Thomas Jefferson

Who was Thomas Jefferson?

Thomas Jefferson lived from April 13, 1743 to July 4, 1826. Thomas Jefferson (April 13 [O.S. April 2], 1743 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was born into the Colony of Virginia's planter class. In 1807, Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act to defend the nation's industries from British threats to U.S. shipping, limit foreign trade, and stimulate the birth of American manufacturing. They acknowledge his lifelong ownership of large numbers of slaves, but offer varying interpretations of his views on and relationship with slavery. He also served as the second vice president under John Adams from 1797 to 1801. Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. During the American Revolution, Jefferson represented Virginia in the Second Continental Congress.

His advocacy for individual rights, including the freedoms of thought, speech, and religion, helped shape the ideological foundations of the revolution. Jefferson served as the second governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781. In 1785, Congress appointed him as U.S. Minister to France, where he served from 1785 to 1789. Jefferson and Federalist John Adams became both personal friends and political rivals. In the 1796 U.S. presidential election between the two, Jefferson came in second, which made him Adams' vice president under the electoral laws of the time. Four years later, in the 1800 presidential election, he again challenged Adams and won the presidency. When running for reelection in 1804, Jefferson overwhelmingly defeated the Federalists' Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina.

Jefferson's presidency assertively defended the nation's shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies, promoted a western expansionist policy with the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the nation's geographic size, and reduced military forces and expenditures following successful negotiations with France. In his second presidential term, he was beset by difficulties at home, including the trial of his former vice president Aaron Burr. Jefferson is ranked among the upper tier of U.S. presidents both by scholars and in public opinion. Presidential scholars and historians have praised Jefferson's advocacy of religious freedom and tolerance, his peaceful acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France, and his leadership in supporting the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Historical significance

President George Washington then appointed Jefferson the nation's first secretary of state, where he served from 1790 to 1793. In 1792, Jefferson and political ally James Madison organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party during the formation of the nation's First Party System.