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2003-08-11
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81 lines
Thomas Jefferson is best known as
the author of the Declaration of Independence
and as third President of the United States.
But he was also a diplomat, an architect,
a musician, a scientist and inventor, a strong
supporter of religious freedom, and an early
advocate of public education. He was
the founder of the University of Virginia
and the greatest patron of learning
and the arts in his generation. Although
he lived 83 years, he never ceased to
be young in spirit. He was always learning
something new, always trying to contribute
to human progress. Although renowned
as a champion of democracy and friend
of the common people, Jefferson was a member
of a favored class by birth and training.
He was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell,
his father's home in Albemarle County,Virginia,
then on the edge of western settlement.
His father, Peter Jefferson, was a
successful landholder as well as a noted
explorer. He provided his son with excellent
opportunities for education and left
him a considerable estate. His mother,
Jane Randolph, belonged to one of the leading
Virginia families. Jefferson was educated
privately during his youth. He studied
Latin and Greek before going to the College
of William and Mary in Williamsburg at
the age of 17. He learned French early
and later acquired a knowledge of Italian
and Spanish. At college he developed an interest
in science and mathematics, and in the colonial
capital of Williamsburg, he got to see government
in operation. He would later be a
part of that government. In appearance, Jefferson
was tall and lean, sandy-haired, and
inclined to freckle. Although somewhat
awkward, he was physically strong and a fine
horseman. A friendly man, although he
could be stiff at first meeting, he
made and kept many friends. Jefferson
studied law and at 24 was admitted to
the bar. Legal fees provided only part
of his earnings, however, and he was
supported mainly by the income from
his lands. These were doubled by the
inheritance of his wife, Martha Wayles
Skelton, whom he married in 1772.
But his wife's estate was burdened with
a heavy debt from which he never escaped.
Jefferson owned about 10,000 acres of land,
much of it forested, and from 100 to 200
slaves. He was always opposed to slavery,
but his proposals to abolish it in
Virginia failed. He himself was an
especially kind master. On a small hilltop
he built a house, later extensively
remodeled, which he named Monticello--meaning
"little mountain" in Italian. He was
his own architect and builder. Because
of his position as a leading planter,
Jefferson was expected to take part in the
colonial government. In 1769, at the age
of 25, he was elected to the House of Burgesses,
the Virginia legislature, where he would serve
until the outbreak of the American Revolution.
He disliked speaking in public, partly
because his voice was not strong, but
he excelled on committees and soon showed his
skill as a writer. From the beginning
he belonged to the group that most strongly
upheld the rights of the American colonies
against the British government, which
then ruled them. Jefferson said many
times that he never liked public life,
and he might have remained quietly
at home in Virginia if the conflict between
the American colonies and Britain had not