Against All Odds: Thomas Jefferson

Against All Odds
Thomas Jefferson

Few men had greater influence on the formation of the United States than Thomas Jefferson did. Born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson had no idea he was destined for greatness. Thomas Jefferson had many nicknames, like “Tom”. Later in his life, he was known as “Man of the People” and “Sage of Monticello”. Thomas Jefferson made many changes to the U.S. He expanded America’s territory, drafted and wrote the Declaration of Independence, and did much more. He died the same day as his friend, John Adams. They died on July 4, 1826, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of independence. Thomas had been in a coma until the fourth, when his doctor whispered into

Thomas was the third child in his family, and he had six sisters, and one younger brother. Jefferson loved the outdoors and loved to read and play music. Peter Jefferson, Thomas’s father, was a successful planer and surveyor. Because of this, Thomas was able to have an excellent education; one that many people did not have. When Thomas was about 17, he attended the College of William and Mary, studying science, rhetoric, philosophy, literature, and mathematics. He was also taught legal studies with a respected attorney in Virginia, named George Wythe. When Jefferson’s father died, Thomas was left with 7,000 acres of land, and later in his life, he would begin construction of Monticello. Unfortunately, for Thomas, he was only fourteen when his father died, and this caused him to look upon his teachers and tutors for fatherly advice. Jane Randolph Jefferson, Peter’s wife, died in 1776 when Thomas was drafting the Declaration of Independence, which caused him to grieve and have massive migraines, slowing him down on the writing process. The loss of his wife and many of his children in the future also caused stress and grief on

First, Thomas drafted and wrote the Declaration of Independence. This document had officially declared freedom from Britain and America could rule themselves. It also stated that people have unalienable rights and that the government cannot take away these rights, or the people have a reason to overthrow the government. If Thomas Jefferson had not written the document that others refused to write, America could still be under British rule or American laws would be very different. Next, Thomas Jefferson had to stand against many candidates while running for president. Thomas Jefferson had to run against many people, including his friend, John Adams. John Adams was very cold to Thomas, until Thomas’s youngest daughter died of childbirth. Abigail Adams, John’s wife, wrote a letter to Thomas, saying how she was sorry and how she had cared for his youngest daughter. Third, Jefferson changed America even more. He bought the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon Bonaparte for 15 million dollars. This added about 827,000 square miles of land, west of the Mississippi River. This opened more travel, more places to live, and a chance to explore the West Coast, what had previously never been explored before by Americans. Later in his life, as his last contributions to society, he founded the University of Virginia and sold most of his books to the Library of Congress that had recently burned