FREE ESSAY ON THOMAS JEFFERSON

THOMAS JEFFERSON

THOMAS JEFFERSON
1801-1809
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia. Jefferson was
known as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the
United States. Jefferson was also a diplomat, an architect, a musician, a scientist and
an inventor; Jefferson was an advocate for the public school system.
Education was very important to him. Jefferson founded the University of Virginia at
Charlottesville. He designed it, planned it, and hired the professors; he also came up
with the first study courses. Jefferson lived 83 years and was very young spirited. He
was always learning something new and was never afraid to try and try again.
Thomas Jefferson did many things very well, and there was only one person that came close
to matching him, that person was Benjamin Franklin. They were both very fascinating
people. Jefferson's father was Colonel Peter Jefferson, he was a well-known explorer and
owned large amounts of land, therefore Thomas had the best of everything.
His mother was from a well-known family in Virginia, her name was Jane Randolph, and she
was wealthy also.
Thomas Jefferson was educated privately in his early days and went on to study Latin,
Greek, Italian and Spanish. His favorite subjects were math and science. Thomas studied
law for five years under a well-known law teacher by the name of George Wythe.
At the age of 24 he was admitted to the bar in the year 1767. He practiced law until the
American Revolution closed all the courts. He earned most of his income by all the farms
he owned. He married Martha Wayles Skelton in the year 1772 that increased his land
ownership immensely. They had six children, one son and five daughters. Only two children
lived to adults, Martha and Mary
Thomas Jefferson designed and built a house on a mountain, which he called his Monticello
home. Jefferson loved his home and was very proud of it. He left his home when his wife
died, her death left him very sad and lonely.
In the year 1783 Thomas Jefferson was accepted to the Continental Congress. This started
his political career. Thomas Jefferson was very active in writing laws and resolutions;
he was a very straightforward man. Some people viewed him as being to extreme. Jefferson
was chosen to represent Albemarle County at the first Virginia Convention. He became ill
and was not able to attend, but he sent his messages that British Parliament had no
control over the colonies. Jefferson was the primary person to write the Declaration of
Independence. Congress felt it was too harsh, and had Dickenson take the responsibility
of rewriting it. He used allot of Jefferson's original ideas. Jefferson was a Republican
and in 1779 became governor of Virginia. 
In 1786 Jefferson wrote a bill establishing religious freedom. Two parties started to
emerge. The Democrats and the Republicans. Jefferson assumed the leadership of the
Republicans. Jefferson opposed a strong centralized Government and wanted the states to
have their rights. We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among
these are Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. These words are arguably the
backbone of our countries right to freedom. Jefferson is considered one of the greatest
pioneers of America. 
One of the issues that troubled Jefferson throughout his lifetime was slavery and his
ownership of more than two hundred slaves The question that puzzles most Americans is how
could the man that wrote "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL" 
Could own slaves? The question has been asked over and over throughout the history of our
Great Nation. This is the thing that contemporary Americans find most interesting about
Thomas Jefferson. Although slavery was the normal thing in Jefferson's lifetime, this
cannot be used a to justify his ownership of slaves. Jefferson was A very kind master to
his slaves. Jefferson spoke out against the institution of slavery, slave trading, and
for the right of black people to be free. People of today's society would think of
Jefferson as being a hypocrite for owning slaves, and at the same time denouncing
slavery. We must put ourselves in his time and place and not judge him for what he did.
Jefferson knew it was wrong, but why did he keep owning slaves. Why didn't he just let
them go? Jefferson never let one slave go, until he died, then he let five of them go,
they were all in his will.
Jefferson had a view called emancipation; he did not believe that if we gave the slaves
their freedom that they would not be able to change their ways of living. The answer to
slavery for Jefferson was that it would do more harm than good to let them go.
Jefferson felt like they should gradually remove the slaves from America to the coast of
Africa. In a letter to Jared Sparks Jefferson wrote: In the disposition of these
unfortunate people, there are two rational objects to be distinctly kept in view. First.
The establishment of a colony on the coast of Africa, which may introduce among the
aborigines the arts of cultivated life, and the blessings of civilization and science.
Jefferson wanted the white man to educate and train the black people to be
self-sufficient. He wanted the white people to provide them with the tools that were
necessary to establish them a colony off the Africa coastline. In 1769 Virginia
Legislature rejected the emancipation. In 1776 Jefferson proposed a bill to end slave
trading, it was not until the year 1778 that Virginia adopted the bill. The bill proposed
stern penalties for slaves that were brought in illegal and provided immediate release of
any that were brought in illegally. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode
Island followed suit. Another issue that has threatened Thomas Jefferson is that of his
alleged affair with Sally Hemmings. She was one of his slaves. Thomas has been accused of
being the father of a few of her kids.
Thomas Jefferson's masterpiece was the Declaration of Independence. It was the most
important episode in the development of the American ideal of equality and freedom.
Although he was a slave owner definitely denounced the institution of slavery and
proposed the plan for emancipation. Thomas Jefferson led the way for the abolishment of
slave trading. Many people call Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite. I think that they are just
upset with the idea that he owned slaves, yet he preached that it was wrong. The
Declaration of Independence laid down the framework for the abolishment of slavery. In a
transcription written by William Marris he says " Jefferson had taken what was merely a
national struggle, the American struggle for independence and cast it in rhetoric that
made it a human struggle. And by doing so, he sowed the seeds of the end of the peculiar
institution of slavery." Thomas Jefferson should be remembered as the man who started to
break down the process of slavery. He also did a lot more for our country than any other
person of his time.