Thomas+Jefferson

===Introduction ===

“This was the object of the declaration. Not to find out new principles, or new arguments… but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject” – Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant writer. He specialized in putting ideals of freedom and independence into words (Wilmore). As a result, Jefferson was elected to draft the Declaration of Independence (Bernstein). He lived to be the youngest delegate to participate in congress, a Democratic-Republican, one of the founding fathers of America, and a United States president (Wilmore). Fellow delegates noted that Thomas was shy, respectful, hard-working, and devoted to his beloved family (Bernstein). Overall, Jefferson lived a long life writing many literary works, keeping America in shape as president, and would step down from office to be at his family’s side.

Personal Background
Thomas Jefferson participated in government as a young teenager due to his passion for freedom. He began his career in government as a delegate for the second Continental Congress. Jefferson was acknowledged as being the youngest delegate to partake in the Congress (Wilmore). Thomas participated in the Continental Congress until 1776 to retreat back to his home state, Virginia (Bernstein). After leaving the Congress, Jefferson was elected to the Virginia Legislature to set a legal code for the state government. During the American Revolution, he was elected governor which determined that Thomas Jefferson was an ineffective leader when he was nearly captured by British in Monticello (Pious).

Jefferson wrote numerous amounts of books, works, and letters showing his passion and expertise at writing. Thomas wrote various literary works and letters that were to his family or even George Washington, the first president of the United States of America. Thomas Jefferson’s writing expertise was challenged as the United States needed a Declaration to free colonies from Great Britain. The group of delegates chose him to draft the Declaration for his writing expertise. Jefferson was remembered for putting the ideals of freedom into words, making his views on freedom appeal stronger (Wilmore).

Thomas Jefferson was a Republican and founder of the Democratic - Republican Party (Pious). Federalist Alexander Hamilton was Jefferson’s greatest foe and was the Democratic – Republican Party’s rival. Thomas opposed the actions of the Federalist Party because they had put the country into a multi-million dollar deficit. Thomas Jefferson was responsible for getting the country out of the deficit as promised when running for president (Martinez). He was responsible with deficits concerning the Louisiana Purchase which he maintained unlike the Federalist Party (Pious).

Jefferson was more than just a Congressman and a writer, he was a scientist, architect, landscaper, lawyer, inventor, violinist, and philosopher. He designed and landscaped his home, Monticello, in Virginia to house his family and slaves. Thomas also served as the American Philosophical Society president between 1797 and 1815. John F. Kennedy stated he hosted “the greatest concentration of talent and genius in [the] house” (Pious).

Personality Traits
Thomas Jefferson was a hardcore laborer out of all the delegates in the Continental Congress (Bernstein). He was chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence because his fellow delegates knew that his brilliant mind will produce the Declaration of Independence the Continental Congress was seeking for. Showing Jefferson’s persistency to perfect the Declaration of Independence, he spent days continuously drafting and trashing failed drafts over and over for a few days (Wilmore). Jefferson was a philosophical intellectual when it came to creating some of his works and teachings. Thomas was a phenomenal debater for his ability to contradict arguments. Arguments about abolishing slavery is where Jefferson put most of his effort to contradict to. He was a pro-slavery delegate and would throw his neck out to keep slaves from achieving the emancipation dream and be free in the United States (Shafer).

Although Jefferson considers slavery as a disgraceful way to labor human beings, he has racist beliefs that blacks are not to be trusted with such privileges of freedom. As a racist, he ordered that if the Emancipation Proclamation were to pass, it must include that free blacks are to be ordered out of Virginia (Bernstein). Not only was Jefferson hard working and persistent, he was also shy and quiet at congress meetings. John Adams states, “I never heard him utter three sentences together” (Wilmore). Even though Thomas Jefferson was shy and quiet, he a fond of lecturing an audience of his philosophical teachings, thoughts, or works (Shafer). Thomas Jefferson loved reading and writing literature on his free time as his side hobby. He wrote many letters and works such as letters to his family or to President George Washington. Thomas Jefferson was known for being a devoted father and family man, keeping a close eye on his family even as president. He loved his family so much that at the sight of his wife, Martha, dying from a difficult childbirth, Jefferson collapsed and nearly died from shock himself (Bernstein).

Obstacles
The American Revolution was one of many obstacles that Thomas Jefferson had to face. Jefferson had to alternate between drafting the Declaration of Independence, drafting a constitution for Virginia, being governor of Virginia, and his family (Bernstein). Thomas struggled to convey his thoughts and put them into words, halting the completion of the Declaration of Independence by a few days (Wilmore). During the American Revolution, a party of British troops raided the Monticello estate, nearly seizing Jefferson (Pious). The foolish actions of the Federalists established an economic deficit that Thomas Jefferson was obligated to reduce (Martinez).

