Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826), third president of the United States (1801-1809) and author of the Declaration of Independence. He was a philosopher, educator, naturalist, politician, scientist, architect, inventor, pioneer in scientific farming, musician, and writer. Jefferson was the foremost spokesperson of his day for democracy. As president, he strengthened the powers of the executive branch of government. He was also the first president to lead a political party. Jefferson had great faith in popular rule and sought to develop a government that would best assure the freedom and well-being of the individual.
II. Early Career
Jefferson was born in western Goochland County, Virginia. In ...
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active part in the events that led to the American Revolution (1775-1783). His literary talents made him a highly valued member of committees when public papers were drafted. Early in 1774 the colonies were angered by the British Parliament's passage of what were called the Intolerable Acts. One of these, the Boston Port Act, closed the harbor of Boston, Massachusetts, in retaliation for a protest incident. Jefferson was one who controversially suggested that the day the act went into effect should be declared "a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer."
During 1775 and 1776 Jefferson sat in the Continental Congress. During this time the American Revolution broke out. In the congress Jefferson wrote his most famous document, the Declaration of Independence. As an expression of the philosophy of the rights of the people in an age when absolute monarchs ruled throughout the world, it had an immense impact in both America and Europe. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was ...
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in 1787, Jefferson attended every day. The violence and cruelty of later developments in France distressed him greatly, but he never lost faith in the principles of the French Revolution (1789-1799). During Jefferson's stay abroad he was frequently consulted on significant developments at home, including the 1787 drafting of the Constitution of the United States and the addition of the ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights.
When Jefferson returned to the United States in 1789, President George Washington asked him to become secretary of state. Jefferson and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton were completely at odds in their political thinking. Jefferson distrusted ...
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"Thomas Jefferson." Essayworld.com. December 17, 2003. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Thomas-Jefferson/12.
"Thomas Jefferson." Essayworld.com. December 17, 2003. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Thomas-Jefferson/12.
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