Thomas Jefferson
By: Alfred Hale
The Epic Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is an Important American in American history. He helped draft the declaration of independence that allowed America to be free from England, and he wrote the Virginia Statue for religious freedom that established the freedom of religion and the separation of the church and state. He was also the 3rd president of the U.S.A.
Jefferson's Early Life
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 2, 1743, but we celebrate his birthday on April 13 due to a calendar change. The first school he went to was when he was 9 and it was a local private school run by the Reverend William Douglas. When Thomas was 14 he took up his father’s study of literature and mathematics with the Reverend James Maury. And he also met a man named Wythe. Wythe helped Jefferson so much that Jefferson turned into one of the most learned lawyers in all of America.
Jefferson's Middle Life
In 1768, Thomas Jefferson was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1774 he did, “A Summary View of the Rights of British America.” And in June 1776 Jefferson was appointed as one of the five-man committee (John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Livingston). They we’re called to create the Declaration of Independence.
Jefferson's Later Life
Out of the five in the committe, John Adams suggested Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence because of his good writing skills. Later the committee had unanimously asked him to write the first draft. He started working on it right away. He went upstairs to the rented rooms for the next two weeks to write the Declaration of Independence. When he was done, he showed the document to the rest of the committee. The other people of the committee made some minor changes to the declaration like changing the words "inherent and inalienable rights" to "certain and inalienable rights."
"We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, self-preservation in the other."~Thomas Jefferson
Other Fun Facts
He was Governor of Virginia from June 1, 1779, to June 1, 1781. George Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson as his Secretary of State in November 1789. At Home, Jefferson liked to farm, managing his finances, and made improvements to the estate. In 1797, John Adams (a good friend to Thomas Jefferson) was elected president and Thomas Jefferson was Vice President. Jefferson was opposed to the idea of slavery, but he had slaves of his own.