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{{Infobox President
| name=Thomas Jefferson
| image=T Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale 1791 2.jpg
| order=3rd [[President of the United States]]
| term_start=[[March 4]], [[1801]]
| term_end=[[March 4]], [[1809]]
| predecessor=[[John Adams]]
| successor=[[James Madison]]
| birth_date={{OldStyleDate|April 13|1743|April 2}}
| birth_place=[[Shadwell (Virginia)|Shadwell]], [[Virginia]]
| death_date={{death date and age|1826|07|4|1743|04|13}}
| death_place=[[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]], Virginia
| spouse=[[Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson]]
| children=[[Martha Jefferson Randolph|Martha Washington Jefferson]], Jane Randolph Jefferson, Stillborn son, Mary Wayles Jefferson, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson I, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson II.
| alma_mater=[[The College of William & Mary]]
| occupation=[[Lawyer]], [[Farmer]] ([[Plantation|Planter]])
| party=[[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]]
| vicepresident=[[Aaron Burr]] (1801–1805), [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]] (1805–1809)
| religion = [[Unitarian]]/[[Deist]]/[[Christian]]
| signature=ThomasJeffersonSignature.png
| order2=2nd [[Vice President of the United States]]
| term_start2=[[March 4]], [[1797]]
| term_end2=[[March 4]], [[1801]]
| president2=John Adams
| predecessor2=John Adams
| successor2=[[Aaron Burr]]
| order3=1st [[United States Secretary of State]]
| term_start3=[[September 26]], [[1789]]
| term_end3=[[December 31]], [[1793]]
| president3=[[George Washington]]
| predecessor3=None
| successor3=[[Edmund Randolph]]
| order4= [[Delegate]] from [[Virginia]] to [[Congress of the Confederation|The Congress of the Confederation]]
| term_start4=[[1783]]
| term_end4= [[1784]]

| order5=2nd [[Governor of Virginia]]
| term_start5=[[June 1]], [[1779]]
| term_end5=[[June 3]], [[1781]]
| predecessor5=[[Patrick Henry]]
| successor5=[[William Fleming (governor)|William Fleming]]
| order6= [[Delegate]] from [[Virginia]] to [[Second Continental Congress|The Second Continental Congress]]
| term_start6=[[1775]]
| term_end6= [[1776]]
|}}

'''Thomas Jefferson''' ([[April 13]], [[1743]] – [[July 4]], [[1826]])<ref name=B-D>The birth and death of Thomas Jefferson are given using the [[Gregorian calendar]]. However, he was born when Britain and her colonies still used the [[Julian calendar]], so contemporary records record his birth (and on [[#Jefferson's death|his tombstone]]) as [[2 April]], [[1743]]. The provisions of the [[Calendar (New Style) Act 1750]], implemented in 1752, altered the official British dating method to the Gregorian calendar with the start of the year on [[January 1]] — see the article on [[Old Style and New Style dates]] for more details.</ref> was the third [[President of the United States]] (1801–1809), the principal author of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] (1776), and one of the most influential [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] for his promotion of the ideals of [[republicanism in the United States]]. Major events during his presidency include the [[Louisiana Purchase]] (1803) and the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] (1804–1806).

As a political philosopher, Jefferson was a man of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and knew many intellectual leaders in Britain and France. He idealized the independent [[Yeoman#Yeoman farmers|yeoman farmer]] as exemplar of [[Republicanism|republican]] virtues, distrusted cities and financiers, and favored states' rights and a strictly limited federal government. Jefferson supported the [[separation of church and state]] and was the author of the [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]] (1779, 1786). He was the eponym of [[Jeffersonian democracy]] and the co-founder and leader of the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], which dominated [[Politics of the United States|American politics]] for a quarter-century. Jefferson served as the wartime [[Governor of Virginia]] (1779–1781), first [[United States Secretary of State]] (1789–1793) and second [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] (1797–1801).

A [[polymath]], Jefferson achieved distinction as, among other things, a [[horticulture|horticulturist]], [[statesman]], [[architect]], [[archaeology|archaeologist]], [[paleontology|paleontologist]], [[author]], [[inventor]] and founder of the [[University of Virginia#History|University of Virginia]]. When President [[John F. Kennedy]] welcomed forty-nine [[Nobel Prize]] winners to the [[White House]] in 1962 he said, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."<ref>April 29, 1962 dinner honoring 49 Nobel Laureates (''Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations'', 1988, from ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States'': John F. Kennedy, 1962, p. 347).</ref>

==Early life and education==
Thomas Jefferson was born on [[April 13]] [[1743]]<ref name=B-D/> into a family closely related to some of the most prominent individuals in Virginia, the third of eight children. His mother was [[Jane Randolph Jefferson|Jane Randolph]], daughter of [[Isham Randolph]], a ship's captain and sometime planter, and first cousin to [[Peyton Randolph]]. Jefferson's father was [[Peter Jefferson]], a planter and surveyor plantations in [[Albemarle County, Virginia|Albemarle County]] (Shadwell, then [[Edge Hill, Virginia|Edge Hill]], [[Virginia]].) He was of [[Welsh people|Welsh]] descent.

