Thomas Jefferson

Our third President, Thomas Jefferson, was born on April 13, 1743 in Virginia. From his father, he inherited about 5,000 acres of land. From his mother, he got a Randolph High School standing. He studied at the College of William and Mary. He married Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow, in 1772, and took her to live with him in his unfinished mountain-top home, Monticello.

He was very eloquent as a correspondent, but was not suited for public speaking. So, in the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress, he used his pen rather than his voice. As the “silent member” of congress, he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

In 1785, he succeeded Franklin as the Minister to France. He was sympathetic to the French people’s cause. Sharp political conflict arose, and Jefferson gradually assumed the leadership of the Republicans. He opposed a strong central government in favor of state’s rights.

In 1796, he reluctantly ran for President, but through a flaw in the Constitution, he lost by three votes, and became Vice-President to President Adams, even though he was an opponent of him. Republican electors, attempting to name both a President and a Vice President from their own party, cast a tie vote between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The tie was settled by the House of Representatives.
Jefferson retired to Monticello to ponder such projects as his grand designs for the University of Virginia.

He died at Monticello, on July 4th, 1826, our nation’s 50th birthday.