During the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas had to choose to either go to war, or surrender Louisiana to Great Britain (Heindenreich). Louisiana was an opportunity for the United States to nearly double the size of the country, but left vulnerable routes of invasion. Jefferson decided to set aside current issues and focus on completing the transaction with Napoleon Bonaparte. The Louisiana Purchase was an expensive transaction at fifteen million dollars. Jefferson also had to compensate sixty thousand dollars to free American prisoners of war. Unfortunately, Napoleon would not give up Florida to Thomas for a greater expansion of the United States (Pious).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other obstacles that Thomas Jefferson encountered were endless piles of paperwork and law reforms. He also lacked authority and power which made it nearly impossible to accomplish anything. Jefferson requested for a finance and defense department to assist him, but was still struggling to come about solutions for various demands of Virginia. Also the deaths of his beloved family members brought about stress and shock into the already troublesome world of Jefferson (Bernstein). Some problems that occurred included Thomas Jefferson beginning an argument against Dunmore in response to slave owners. Jefferson was a slave owner and began to contradict on orders to emancipate them, stating they were causes of the American Revolution (Wilmore). During elections for president, Thomas tied in the Electoral College with Aaron Burr, leaving the House of Representatives to decide the president (Pious).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Historical Significance
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thomas Jefferson was known for being America’s third president, but he was the first to be inaugurated in the new capital (Wilmore). Some say that Jefferson was the most intelligent man to occupy the White House with his combination of talent and genius. As president, Thomas Jefferson put America on its tracks and even gave it a head start from the major issues with the Federalist Party. He was responsible for the near doubling of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon Bonaparte (Pious). What made the Louisiana Purchase significant is that it was made possible by Jefferson pursuing to take action, departing all conflicts, ordeals, and paperwork behind for the benefit of the country. He also revived the country’s economy after a fatal mishap with the Federalists causing a national multi-million dollar deficit (Martinez). Furthermore, Thomas reformed laws in Virginia to reshape the state with new and existing laws (Bernstein). ======

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Virginia was a piece of identity and loyalty to Thomas Jefferson because Virginia is where he grew up and made his life. The place Jefferson calls home and houses his beloved family is Thomas’ home, Monticello which he designed himself (Pious). Thomas Jefferson wanted Virginia to be the perfect place for his family to live and his children to grow up in. Jefferson reformed laws to have freed citizens to live under a republic government. He utilizes the <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Revolution to spark new ideas for laws concerning the abolishment of the legal barriers of a good society and one’s “pursuit of happiness” (Bernstein).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a young man, Thomas Jefferson was the youngest delegate to participate in the Continental Congress (Wilmore). Being the prestigious write Thomas was, he was nominated by the members of his group to draft the well-known Declaration of Independence (Bernstein). Thomas Jefferson was chosen to draft the declaration because of his known ability to put ideals of freedom into text. With the ideals of freedom put into words alongside the Declaration of Independence, Thomas creates one of America’s most important documents in history (Wilmore). He was known as an Enlightenment intellectual, being the essence of Enlightenment thought (Shafer). Thomas Jefferson’s famous books and works revolve around his general idea of freedom that he created of the equality of mankind. Thomas’ words made the basis of what independence meant to people during his era (Wilmore). When it came to controversy over individual rights, Jefferson always championed overall when it became overwhelming (Shafer).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One aspect of life that Thomas Jefferson was remembered the most for as well as isolating himself from other founding fathers was his views on slavery. Jefferson was an absolute slave hoarder, housing hundreds of slaves for labor. Even though he despised the cruel usage of human beings, Thomas felt that blacks are not to be free and if they were free, they are to be sent out of Virginia. This conflicted with Jefferson’s efforts to reform Virginia due to his indecisiveness about slaves. Thomas Jefferson felt that they were useful for completing everyday tasks, but could not stand them to be a part of his society. Thomas ended up agreeing that if blacks are not slaves, then they are to be relocated out of Virginia. Even as law codes have been passed for slaveholders to free their slaves, Jefferson refused to free them and remained one of the largest slave holders of America (Bernstein).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">References
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bernstein, R. B.. The Hard Work of Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2003. eLibrary. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. SE #5

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Heidenreich, Jr, Donald E. "U.S. National Security and Party Politics: The Consensus on Louisiana, 1789-1803." Arkansas Historical Quarterly4(2003):370. eLibrary. Web. 19 Sep. 2014. SE #1

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Martinez, Federico."Letter Provides Glimpses Into Jefferson's Personal Life." Pittsburgh Post - Gazette. 04 Jul. 2014: A-1. eLibrary. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. SE #4

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pious, Richard M.. Jefferson, Thomas. Oxford University Press, 2001. eLibrary. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. SE #6

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shafer, Gregory. "Another side of Thomas Jefferson." Humanist 1(2002):16. eLibrary. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. SE #3

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wilmore, Kathy. "Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence." Junior Scholastic. 29 Nov. 2004: 8. eLibrary. Web. 26 Sep. 2014. SE #2