[[Image:Reproduction-of-the-1805-Rembrandt-Peale-painting-of-Thomas-Jefferson-New-York-Historical-Society 1.jpg|thumb|left|Painting of Jefferson by [[Rembrandt Peale]] (1805)]]

In 1752, Jefferson began attending a local school run by [[William Douglas]], a Scottish minister. At the age of nine, Jefferson began studying [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Greek]], and [[French language|French]]. In 1757, when he was 14 years old, his father died. Jefferson inherited about 5,000 acres (20 km²) of land and dozens of [[slavery in the United States|slaves]]. He built his home there, which eventually became known as [[Monticello]].

After his father's death, he was taught at the school of the learned minister [[James Maury]] from 1758 to 1760.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mtjhtml/mtjtime1.html |title=The Thomas Jefferson Papers Timeline: 1743 -1827| publisher=[[Library of Congress]] | accessdate=2007-04-21}}</ref> The school was in Fredericksville Parish near [[Gordonsville, Virginia|Gordonsville]], [[Virginia]], twelve miles (19 km) from [[Shadwell (Virginia)|Shadwell]], and Jefferson boarded with Maury's family. There he received a [[classical education movement|classical education]] and studied history and science.

In 1760 Jefferson entered [[The College of William & Mary]] in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] at the age of 16; he studied there for two years, graduating with highest honors in 1762. At William & Mary, he enrolled in the philosophy school and studied mathematics, [[metaphysics]], and philosophy under Professor [[William Small]], who introduced the enthusiastic Jefferson to the writings of the [[empiricism|British Empiricists]], including [[John Locke]], [[Francis Bacon]], and [[Isaac Newton]] (Jefferson called them the "three greatest men the world had ever produced").<ref>Merrill D. Peterson, ''Thomas Jefferson: Writings'', p. 1236</ref> He also perfected his French, carried his Greek grammar book wherever he went, practiced the violin, and read [[Tacitus]] and [[Homer]]. A keen and diligent student, Jefferson displayed an avid curiosity in all fields and, according to the family tradition, frequently studied fifteen hours a day. His closest college friend, John Page of Rosewell, reported that Jefferson "could tear himself away from his dearest friends to fly to his studies."

While in college, Jefferson was a member of a secret organization called the [[Flat Hat Club]], now the namesake of the William & Mary student newspaper. He lodged and boarded at the College in the building known today as the Sir Christopher [[Wren Building]], attending communal meals in the Great Hall, and morning and evening prayers in the Wren Chapel. Jefferson often attended the lavish parties of royal governor [[Francis Fauquier]], where he played his violin and developed an early love for wines.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/books/chapters/1203-1st-hail.html Thomas Jefferson on Wine] by John Hailman, 2006</ref> After graduating in 1762 with highest honors, he studied law with his friend and mentor, [[George Wythe]], and was admitted to the [[Virginia]] bar in 1767.

In 1772, Jefferson married a 23-year-old widow named Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. They had six children: [[Martha Jefferson Randolph]] (1772–1836), Jane Randolph (1774–1775), a stillborn or unnamed son (1777), Mary Wayles (1778–1804), Lucy Elizabeth (1780–1781), and Elizabeth (1782–1785). Martha died on [[September 6]], [[1782]] and Jefferson never remarried. Jefferson may also have been the father of several children with his slave [[Sally Hemings]], though the father may also have been one of his male relatives (see [[Jefferson DNA data]]).

==Political career from 1774 to 1800==
[[Image:Jefferson Memorial with Declaration preamble.jpg|thumb|right|Rudolph Evans' statue of Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence preamble to the right.]]

===Colonial legislator===
Jefferson practiced law and served in the Virginia [[House of Burgesses]]. In 1774, he wrote, [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/jeffsumm.htm ''A Summary View of the Rights of British America''] which was intended as instructions for the Virginia delegates to a national congress. The pamphlet was a powerful argument of American terms for a settlement with Britain. It helped speed the way to independence, and marked Jefferson as one of the most thoughtful patriot spokesmen.

