Remembering Thomas Jefferson
Tomorrow will be the 4th of July. It is not only the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but is also the day on which one President (Calvin Coolidge) was born, and three Presidents (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Monroe) passed away. So let's spread these milestones out by first remembering Jefferson.
President John F. Kennedy, speaking at a White House dinner for Nobel Prize winners, called the occasion "probably the greatest concentration of talent and genius in this house except for perhaps those times when Thomas Jefferson ate alone." That was quite a compliment, but then again, Jefferson was a brilliant man. He wasn't just a President, he was a lawyer, a diplomat, a scientist, a planter, an inventor, a theologian, an author, he was a real utility player.
When the Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in 1776, Jefferson was asked to be the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. At the beginning of the American Revolution, Jefferson served in the Continental Congress, representing Virginia and then later served as the wartime Governor of Virginia from 1779–1781. After the war ended, in 1784, Jefferson served as a diplomat in Paris where he helped negotiate commercial treaties. In May 1785, he became the United States Minister to France.
When President George Washington formed his cabinet, Jefferson was the first United States Secretary of State. He resigned his office in 1793 and began the two-party system when he and his close friend James Madison he organized the Democratic-Republican Party.
Jefferson was elected Vice-President in 1796 (in those days the candidate for President who came in second got that consolation prize.) Jefferson and Madison secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which lobbied for repeal of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Elected president in 1800, his achievements as President include the purchase of the vast Louisiana Territory from France (1803), and sending the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the west. His second term was a turbulent one, with such events as the failed treason trial of his former Vice President Aaron Burr, and escalating trouble with Britain. With Britain at war with Napoleon, he tried aggressive economic sanctions against them, but his embargo laws caused more damage to American trade and the economy than it did to Britain. In 1807, President Jefferson signed into law a bill that banned the importation of slaves into the United States.
Jefferson spoke five languages and was deeply interested in science, invention, architecture, religion and philosophy, interests that led him to the founding of the University of Virginia after his presidency. He designed his own large mansion on a 5,000 acre plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia, which he named Monticello. Jefferson was a tobacco planter and owned hundreds of slaves during his lifetime. It is said that he struggled with the dilemma of slavery and freedom and its compatibility with the ideals of the American Revolution.
After Martha Jefferson, his wife of eleven years, died in 1782, Jefferson remained a widower for the rest of his life. In 1802 allegations surfaced that he was also the father of his slave Sally Hemings' children. In 1998, DNA tests revealed a match between her last child and the Jefferson male family line. Whether these children were fathered by Jefferson himself, or one of his relatives, remains a matter of debate among historians.
Jefferson's health began to deteriorate by July 1825, and by June 1826 he was confined to bed. On July 3, 1826 (186 years ago today), Jefferson was overcome by fever. Accompanied by his grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph and his doctor Robley Dunglison he woke at 8 o'clock in the evening and spoke his last words, "Is it the fourth yet?". His doctor replied, "It soon will be". 17 hours later on July 4th, Jefferson died at the age of 83, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and a few hours before John Adams, his former nemesis, with whom he had reconciled and rekindled a friendship with in the last years of both of their lives.
Thomas Jefferson is buried in the family cemetery at Monticello.
President John F. Kennedy, speaking at a White House dinner for Nobel Prize winners, called the occasion "probably the greatest concentration of talent and genius in this house except for perhaps those times when Thomas Jefferson ate alone." That was quite a compliment, but then again, Jefferson was a brilliant man. He wasn't just a President, he was a lawyer, a diplomat, a scientist, a planter, an inventor, a theologian, an author, he was a real utility player.
When the Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in 1776, Jefferson was asked to be the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. At the beginning of the American Revolution, Jefferson served in the Continental Congress, representing Virginia and then later served as the wartime Governor of Virginia from 1779–1781. After the war ended, in 1784, Jefferson served as a diplomat in Paris where he helped negotiate commercial treaties. In May 1785, he became the United States Minister to France.
When President George Washington formed his cabinet, Jefferson was the first United States Secretary of State. He resigned his office in 1793 and began the two-party system when he and his close friend James Madison he organized the Democratic-Republican Party.
Jefferson was elected Vice-President in 1796 (in those days the candidate for President who came in second got that consolation prize.) Jefferson and Madison secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which lobbied for repeal of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Elected president in 1800, his achievements as President include the purchase of the vast Louisiana Territory from France (1803), and sending the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the west. His second term was a turbulent one, with such events as the failed treason trial of his former Vice President Aaron Burr, and escalating trouble with Britain. With Britain at war with Napoleon, he tried aggressive economic sanctions against them, but his embargo laws caused more damage to American trade and the economy than it did to Britain. In 1807, President Jefferson signed into law a bill that banned the importation of slaves into the United States.
Jefferson spoke five languages and was deeply interested in science, invention, architecture, religion and philosophy, interests that led him to the founding of the University of Virginia after his presidency. He designed his own large mansion on a 5,000 acre plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia, which he named Monticello. Jefferson was a tobacco planter and owned hundreds of slaves during his lifetime. It is said that he struggled with the dilemma of slavery and freedom and its compatibility with the ideals of the American Revolution.
After Martha Jefferson, his wife of eleven years, died in 1782, Jefferson remained a widower for the rest of his life. In 1802 allegations surfaced that he was also the father of his slave Sally Hemings' children. In 1998, DNA tests revealed a match between her last child and the Jefferson male family line. Whether these children were fathered by Jefferson himself, or one of his relatives, remains a matter of debate among historians.
Jefferson's health began to deteriorate by July 1825, and by June 1826 he was confined to bed. On July 3, 1826 (186 years ago today), Jefferson was overcome by fever. Accompanied by his grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph and his doctor Robley Dunglison he woke at 8 o'clock in the evening and spoke his last words, "Is it the fourth yet?". His doctor replied, "It soon will be". 17 hours later on July 4th, Jefferson died at the age of 83, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and a few hours before John Adams, his former nemesis, with whom he had reconciled and rekindled a friendship with in the last years of both of their lives.
Thomas Jefferson is buried in the family cemetery at Monticello.