Thomas Jefferson came from a clan of slave owners. He also had his own slaves. Moreover, he was an opponent of such a system. He outlined his beliefs in the preparation of the Declaration, but they were deleted.
Jefferson is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States. He was an outstanding representative of the Enlightenment.
Childhood and youth
A brief biography of Thomas Jefferson can begin from the moment he was born. It happened on April 13, 1743 in Virginia. He was the third child in a large family. His father's name was Peter. He was engaged in geodesy of plantations, had his own lands and slaves. Jefferson's mother was called Jane. She was the daughter of fleet captain Ishem Randolph, who also had plantations.
When the boy was two years old, the family moved to Takkaho, where his father began to manage the estate of his late friend. From the age of nine, Thomas began his studies at a local school. He studied Latin, ancient Greek and French from a priest. He then continued his studies at the priest Mori's school. The young man spent two years in the family of a priest, having received a classical education. This helped him in his further studies.
In 1760, Thomas entered college in Williamsburg in the philosophical department. At this time, he became interested in the knowledge of British empirical scientists, began to master the violin. After graduation, he received the right to practice law.
Jefferson lost his father back in 1757. He inherited a piece of land and a couple dozen slaves. Later, on his land, he built the famous Monticello manor. At that time, it was an innovative project.
Career politics
In a brief biography of Thomas Jefferson, it is necessary to mention that he first engaged in advocacy for some time. However, Jefferson gradually became interested in politics. In 1769 he was elected to the House of Representatives. He began to write articles that colonists in America can independently manage their land without the intervention of the British Parliament.
The confrontation between the colonists and the mother country led to the war for independence.
Declaration of Independence
Jefferson joined the committee, which was to prepare an accompanying declaration. He not only headed the committee, but also became the author of the original version of the declaration. The rest of the members asked him about this, since Jefferson was known as a good writer.
In compiling the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson used several documents as examples. For example, the Mason Declaration of Human Rights, various drafts of the Virginia Constitution.
Congress approved the text on July 4, 1776, deleting some points from it, especially those concerning criticism of slavery and the slave trade. Jefferson gained great fame. The preamble to the Declaration, which dealt with human rights, was particularly notable.
Third US President
After writing the Declaration, Jefferson was involved in bills, was elected Governor of Virginia, Ambassador to France, Secretary of State under George Washington, and Vice President under John Adams.
In 1800, he put forward his candidacy for the presidency, emphasizing the abolition of numerous high taxes in the election campaign. Beating competitors, he became the third president in a row. Thomas Jefferson ruled the state from 1801-1809. The activities of the head of the USA are marked by such innovations and achievements:
- Abolished tax for small whiskey producers.
- He reduced the size of the army, including the fleet, but increased the corps of engineers.
- Abolished district courts, assigning their responsibilities to district.
- He banned the slave trade at the federal level.
- He signed a bill banning the import of new slaves into the United States.
- Bought Louisiana from Napoleon Bonaparte.
Jefferson directed his activities to reduce the country's external debt.
Death and debt
Thomas Jefferson, whose brief biography is presented in the article, died in 1826 (July 4), just on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration. He was buried in the territory of Monticchiello.
The family in which Jefferson was born was considered one of the richest in the United States. But after his death, the politician left a lot of debts, so his property was auctioned. Monticello's estate was managed for some time by his daughter, but soon sold it to Captain Levy, who deeply respected and respected Thomas Jefferson. Levy bequeathed Monticello to the state. Since 1923, a museum has been operating in it.
What other interesting facts are in the biography of Thomas Jefferson?
Personal life
The third American president is credited with a relationship with three women. The first was his second cousin Martha Weils, whom he married in 1772. During their marriage, which lasted ten years, six children were born. In 1782, his wife died and Thomas no longer married.
His second chosen one is Sally Hemings, who was a slave to Jefferson. She served in his house with children. She had eight of her offspring, all fair-skinned, and to all of them Thomas wrote free.
His third woman was Maria Cosway. He met her in Paris. It is not known whether there was a love relationship between them, but they maintained friendly relations until the end of their lives. Maria was an artist and was considered one of the smartest women of that era.
Public merit
A brief biography of Thomas Jefferson would be incomplete without mentioning the merits of this politician and public figure:
- The Library of Congress was created on the basis of his book collection.
- He became the founder of the University of Virginia, composing his first program.
- He was engaged in various sciences, among which one can distinguish architecture, archeology, paleontology.
- He had several inventions of his own, for example, a swivel chair, a camping chair, a copy machine, a pedometer.
- He loved to collect wine.
- Himself designed his estate, the rotunda of the University of Virginia, the Virginia Capitol.
- He created his own version of the New Testament, which was called the “Jefferson Bible”.
By the end of the eighteenth century, Jefferson created his own encryptor. However, he was not sure of the reliability of the invented device, so he did not use it. Soon, the invention was archived until it was remembered in the twentieth century. It was considered quite resistant to cryptanalysis. This was the reason that politics began to be called the "father of the American encryption business."