Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

by

John S. Matuszewski

American History

Mr. Dodds

December 2, 2004

Table of Contents

Page

I. Early Life and Childhood 1

II Through Collage and Into the world 2

III Revolutionary Politics 3

IV Pre-Presidential Posts and Accomplishments 4

V Presidency and post presidency 5

VI Picture 6

VII Works Cited 7

Thomas Jefferson

I. Early life and childhood

A simple log cabin located in now what is commonly known as Albemarle County, Virginia, was the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States of America. He was born on April 13, 1743 to Peter and Jane Randolph Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was borne into what we might define today as an upper middle class. His mother, Jane Randolph, came from one of the leading families of Virginia and his father Peter Jefferson, although not considered poor, was considerably less well off than his wife. (Malone 1)

When Thomas was only two years old he and his family, which now consisted of three

Sisters, himself and his mother moved to a new house called Tuckahoe. His father provided for

his family by working as a planter owning more than 200 slaves but as his children grew he

expanded and moved further from raising tobacco and made a name for himself by eventually

becoming a well known surveyor and getting the popular reputation as a conqueror of the

Virginian wilderness. (Malone 22)

When Tom was nine he and his family moved back to the home of his birth where his

father died five years later. Tom spent the rest of his childhood as a typical Virginian boy would.

He developed a not overwhelming yet real affection for the out doors as any boy would. He

attended the Latin School of the Reverend William Douglas who was the minister of St. James

Parish. Here he attended primary school with a select few sons of the wealthy Virginian planters.

Http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/biography.html

II. Through Collage and Into the World

In 1760 Thomas emerged from the Virginian foothills and enrolled at the Collage of William and Mary at Williamsburg. Here he excelled in his studies, which included Language, history, and Law. He was particularly intended on following law and after attending collage from 1760-1762 he worked under George Wythe as a lawyer. He did this from 1762-1769 until he began a six-year term as a representative in the Virginia house of Burgesses in 1969. It was in this place that he began building his reputation as a man of whit, charm, intelligence, and social standing. (http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tjefferson.html)

In 1763 at the age of twenty he began building a mansion for himself on part of the land he had inherited from his father. This home, which took more than ten years to build, was named Monticello and built it in part for his wife Martha Wayles Skelton who he married in January of 1772. Through Martha he had six children; Martha Washington Jefferson, Jane Randolph Jefferson, an infant son who did not survive long enough to be formally named, Mary Jefferson, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson, and another Lucy Jefferson. As sad as it may seem only two of his daughters, Martha Washington Jefferson (1772-1836) and Mary Jefferson (1778-1804) survived into adulthood. (http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tjefferson.html)

III. Revolutionary Politics

In 1774 Jefferson's name began to spread past Virginia when he published a political pamphlet arguing against the idea of "divine rule." This gave him a good deal more popularity and was readily elected to attend the Second Continental Congress in 1776. After a great deal of debating in the congress Jefferson was chosen as the head of a five-person committee that was to draft the Declaration of Independence. This committee consisted of; himself, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. (Malone 219)

Jefferson was undoubtedly an educated man who was known for his exceeding penmanship, however, it seems that the general consensus of the committee was that Adams was the most qualified to draft the Declaration. Adams, however, declined to take leadership of the committee fearing that his general