Biography: Jefferson, Thomas
1743-1826, intellectual, statesman, and third president of the United
States. Although Jefferson served as governor of Virginia, minister to
France, secretary of state, vice president, and president, he is remembered
in history less for the offices he held than for what he stood for: his
belief in the natural rights of man as he expressed them in the Declaration
of Independence and his faith in the people's ability to govern themselves.
He left an impact on his times equaled by few others in American history.
Introduced to the ideas of the Enlightenment as a student at the College of
William and Mary, Jefferson displayed throughout his life an optimistic
faith in the power of reason to ...
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which, he affirmed, was
self-government.
Jefferson's intellectual prowess led some political opponents to dismiss
him as a visionary, but he was remarkably successful in politics. As leader
of the opposition to the Federalist policies of Alexander Hamilton and John
Adams, Jefferson was put forward by his supporters to run against Adams in
the election of 1796 to succeed George Washington as president. He lost
that contest but four years later defeated Adams to preside over the first
transfer of political power from one party to another in the history of the
young Republic. In his inaugural address in 1801, he set the ship of state
on a republican course based on faith in majority rule, simplicity and
frugality in government, limited central authority, and protection of civil
liberties and minority rights. Alexis de Tocqueville, visiting America five
years after Jefferson's death, declared Jefferson to be "the greatest
democrat whom the democracy of America has as yet produced."
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and slavery, yet he
enjoyed a life of privilege and owned slaves, optimistically hoping that
the next generation would end that violation of natural law.
Jefferson's sense of priorities was strikingly revealed when he instructed
that his tombstone be inscribed only with the words that he was the author
of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for
Religious Freedom, and the father of the University of Virginia.
Bibligraphy
Noble E. Cunningham, Jr., In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas
Jefferson (1987);
Merrill D. Peterson, Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography
(1970).
Jefferson Memorial
Monument in Washington, D.C., honoring Thomas ...
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"Biography: Jefferson, Thomas." Essayworld.com. September 25, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Biography-Jefferson-Thomas/14898.
"Biography: Jefferson, Thomas." Essayworld.com. September 25, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Biography-Jefferson-Thomas/14898.
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