Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743, the son of a wealthy Virginia family. He was a good student who studied long hours, graduating in two years at the top of his class. His father owned a farm called Monticello which had slave labor. Britain ruled our early colonies from across the sea, heavily taxing the people and taking the money to England . The colonies were upset and wanted their freedom.
Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence of 1776. This document said to England and all of the American colonies that the people wanted to be free. The guiding principal of this document is that all men are created equal. Jefferson wanted a “no slavery clause” in this document but the southern colonies protested and the freedom of slaves was ignored. One hundred years later this failure would result in the Civil War.
England and the American colonies fought the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1785. As a result of this long struggle the American colonies won their freedom from the King of England. George Washington was our military leader in this war and became our first president. From 1785 to 1789, Thomas Jefferson served as minister to France for President Washington.
In 1796 he ran for president against John Adams but lost. At that time the loser became vice president and so he served until 1800. He ran again for president in the 1800 election, winning after a very ugly and hard fought campaign. President Jefferson served in that office for two terms until 1808. While president he was guided by four principles. He stood for free speech, peace, expansion and exploration. Great progress was made in each of these areas over his eight year presidency. After 1808 he retired to his Monticello estate.
In my opinion Thomas Jefferson was one of our great presidents. His wisdom in shaping the early years of our republic was of great importance. Every generation has him to thank for our freedoms and we must work to preserve these freedoms for the next generation.
Preston .......... with a little help from the internet and grandpa.
April 18, 2010
