Thomas Jefferson - Biography
by Morton Borden
EARLY LIFE
Jefferson was born at Shadwell in what is now Albemarle County, Va., on Apr. 13,
1743. He treated his pedigree lightly, but his mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson,
came from one of the first families of Virginia; his father, Peter Jefferson,
was a well-to-do landowner, although not in the class of the wealthiest planters. Jefferson attended (1760-62) the College of William and Mary and then
studied law with George Wythe. In 1769 he began six years of service as a
representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses. The following year he began
building Monticello on land inherited from his father. The mansion, which he
designed in every detail, took years to complete, but part of it was ready for
occupancy when he married Martha Wayles Skelton on Jan. 1, 1772. They had six
children, two of whom survived into adulthood.
Jefferson's reputation began to reach beyond Virginia in 1774, when he wrote a
political pamphlet, A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Arguing on
the basis of natural rights theory, Jefferson claimed that colonial allegiance
to the king was voluntary. "The God who gave us life," he wrote, "gave us
liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin
them."
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Elected to the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, Jefferson
was appointed on June 11, 1776, to head a committee of five in preparing the
Declaration of Independence. He was its primary author, although his initial
draft was amended after consultation with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and
altered both stylistically and substantively by Congress. Jefferson's reference
to the voluntary allegiance of colonists to the crown was struck; also deleted
was a clause that censured the monarchy for imposing slavery upon America.
Based upon the same natural rights theory contained in A Summary View, to which
it bears a strong resemblance, the Declaration of Independence made Jefferson
internationally famous. Years later that fame evoked the jealousy of John Adams,
who complained that the declaration's ideas were "hackneyed." Jefferson agreed;
he wrote of the declaration, "Neither aiming at originality of principle or
sentiment, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was
intended to be an expression of the American mind."
REVOLUTIONARY LEGISLATOR
Returning to Virginia late in 1776, Jefferson served until 1779 in the House of
Delegates, one of the two houses of the General Assembly of Virginia -- established in 1776 by the state's new constitution. While the American Revolution
continued, Jefferson sought to liberalize Virginia's laws. Joined by his old law
teacher, George Wythe, and by James Madison and George Mason, Jefferson introduced a number of bills that were resisted fiercely by those representing the
conservative planter class. In 1776 he succeeded in obtaining the abolition of
entail; his proposal to abolish primogeniture became law in 1785. Jefferson
proudly noted that "these laws, drawn by myself, laid the ax to the foot of
pseudoaristocracy."
Jefferson was also instrumental in devising a major revision of the criminal
code, although it was not enacted until 1796. His bill to create a free system
of tax-supported elementary education for all except slaves was defeated as were
his bills to create a public library and to modernize the curriculum of the
College of William and Mary.
In June 1779 the introduction of Jefferson's bill on religious liberty touched
off a quarrel that caused turmoil in Virginia for 8 years. The bill was significant as no other state--indeed, no other nation--provided for complete
religious liberty at that time. Jefferson's bill stated "that all men shall be
free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions on matters of
religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their
civil capacities." Many Virginians regarded the bill as an attack upon Christianity. It did not pass until 1786, and then mainly through the perseverance of
James Madison. Jefferson, by then in France, congratulated Madison, adding that
"it is honorable for us to have produced the first legislature who had the
courage to declare that the reason of man may be trusted with the formation of
his own opinions."
WARTIME GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA
In June 1779, Jefferson was elected governor of Virginia. His political enemies
criticized his performance as war governor mercilessly. He was charged with
failure to provide for the adequate defense of Richmond in 1780-81, although he
knew a British invasion was imminent, and of cowardice and "pusillanimous
conduct" when he fled the capital during the moment of crisis. In June 1781 he
retired from the governorship. The Virginia assembly subsequently voted that "an
inquiry be made into the conduct of the executive of this state." Jefferson was
exonerated: in fact, the assembly unanimously voted a resolution of appreciation
of his conduct. The episode left Jefferson bitter, however, about the rewards of
public service.
MONEY AND THE ORDINANCE OF 1784
The death of his wife, on Sept. 6, 1782, added to Jefferson's problems, but by
the following year he was again seated in Congress. There he made two contributions of enduring importance to the nation. In April 1784 he submitted Notes on
the Establishment of a Money Unit and of a Coinage for the United States in
which he advised the use of a decimal system. This report led to the adoption
(1792) of the dollar, rather than the pound, as the basic monetary unit in the
United States.
As chairman of the committee dealing with the government of western lands,
Jefferson submitted proposals so liberal and farsighted as to constitute, when
enacted, the most progressive colonial policy of any nation in modern history.
