Thomas Jefferson Research Paper

Have you ever heard of Thomas Jefferson? Thomas Jefferson accomplished different task every day. Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statue of Virginia for Religious Freedom, third president of the United States, and the founder of the University of Virginia. Jefferson was a very popular man. Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at a plantation on a large tract of land near present day Charlottesville, Virginia. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a successful planter and surveyor. His mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, came from a well known Virginia family. He had six sisters and one surviving brother. Jefferson graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1762. He continued to study law under the tutelage

He was a talented writer and at age 33, he was asked to draft the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Jefferson resigned from the Continental Congress and was re-elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1776.

When Jefferson returned to America in 1789, he accepted an appointment from President George Washington to become the new nation’s first secretary of state. In the presidential election of 1796, Jefferson ran against John Adams and received the second highest amount of votes which made him vice president. Again in the election of 1800, Jefferson ran against Adams and this election turned into a battle between Federalist and Democratic Republicans. Jefferson defeated Adams; however, due to a defect in the electoral system, Jefferson tied with Democratic-Republican Aaron Burr. The House of Representatives broke the tie and voted Jefferson in office. In order to avoid this problem happening again, Congress proposed the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which required separate voting for president and vice president. The

He also helped found the University of Virginia, which held its first classes in 1825. Jefferson was involved with designing the school’s building and curriculum, and ensured that unlike other American colleges at the time, the school had no religious requirements for its students. On July 4, 1826, Jefferson died at age 83 at Monticello. This day was also the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Simultaneously, John Adams, Jefferson’s friend, former rival and fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies the same day. Due to the significant debt Jefferson had collected during his life, his mansion was sold at auction following his death. Monticello was obtained by a non-profit organization, which openen it to the public in