeniture, establish
freedom of religion, and streamline the judicial system. In 1778, Jefferson's "Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge" led to several academic reforms at his
alma mater, including an elective system of study — the first in an American university.
Jefferson served as
governor of Virginia from 1779-1781. As governor, he oversaw the transfer of the state capitol from Williamsburg to
Richmond in 1780. He continued to advocate educational reforms at the
College of William and Mary, including the nation's first student-policed honor code. In 1779, at Jefferson's behest, William and Mary appointed
George Wythe to be the first professor of law in an American university. Dissatisfied with the rate of changes he wanted to push through, he would go on later in life to become the
"father" and founder of the
University of Virginia, which was the first university at which higher education was completely separate from religious doctrine.
Virginia was invaded twice by the British during Jefferson's term as governor. He, along with
Patrick Henry and other Virginia Patriot leaders, were but ten minutes away from being captured by
Banastre Tarleton, a British colonel leading a
cavalry column that was raiding
Charlottesville in June 1781. However, thanks to the efforts of
Jack Jouett, Jefferson and the others were warned in time to escape. Public outrage nearly ruined his future political prospects but waned after the
siege of Yorktown.
From 1785–1789, Jefferson served as minister to
France. He did not attend the
Constitutional Convention. He did generally support the new Constitution, although he thought the document flawed for lack of a Bill of Rights.
After returning from France, Jefferson served as the first
Secretary of State under
George Washington . Jefferson and
Alexander Hamilton began sparring over national fiscal policy, specifically deficit spending in 1790. In further sparring with the Federalists, Jefferson came to equate Hamilton and the rest of the extreme Federalists with Tories. In the late 1790s, he worried that "Hamiltonianism" was taking hold. He equated this with "Royalism", and made a point to state that "Hamiltonians were panting after...and itching for crowns, coronets and mitres". Jefferson and
James Madison founded and led the original Democratic-Republican Party . He worked with Madison and his campaign manager John J. Beckley to build what historians call the
First Party System. Jefferson strongly supported France against Britain when war broke out between those nations in 1793. However, the
Jay Treaty proved that Washington and Hamilton favored Britain, so Jefferson retired to Monticello. He was later elected
Vice President .
With a
quasi-War with France underway , the Federalists under
John Adams started a navy, built up the army, levied new taxes, readied for war and enacted the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. Jefferson interpreted the Alien and Sedition Acts as an attack on his party more than on dangerous enemy aliens. He and Madison rallied support by anonymously writing the
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which declared that the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it by the states. Should the federal government assume such powers, its acts under them could be voided by a state. The Resolutions' importance lies in being the first statements of the states' rights theory that led to the later concepts of nullification and interposition.
Working closely with
Aaron Burr of New York, Jefferson rallied his party, attacking the new taxes especially, and
ran for the Presidency in 1800. Consistent with the traditions of the times, he did not formally campaign for the position. Prior to the passage of the 12th Amendment, a problem with the new union's electoral system arose. He tied with Burr for first place in the
Electoral College, leaving the
House of Representatives to decide the election.
After lengthy debate within the Federalist-controlled House, Hamilton convinced his party that Jefferson would be a lesser political evil than Burr and that such scandal within the electoral process would undermine the still-young regime. The issue was resolved by the House, on February 17, 1801 after thirty-six ballots, when Jefferson was elected President and Burr Vice President. Burr's refusal to remove himself from consideration would create a divide between Jefferson and Burr and lead to Jefferson replacing Burr as Vice President in Jefferson's second term.
Presidency 1801-1809
Policies
Jefferson's Presidency, from 1801 to 1809, was the first to start and end in the
White House ; it was also the first
Democratic-Republican Presidency. Jefferson is the only Vice President to later win an election and serve two full terms as President of the United States.
Jefferson's term was marked by his belief in agrarianism,
individual liberty, and limited government, sparking the development of a distinct American identity defined by republicanism.
Despite his stated goals of limited government, Jefferson made the
Louisiana Purchase and commissioned the
Lewis and Clark Expedition during his first term. Jefferson was re-elected in the
1804 election. His second term was dominated by foreign policy concerns, as American neutrality was imperiled by war between Britain and France. A group called the tertium quids criticized Jefferson for his abandonment of his early principles.