The proposed ordinance of 1784 reflected Jefferson's belief that the western
territories should be self-governing and, when they reached a certain stage of
growth, should be admitted to the Union as full partners with the original 13
states. Jefferson also proposed that slavery should be excluded from all of the
American western territories after 1800. Although he himself was a slaveowner,
he believed that slavery was an evil that should not be permitted to spread. In
1784 the provision banning slavery was narrowly defeated. Had one representative
(John Beatty of New Jersey), sick and confined to his lodging, been present, the
vote would have been different. "Thus," Jefferson later reflected, "we see the
fate of millions unborn hanging on the tongue of one man, and heaven was silent
in that awful moment." Although Congress approved the proposed ordinance of
1784, it was never put into effect; its main features were incorporated, however, in the Ordinance of 1787, which established the Northwest Territory.
Moreover, slavery was prohibited in the Northwest Territory.
MINISTER TO FRANCE
From 1784 to 1789, Jefferson lived outside the United States. He was
sent to Paris initially as a commissioner to help negotiate commercial
treaties; then in 1785 he succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to
France. Most European countries, however, were indifferent to American
economic overtures. "They seemed, in fact," Jefferson wrote, "to know
little about us...They were ignorant of our commerce, and of the
exchange of articles it might offer advantageously to both parties."
Only one country, Prussia, signed a pact based on a model treaty
drafted by Jefferson.
During these years Jefferson followed events in the United States with understandable interest. He advised against any harsh punishment of those responsible
for Shays's Rebellion (1786-87) in Massachusetts. He worried particularly that
the new Constitution of the United States lacked a bill of rights and failed to
limit the number of terms for the presidency. In France he witnessed the beginning of the French Revolution, but he doubted whether the French people could
duplicate the American example of republican government. His advice, more conservative than might be anticipated, was that France emulate the British system
of constitutional monarchy.
SECRETARY OF STATE
When Jefferson left Paris on Sept. 26, 1789, he expected to return to his post.
On that date and unknown to him, however, Congress confirmed his appointment as
secretary of state in the first administration of George Washington. Jefferson
accepted the position with some reluctance and largely because of Washington's
insistence. He immediately expressed his alarm at the regal forms and ceremonies
that marked the executive office, but his fears were tempered somewhat by his
confidence in the character of Washington.
Jefferson, however, distrusted both the proposals and the motives of Secretary
of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. He thought Hamilton's financial programs
both unwise and unconstitutional, flowing "from principles adverse to liberty."
On the issue of federal assumption of state debts, Jefferson struck a bargain
with Hamilton permitting assumption to pass--a concession that he later regretted. He attempted, unsuccessfully, to persuade Washington to veto the bill
incorporating a Bank of the United States--recommended by Hamilton.
Jefferson suspected Hamilton and others in the emerging Federalist Party of a
secret design to implant monarchist ideals and institutions in the government.
The disagreements spilled over into foreign affairs. Hamilton was pro-British,
and Jefferson was by inclination pro-French, although he directed the office of
secretary of state with notable objectivity. The more Washington sided with
Hamilton, the more Jefferson became dissatisfied with his minority position
within the cabinet. Finally, after being twice dissuaded from resigning,
Jefferson did so on Dec. 31, 1793.
BRIEF RETIREMENT
At home for the next three years, Jefferson devoted himself to farm and family.
He experimented with a new plow and other ingenious inventions, built a nail
factory, commenced the rebuilding of Monticello, set out a thousand peach trees,
received distinguished guests from abroad, and welcomed the visits of his grandchildren. But he also followed national and international developments with a
mounting sense of foreboding. "From the moment of my retiring from the administration," he later wrote, "the Federalists got unchecked hold on General Washington." Jefferson thought Washington's expedition to suppress the Whiskey
Rebellion (1794) an unnecessary use of military force. He deplored Washington's
denunciation of the Democratic societies and considered Jay's Treaty (1794) with
Britain a "monument of folly and venality."
VICE-PRESIDENT
Thus Jefferson welcomed Washington's decision not to run for a third term in
1796. Jefferson became the reluctant presidential candidate of the Democratic-Republican party, and he seemed genuinely relieved when the Federalist candidate, John Adams, gained a narrow electoral college victory (71 to 68). As the
runner-up, however, Jefferson became vice-president under the system then in
effect.
Jefferson hoped that he could work with Adams, as of old, especially since both
men shared an anti-Hamilton bias. But those hopes were soon dashed. Relations
with France deteriorated. In 1798, in the wake of the XYZ Affair, the so-called
Quasi-War began. New taxes were imposed and the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
threatened the freedom of Americans. Jefferson, laboring to check the authoritarian drift of the national government, secretly authored the Kentucky Resolution. More important, he provided his party with principles and strategy, aiming to win the election of 1800.
PRESIDENT
Jefferson's triumph was delayed temporarily as a result of a tie in electoral
ballots with his running mate, Aaron Burr, which shifted the election to the
House of Representatives. There Hamilton's influence helped Jefferson to prevail, although most Federalists supported Burr as the lesser evil. In his
inaugural speech Jefferson held out an olive branch to his political enemies,
inviting them to bury the partisanship of the past decade, to unite now as
Americans.
