Martha Washington Jefferson And Mary Jefferson example essay topic

Thomas Jefferson by John S. Matuszewski American History Mr. Dodds December 2, 2004 Table of Contents Page. Early Life and Childhood 1 II Through Collage and Into the world 2 Revolutionary Politics 3 IV Pre-Presidential Posts and Accomplishments 4 V Presidency and post presidency 5 VI Picture 6 VII Works Cited 7 Thomas Jefferson I. Early life and childhood simple log cabin located in now what is commonly known as Albemarle County, Virginia, was the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States of America. He was born on April 13, 1743 to Peter and Jane Randolph Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was borne into what we might define today as an upper middle class. His mother, Jane Randolph, came from one of the leading families of Virginia and his father Peter Jefferson, although not considered poor, was considerably less well off than his wife. (Malone 1) When Thomas was only two years old he and his family, which now consisted of three Sisters, himself and his mother moved to a new house called Tuckahoe.

His father provided for his family by working as a planter owning more than 200 slaves but as his children grew he expanded and moved further from raising tobacco and made a name for himself by eventually becoming a well known surveyor and getting the popular reputation as a conqueror of the Virginian wilderness. (Malone 22) When Tom was nine he and his family moved back to the home of his birth where his father died five years later. Tom spent the rest of his childhood as a typical Virginian boy would. He developed a not overwhelming yet real affection for the out doors as any boy would. He attended the Latin School of the Reverend William Douglas who was the minister of St. James Parish. Here he attended primary school with a select few sons of the wealthy Virginian planters. web II.

Through Collage and Into the World In 1760 Thomas emerged from the Virginian foothills and enrolled at the Collage of William and Mary at Williamsburg. Here he excelled in his studies, which included Language, history, and Law. He was particularly intended on following law and after attending collage from 1760-1762 he worked under George Wythe as a lawyer. He did this from 1762-1769 until he began a six-year term as a representative in the Virginia house of Burgesses in 1969. It was in this place that he began building his reputation as a man of whit, charm, intelligence, and social standing. (web) In 1763 at the age of twenty he began building a mansion for himself on part of the land he had inherited from his father. This home, which took more than ten years to build, was named Monticello and built it in part for his wife Martha Wales Skelton who he married in January of 1772.

Through Martha he had six children; Martha Washington Jefferson, Jane Randolph Jefferson, an infant son who did not survive long enough to be formally named, Mary Jefferson, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson, and another Lucy Jefferson. As sad as it may seem only two of his daughters, Martha Washington Jefferson (1772-1836) and Mary Jefferson (1778-1804) survived into adulthood. (web) . Revolutionary Politics In 1774 Jefferson's name began to spread past Virginia when he published a political pamphlet arguing against the idea of "divine rule". This gave him a good deal more popularity and was readily elected to attend the Second Continental Congress in 1776. After a great deal of debating in the congress Jefferson was chosen as the head of a five-person committee that was to draft the Declaration of Independence. This committee consisted of; himself, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.

(Malone 219) Jefferson was undoubtedly an educated man who was known for his exceeding penmanship, however, it seems that the general consensus of the committee was that Adams was the most qualified to draft the Declaration. Adams, however, declined to take leadership of the committee fearing that his general unpopularity among the congress would lead to an automatic rejection of the work... (web) After the eventual signing of the Declaration and the disbanding of the congress, Thomas returned to Virginia and served in the Virginia House of Delegates until 1779. During this three-year period he sought to pass laws that would liberalize the Virginian legislature. He did this with the help of George Wythe, James Madison, and George Mason. web IV. Pre-Presidential Posts and Accomplishments In 1779 Jefferson was elected Governor of the State of Virginia but he was unable to properly defend it from British invasion and retired from his office in 1781.1782 marked the death of his wife. He mourned her for an entire year before eventually returning to congress in 1783.

Once again in congress, Thomas proceeded to propose extremely liberal and Avant-garde ideas. Jefferson also Spurred the Ordinance of 1784 which was never in actuality put into effect but eventually led to the Ordinance of 1787 which established the Northwest Territory. From 1784 to 1789 he lived in Paris as he served as the United States' Minister to France and took a particular interest in the revolution that France itself was having. He eventually left Paris and his Ministry. In 1789 he returned to America to serve in President Washington's cabinet as the United States' first Secretary of State. As Secretary he made his first real political opponent, Alexander Hamilton.

His fear of Hamilton's contrasting views pushed him to hesitantly run for president when Washington declined a third term in 1796. He was relieved that he failed to win the Presidency and became the Vice President under the winner and old friend John Adams. V. His Presidency and Post Presidency Jefferson was now open to run for the 1800 presidential race. He was politically matched up against Federalist Aaron Burr. Hamelton's influence was what was able to help him win over the support of the House of Representatives. In his inaugural speech Jefferson held out an olive branch to his political enemies and extended his hope for lack of partisanship. Jefferson's Presidency was marked with many historic events.

He made the most significant land purchase in Unites States history, i.e. the Louisiana Purchase. In his second term he won the election by a complete landslide winning every state with the exception of Connecticut and Delaware. He commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition, arrested Aaron Burr for engaging in a conspiracy to try and establish Louisiana as an independent Republic, and ended the Tripolitan war, which was the first fighting ever done by the American Navy. As he continued to lead the country in these new times of suffering and change he continued to fight to reform many of the country's faults e.g. tax supported elementary system.

Jefferson lived 17 years after his second term. In which time he founded the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of his very own Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1826 at his home in Monticello. web VI. Picture VII.

Bibliography

Malone, Dumas. Jefferson the Virginian. New York: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1948 Thomas Jefferson.
online] Nov 28, 2004 A brief Biography of Thomas Jefferson.
online] Nov 30, 2004.