Throughout his two terms, Jefferson did not once use his power of veto.
Events during his Presidency
Speeches
Inaugural Addresses
Administration and Cabinet
Supreme Court appointments
Jefferson appointed the following Justices to the
Supreme Court of the United States:
States admitted to the Union
Father of a University
After leaving the Presidency, Jefferson continued to be active in public affairs. He also became increasingly obsessed with founding a new institution of higher learning, specifically one free of church influences where students could specialize in
many new areas not offered at other universities. A letter to
Joseph Priestley, in January 1800, indicated that he had been planning the university for decades before its establishment.
His dream was realized in 1819, with the founding of the
University of Virginia. Upon its opening in 1825, it was then the first university to offer a full slate of elective courses to its students. One of the largest construction projects to that time in North America, it was notable for being centered about a library rather than a church. In fact, no campus chapel was included in his original plans. Until his death, he invited university students and faculty of the school to his home;
Edgar Allan Poe was among them.
The university was designed as the capstone of the educational system of Virginia. In his vision, any citizen of the state could attend school with the sole criterion being ability.
Jefferson's death
Jefferson died on the Fourth of July, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the same day as
John Adams' death. Thomas Jefferson was deep in debt when he died. His possessions were sold at an auction on Monticello. In 1831, Jefferson's 552 acres were sold for $7,000 to James T. Barclay. In 1836, Barclay sold the estate and 218 acres of land to
United States Navy Lieutenant Uriah P. Levy for $2,700. Levy then bought the surrounding land and started to purchase original furnishings. Lieutenant Levy is called "the Savior of Monticello" because of this. Levy died in 1862 as a result of the Civil War. In his will, he left the Monticello to the United States to be used as a school for orphans of navy officers. Thomas Jefferson is buried on his
Monticello estate, in Charlottesville, Virginia. His epitaph, written by him with an insistence that only his words and "not a word more" be inscribed, reads:
- 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
|
Appearance and temperament
Jefferson was six feet, two-and-one-half inches in height, slender, erect and sinewy. He had angular features, a very ruddy complexion, strawberry blond hair and hazel-flecked, grey eyes. In later years, he was negligent in dress and loose in bearing. He was a poor public speaker who mumbled through his most important addresses. There was grace, nevertheless, in his manners; and his frank and earnest address, his quick sympathy , and his vivacious, desultory, informing talk gave him an engaging charm. He was a man of intense convictions and an emotional temperament.
"The Sage of Monticello" also cultivated an image that earned him the other nickname, "Man of the People". He affected a popular air by greeting White House guests in homespun attire like a robe and slippers.
Dolley Madison, wife of James Madison , and Jefferson's daughters relaxed White House protocol and turned formal state dinners into more casual and entertaining social events. Although a foremost defender of a free press, Jefferson at times sparred with partisan newspapers and appealed to the people.
Though it is a biographical tradition that he lacked wit,
Don Quixote and the works of
Molière seem to have been his favorites. His writings were utilitarian, but evidenced great intellect, and he had an affinity for languages. He learned
Gaelic in order to translate
Ossian, and sent to James Macpherson for the originals.
As President, he discontinued the practice of delivering the
State of the Union Address in person, instead sending the address to Congress in writing ; he gave only two public speeches during his Presidency. He burned all of his letters between himself and his wife at her death, creating the portrait of a man who at times could be very private. Indeed, he preferred working in the privacy of his office than the public eye.
Interests and activities
Jefferson was an accomplished
architect who was extremely influential in bringing the
Neo-Palladian style—popular among the Whig aristocracy of Britain—to the United States. The style was associated with Enlightenment ideas of
republican civic virtue and political liberty. Jefferson designed his famous home,
Monticello, near
Charlottesville, Virginia; it included automatic doors, the first
swivel chair, and other convenient devices invented by Jefferson. Nearby is the only university ever to have been founded by a U.S. president, the
University of Virginia, of which the original curriculum and architecture Jefferson designed. Today, Monticello and the University of Virginia are together one of only four m