Federalist leaders remained adamantly opposed to Jefferson, but the people
approved his policies. Internal taxes were reduced; the military budget was cut;
the Alien and Sedition Acts were permitted to lapse; and plans were made to
extinguish the public debt. Simplicity and frugality became the hallmarks of
Jefferson's administration. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) capped his achievements. Ironically, Jefferson had to overcome constitutional scruples in order to
take over the vast new territory without authorization by constitutional amendment. In this instance it was his Federalist critics who became the constitutional purists. Nonetheless, the purchase was received with popular enthusiasm.
In the election of 1804, Jefferson swept every state except two--Connecticut and
Delaware.
Jefferson's second administration began with a minor success--the favorable
settlement concluding the Tripolitan War (1801-05), in which the newly created
U.S. Navy fought its first engagements. The following year the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, which the president had dispatched to explore the Louisiana Territory, returned triumphantly after crossing the continent. The West was also a
source of trouble, however. The disaffected Aaron Burr engaged in a conspiracy,
the details of which are still obscure, either to establish an independent
republic in the Louisiana Territory or to launch an invasion of Spanish-held
Mexico. Jefferson acted swiftly to arrest Burr early in 1807 and bring him to
trial for treason. Burr was acquitted, however.
Jefferson's main concern in his second administration was foreign affairs, in
which he experienced a notable failure. In the course of the Napoleonic Wars
Britain and France repeatedly violated American sovereignty in incidents such as
the Chesapeake affair (1807). Jefferson attempted to avoid a policy of either
appeasement or war by the use of economic pressure.
The Embargo Act (Dec. 22, 1807), which prohibited virtually all exports and most
imports and was supplemented by enforcing legislation, was designed to coerce
British and French recognition of American rights. Although it failed, it did
rouse many northerners, who suffered economically, to a state of defiance
of national authority. The Federalist party experienced a rebirth of popularity.
In 1809, shortly before he retired from the presidency, Jefferson signed the act
repealing the embargo, which had been in effect for 15 months.
LATER LIFE
In the final 17 years of his life, Jefferson's major accomplishment was the
founding (1819) of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. He conceived
it, planned it, designed it, and supervised both its construction and the
hiring of faculty.
The university was the last of three contributions by which Jefferson wished to
be remembered; they constituted a trilogy of interrelated causes: freedom from
Britain, freedom of conscience, and freedom maintained through education. On
July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson
died at Monticello.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boyd, Julian P., et al., eds.- THE PAPERS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, 19 vols. (1950-)
Brodie, Fawn - THOMAS JEFFERSON: AN INTIMATE HISTORY (1974)
Dabney, Virginius - THE JEFFERSON SCANDAL: A REBUTTAL (1981)
Levy, Leonard - JEFFERSON AND CIVIL LIBERTIES (1972)
McDonald, Forrest - THE PRESIDENCY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON (1976)
Malone, Dumas - JEFFERSON AND HIS TIME, 6 vols. (1948-81)
Mayo, Bernard - THOMAS JEFFERSON AND HIS UNKNOWN BROTHERS (1981)
Miller, John C. - THE WOLF BY THE EARS: THOMAS JEFFERSON AND SLAVERY (1980)
Peterson, Merrill D. - THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE NEW NATION (1970)
Wills, Garry - INVENTING AMERICA: JEFFERSON'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
(1978).
THOMAS JEFFERSON
3d President of the United States (1801-09)
Nickname: "Man of the People"; "Sage of Monticello"
Born: Apr. 13, 1743, Shadwell plantation, Goochland (now in Albemarle) Co., Va.
Education: College of William and Mary (graduated 1762)
Profession: Lawyer, Planter
Religious Affiliation: None
Marriage: Jan. 1, 1772, to Martha Wayles Skelton (1748-82)
Children: Martha Washington Jefferson (1772-1836)
Jane Randolph Jefferson (1774-75)
infant son (1777)
Mary Jefferson (1778-1804)
Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson (1780-81)
Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson (1782-84)
Political Affiliation: Democratic-Republican
Writings: WRITINGS (10 vols. 1892-99), ed. by Paul L. Ford
THE PAPERS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON (1950- )
ed. by Julian P. Boyd, et al.
NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA 1781 (1955), ed. by William Peden
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1959), ed. by Dumas Malone
Died: July 4, 1826, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Va.
Buried: Monticello, near Charlottesville, Va.
Vice-President: Aaron Burr (1801-05)
George Clinton (1805-09)
Secretary of State: James Madison
Secretary of the Treasury: Samuel Dexter (1801)
Albert Gallatin (1801-09)
Secretary of War: Henry Dearborn
Attorney General: Levi Lincoln (1801-04)
John Breckinridge (1805-06)
Caesar A. Rodney (1807-09)
Secretary of the Navy: Benjamin Stoddert (1801)
Robert Smith (1801-09)
'Copyright 1987, Grolier Inc, Academic American Encyclopedia,
Electronic Version'
USED BY PERMISSION, granted January 9, 1988
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