Thomas Jefferson
Essay title: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
John S. Matuszewski
American History
Mr. Dodds
December 2, 2004
Table of Contents
Page
Early Life and Childhood
Through Collage and Into the world
Revolutionary Politics
Pre-Presidential Posts and Accomplishments
Presidency and post presidency
Picture
Works Cited
Thomas Jefferson
I. Early life and childhood
A simple log cabin located in now what is commonly known as Albemarle County, Virginia, was the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States of America. He was born on April 13, 1743 to Peter and Jane Randolph Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was borne into what we might define today as an upper middle class. His mother, Jane Randolph, came from one of the leading families of Virginia and his father Peter Jefferson, although not considered poor, was considerably less well off than his wife. (Malone 1)
When Thomas was only two years old he and his family, which now consisted of three
Sisters, himself and his mother moved to a new house called Tuckahoe. His father provided for
his family by working as a planter owning more than 200 slaves but as his children grew he
expanded and moved further from raising tobacco and made a name for himself by eventually
becoming a well known surveyor and getting the popular reputation as a conqueror of the
Virginian wilderness. (Malone 22)
When Tom was nine he and his family moved back to the home of his birth where his
father died five years later. Tom spent the rest of his childhood as a typical Virginian boy would.
He developed a not overwhelming yet real affection for the out doors as any boy would. He
attended the Latin School of the Reverend William Douglas who was the minister of St. James
Parish. Here he attended primary school with a select few sons of the wealthy Virginian planters.
Http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/biography.html
II. Through Collage and Into the World
In 1760 Thomas emerged from the Virginian foothills and enrolled at the Collage of William and Mary at Williamsburg. Here he excelled in his studies, which included Language, history, and Law. He was particularly intended on following law and after attending collage from 1760-1762 he worked under George Wythe as a lawyer. He did this from 1762-1769 until he began a six-year term as a representative in the Virginia house of Burgesses in 1969. It was in this place that he began building his reputation as a man of whit, charm, intelligence, and social standing. (
In 1763 at the age of twenty he began building a mansion for himself on part of the land he had inherited from his father. This home, which took more than ten years to build, was named Monticello and built it in part for his wife Martha Wayles Skelton who he married in January of 1772. Through Martha he had six children; Martha Washington Jefferson, Jane Randolph Jefferson, an infant son who did not survive long enough to be formally named, Mary Jefferson, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson, and another Lucy Jefferson. As sad as it may seem only two of his daughters, Martha Washington Jefferson (1772-1836)