Jefferson on Jefferson

Jefferson was born at Shadwell in Albemarle county, Virginia, on April 13,1743. His father, Peter Jefferson and his mother Jane Randolph were members of the most famous Virginia families. Besides being well born, Thomas Jefferson, was well educated. He attended the College of William and Mary and read law (1762-1767) with George Wythe the greatest law teacher of his generation in Virginia. He was service was the founding of the University of Virginia in 1819. He died at Monticello on July 4, 1826 on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson lived at Shadwell for a few years until the family moved to Tuckahoe. Jefferson was the oldest of his six sisters and one brother. Jefferson’s father moved the family to Tuckahoe to take care of the children orphaned by his best friend. Around the age of 17 while on the way to college, Jefferson met a man by the name of Patrick Henry. The two became close friends and Henry called on Jefferson to help him get a license to be become a lawyer. Jefferson became Dr. William Small’s, a Mathematic professor, every day cohort. Small introduced Jefferson to two of his closest associates, George Wythe and Governor Francis Fauquier. The four men created a quartet and Jefferson claims he owes a vast majority of his education to these three men. After finishing college in 1762, Jefferson studied law with Wythe and noticed growing tension between America and Great Britain. Jefferson was admitted to the bar in 1767. In 1769, Jefferson became a member of the legislature where he first tried for the emancipation of slaves. At his home in Shadwell, he designed and supervised the building of his home, Monticello, on a nearby hill. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Jefferson met Martha Skelton, a wealthy widow of 23, in 1770 and married her in 1772. They settled in Monticello and had one son and five daughters. Only two of his children, Martha and Mary, survived until maturity. Mrs. Martha Jefferson died in 1782.

Jefferson joined a group, which opposed and took action in the disputes between Britain and the colonies. Together with other patriots, the group met in the Apollo Room of Williamsburg’s famous Raleigh Tavern in 1769 and formed a no importation agreement against Britain. He was chosen to attend the First Virginia Convention, where delegates were elected to the First Continental Congress. He became ill and was unable to attend the meeting, but forwarded a message arguing that the British Parliament had no control over the colonies. Jefferson attended the Second Virginia Convention in 1775 and was chosen as one of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress.

The Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson in June 1776. Before taking the Declaration of Independence to the committee Jefferson corresponded with Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams, asking them for their corrections. Jefferson looked up to these two men and wanted their input before sending it to the committee. In 1779, Jefferson became governor of Virginia, guiding Virginians through the final years of the Revolutionary War. As a member of the Second Continental Congress, he drafted an ordinance for the Northwest Territory that formed the foundation for the Ordinance of 1787. In 1785, he became minister to France. Appointed secretary of state in President Washington’s Cabinet in 1790, Jefferson defended local interests against Alexander Hamilton’s policies and led a group called the Republicans. He was elected vice-president in 1796 and protested the enactment of the