Short Biography: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Jane Randolph Jefferson, was a member of the proud Randolph clan, a family claiming descent from English and Scottish royalty. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a successful farmer as well as a skilled Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia.Thomas Jefferson, author of the American Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, was born on April 13, 1743, at the Shadwell plantation located just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia -- near the western edge of Great Britain's American Empire.
Jefferson was born into one of the most prominent families of Virginia's planter elite. His surveyor and cartographer who produced the first accurate map of the Province of Virginia. The young …show more content…
The committee then chose Jefferson to author the declaration's first draft, selecting him for what John Adams called his "happy talent for composition and singular felicity of expression." Over the next 17 days, Jefferson drafted one of the most beautiful and powerful testaments to liberty and equality in world history.In June 1776, the Congress appointed a five-man committee (Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston) to draft a Declaration of Independence. The committee then chose Jefferson to author the declaration's first draft, selecting him for what John Adams called his "happy talent for composition and singular felicity of expression. In June 1776, the Congress appointed a five-man committee (Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston) to draft a Declaration of Independence. The committee then chose Jefferson to author the declaration's first draft, selecting him for what John Adams called his "happy talent for composition and singular felicity of expression." Over the next 17 days, Jefferson drafted one of the most beautiful and powerful testaments to liberty and equality in world history. To fill his time at home, in late 1781, Jefferson began working on his only full-length book, the modestly titled Notes on the State …show more content…
After a few years Thomas Jefferson was spurred back into public life by private tragedy: the death of his beloved wife, Martha Jefferson, on September 6, 1782, at the age of 34. After months of mourning, in June 1783, Jefferson returned to Philadelphia to lead the Virginia delegation to the Confederation Congress. In 1785, that body appointed Jefferson to replace Benjamin Franklin as U.S. minister to France. Although Jefferson appreciated much about European culture -- its arts, architecture, literature, food and wines -- he found the juxtaposition of the aristocracy grandeur and the masses' poverty repellant. "I find the general fate of humanity here, most deplorable," he wrote in one letter. In Europe, Jefferson rekindled his friendship with John Adams, who served as minister to Great Britain, and Adams's wife,
Jane Randolph Jefferson, was a member of the proud Randolph clan, a family claiming descent from English and Scottish royalty. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a successful farmer as well as a skilled Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia.Thomas Jefferson, author of the American Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, was born on April 13, 1743, at the Shadwell plantation located just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia -- near the western edge of Great Britain's American Empire.
Jefferson was born into one of the most prominent families of Virginia's planter elite. His surveyor and cartographer who produced the first accurate map of the Province of Virginia. The young …show more content…
The committee then chose Jefferson to author the declaration's first draft, selecting him for what John Adams called his "happy talent for composition and singular felicity of expression." Over the next 17 days, Jefferson drafted one of the most beautiful and powerful testaments to liberty and equality in world history.In June 1776, the Congress appointed a five-man committee (Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston) to draft a Declaration of Independence. The committee then chose Jefferson to author the declaration's first draft, selecting him for what John Adams called his "happy talent for composition and singular felicity of expression. In June 1776, the Congress appointed a five-man committee (Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston) to draft a Declaration of Independence. The committee then chose Jefferson to author the declaration's first draft, selecting him for what John Adams called his "happy talent for composition and singular felicity of expression." Over the next 17 days, Jefferson drafted one of the most beautiful and powerful testaments to liberty and equality in world history. To fill his time at home, in late 1781, Jefferson began working on his only full-length book, the modestly titled Notes on the State …show more content…
After a few years Thomas Jefferson was spurred back into public life by private tragedy: the death of his beloved wife, Martha Jefferson, on September 6, 1782, at the age of 34. After months of mourning, in June 1783, Jefferson returned to Philadelphia to lead the Virginia delegation to the Confederation Congress. In 1785, that body appointed Jefferson to replace Benjamin Franklin as U.S. minister to France. Although Jefferson appreciated much about European culture -- its arts, architecture, literature, food and wines -- he found the juxtaposition of the aristocracy grandeur and the masses' poverty repellant. "I find the general fate of humanity here, most deplorable," he wrote in one letter. In Europe, Jefferson rekindled his friendship with John Adams, who served as minister to Great Britain, and Adams's wife,