Thomas Jefferson may be most well known as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, but you might be surprised to learn that the momentous occasion on which that document came to be was only the beginning of one of the most important careers in American politics.
Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, in the colony of Virginia, as the third of ten children. At the age of two, his family was relocated to Tuckahoe Plantation, after the death of a family friend who left Jefferson’s father, Peter, as the guardian of his children.
By the time they returned to Shadwell in 1752, Jefferson was a gifted student. He studied Latin, Greek, and French, and in 1758, not long after his father’s death, boarded with a local reverend who was taught history, science, and classic literature.
From this point on, Jefferson developed a love for books. In later years, his collection would grow to almost 6,500 volumes. He sold most of them to the Library of Congress after the British burnt it down, with the intention of paying off debts, but soon began collecting again. He wrote to John Adams in his later years, “I love my books.”
At 16, he was so advanced that he entered the prestigious College of William & Mary – an Ivy League school by today’s standards, and currently the second-oldest collegiate institution in the country.
It was here that he read the law – the means through which prospective lawyers entered the industry before the invention of law school – under Professor George Wythe, while working as a law clerk.
After only two years, he graduated, and in 1767 was admitted to the Virginia bar, fostering his knowledge of the profession while living with his mother in the family’s Shadwell home. Shortly after, he was appointed a delegate to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he fought in the face of strong opposition for reforms to slavery legislation.
Jefferson also fought for slave’s rights in the courtroom. In one case, he exclaimed “everyone comes into the world with a right to his own person and using it at his own will … This is what is called personal liberty, and is given him by the author of nature, because it is necessary for his own sustenance,” only to be quietened by the judge.
It was a sentiment mirrored in his opposition to British rule. In 1774, British parliament enacted the ‘Coercive Acts’ (called the Intolerable Acts by Americans) in response to the Boston Tea Party. The acts removed Massachusetts’s rights to self-government, and in response Jefferson wrote a resolution calling for a “day of fasting and prayer” in protest. The resolution would be expanded in years to come as an argument for why all people should have the right to govern themselves.
At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War the following year, the Second Continental Congress was formed. Jefferson, at 33, was one of the youngest delegates present, and certainly did not have the reputation of many of the others present. However, when the congress voted which five of them would be responsible for drafting a declaration of independence, Jefferson came in first.
It was not his political or legal record that saw him receive this position, but “a reputation for literature, science, and a happy talent for composition.” His style was graceful but to the point, sometimes in direct contrast with that of his peers, who included John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
It took Jefferson 17 days to draw up the draft, inspired by wording from classic writers whom he had read, as well as his own proposed version of the Virginian Constitution. A final draft would eventually be presented to the congress in late June 1776, though debate about its content raged for several days, resulting in the removal of a quarter of the text, including a passage criticising the slave trade.
Finally, on July 4, 1776, the Congress ratified the Declaration. In signing it, they were committing an act of treason that would bring about a new day for Americans.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
Over the next three years, Jefferson sat in the Virginia House of Delegates, where he assisted with the finalising of a state constitution. Of the 126 bills he drafted during this time, his most famous is the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, forbidding state support of religious institutes and enforcement of doctrine. Unfortunately, it was rejected.
He served as governor in 1779 and 1780, before escaping the newly-established capital of Richmond shortly before the traitorous General Benedict Arnold burnt it down. A later attempt to capture him was thwarted by Jack Jouett, a militiaman who rode 40 miles through the night to warn Jefferson of the incoming British cavalry.
In 1782, Jefferson’s wife, Martha, died. The couple had bore six children, only two of whom would live longer than a few short years. The decade of marriage the two had shared were the happiest of Jefferson’s life, and the grief resulting from his loss is something Jefferson would never overcome.
The following year proved better. The revolutionists won the war, and a peace treaty was signed with Great Britain. The United States then formed the Congress of the Confederation, through which Jefferson acted as chairman of committees. He proposed the Land Ordinance of 1784, which included a segment calling for the abolishment of slavery from the year 1800. Ten states voted on the ordinance. It needed seven votes to pass, but only received six. It was later revealed that the seventh member who would have voted it for it was sick in his chambers on that day.
After a year spent as the Minister to France, Franklin was appointed George Washington’s Secretary of State. In this position, he opposed a national debt, and was so against a national bank that he attempted to undermine Alexander Hamilton’s plan to establish one. When his deceit was discovered, Franklin resigned. Washington never forgave him, and they never talked again.
In 1796, he launched a presidential campaign, only to be beaten by his good friend, John Adams. Jefferson was elected vice president, and presided over the senate. He was known for allowing open debate on the floor, hoping it would result in the best possible ideas for the advancement of the country.
Five years later, Jefferson ascended to the presidency. The inauguration was simple in design, but strong in ideals, with Jefferson calling for “equal and exact justice to all men”.
His two terms in the position were filled with great moments, but none perhaps more important than the Louisiana Purchase, which saw the United States purchase 827,987 square miles of French territory on the continent. Jefferson’s government agreed (though Jefferson himself would not learn about the purchase for more than a month), and overnight the country doubled in size. Unbeknownst to them, Jefferson and his government had just purchased the most fertile tract of land of its size on Earth, making the United States completely self-sufficient in food and other key resources.
Revered US historian Fredrick Jackson Turner called the purchase “the most formative event in American history”.
Following his political career, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, but spent the majority of his time relaxing in the gardens, and reading.
He also reestablished his friendship with Adams, after a falling out following the split between the Federalist and Republican parties that had lead to Adams’ political demise. They reconnected via mail in 1812, and over the next fourteen years exchanged 158 letters talking all things past, present, and future in American politics.
On July 4, 1826, Jefferson died at the age of 83. The dates marked the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A few hours later, John Adams died. The latter’s son, who was president at the time, declared their deaths on such an important day the “visible and palpable remarks of Divine Favour”.
Around Jefferson’s neck when he died was a gold locket on a chain. Mourners removed it to find inside a faded blue ribbon, and a lock of his wife’s hair.
Thomas Jefferson wrote his own epitaph:
“HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON, AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.”
In truth, he was so much more. As Robert Dallek, a historian specialising in US presidents stated:
“Few American presidents are held in higher esteem than Thomas Jefferson. Though historians have scrutinised every phase of his long public career and found him wanting in a number of respects, he holds an unshakable place in the pantheon of American heroes.”