===The Second Continental Congress===
In an uncanny twist of fate Richard Henry Lee, who authored the July 2, 1776 resolution declaring independence from Great Britain, was called home to Virginia due to the illness of his wife.<ref>[http://www.richardhenrylee.org Richard Henry Lee Biography] By [Stanley L. Klos] 1999</ref> Thomas Jefferson was appointed by the [[Continental Congress]] of the United Colonies in his place as the [[Committee of Five]]'s Chairman to prepare a draft of the proposed Declaration of Independence. Congress also chose [[John Adams]], [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Robert Livingston (1746-1813)|Robert Livingston]], and [[Roger Sherman]]. The committee assigned Thomas Jefferson the task of producing a draft Declaration for its consideration. Jefferson's creation of the original draft took place in seventeen days between his appointment on the committee until the report of draft to Congress on June 28, 1776. Jefferson drew heavily on George Mason's [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]] (passed on June 12, 1776), state and local calls for independence, and his own work on the [[Constitution of Virginia|Virginia Constitution]]. 26 changes were made from Jefferson's original draft by the Committee of Five.<ref>[http://www.thedeclarationofindependence.org Declaration of Independence] A Brief History By [Stanley L. Klos] 2002</ref> On [[July 4]], [[1776]], the resolution was passed two days after Independence was declared. Jefferson is considered to be the primary author.

===State legislator===
In September 1776, Jefferson returned to Virginia and was elected to the new [[Virginia House of Delegates]]. During his term in the House, Jefferson set out to reform and update Virginia's system of laws to reflect its new status as a democratic state. He drafted 126 bills in three years, including laws to abolish [[primogeniture]], establish [[freedom of religion]], and streamline the judicial system. In 1778, Jefferson's "Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge" led to several academic reforms at his ''alma mater'', including an elective system of study — the first in an American university.

[[Image:Declaration independence.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[John Trumbull]]'s famous painting is usually incorrectly identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration. What the painting actually depicts is the [[Committee of Five|five-man drafting committee]] presenting their work to the Congress. Trumbull's painting can also be found on the back of the U.S. [[United States two-dollar bill|$2 bill]]<ref>[http://www.americanrevolution.org/deckey.html Key to Declaration]</ref>]]

===Governor of Virginia===
Jefferson served as [[governor of Virginia]] from 1779–1781. As governor, he oversaw the transfer of the state capital from Williamsburg to the more central location of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] in 1780. He continued to advocate educational reforms at the College of William and Mary, including the nation's first student-policed [[honor code]]. In 1779, at Jefferson's behest, William and Mary appointed [[George Wythe]] to be the first professor of law in an American university. Dissatisfied with the rate of changes he wanted to push through, he later became the founder of the University of Virginia, which was the first university in the United States at which higher education was completely separate from religious doctrine.

Virginia was invaded twice by the British during Jefferson's term as governor. He, along with [[Patrick Henry]] and other leaders of Virginia, were but ten minutes away from being captured by [[Banastre Tarleton]], a British colonel leading a cavalry column that was raiding the area in June 1781.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bennett|first=William J.|authorlink=William Bennett|title=America: The Last Best Hope (Volume I): From the Age of Discovery to a World at War|publisher=Nelson Current|year=2006|pages=99 |chapter=The Greatest Revolution|id= ISBN 1-59555-055-0}}</ref> Public disapproval of his performance delayed his future political prospects, and he was never again elected to office in Virginia.<ref>{{wikiref |id=Ferling-2004 |text=Ferling, p. 26}}</ref>

===Minister to France===
[[Image:Thomas Jefferson's Paris house memorial.jpg|thumb|right|Memorial plaque on the Champs-Élysées, Paris, France, marking where Jefferson lived while he was Minister to France. The plaque was erected after [[World War I]] to commemorate the centenary of Jefferson's founding of the University of Virginia.]]

Because Jefferson served as minister to [[France]] from 1785 to 1789, he was not able to attend the [[Philadelphia Convention]]. He generally supported the new constitution despite the lack of a [[bill of rights]] and was kept informed by his correspondence with [[James Madison]].

While in [[Paris]], he lived in a residence on the [[Champs-Élysées]].

===Secretary of State===
After returning from France, Jefferson served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington (1789–1793). Jefferson and [[Alexander Hamilton]] began sparring over national [[fiscal policy]], especially the funding of the debts of the war, with Hamilton believing that the debts should be equally shared, and Jefferson believing that each state should be responsible for its own debt (Virginia had not accumulated much debt during the Revolution). In further sparring with the Federalists, Jefferson came to equate Hamilton and the rest of the Federalists with Tories and monarchists who threatened to undermine republicanism. He equated Federalism with "Royalism," and made a point to state that "Hamiltonians were panting after...and itching for crowns, coronets and mitres."<ref>{{wikiref |id=Ferling-2004 |text=Ferling, p. 59}}</ref> Jefferson and [[James Madison]] founded and led the Democratic-Republican Party. He worked with Madison and his campaign manager [[John J. Beckley]] to build a nationwide network of Republican allies to combat Federalists across the country.

Jefferson strongly supported France against Britain when war broke out between those nations in 1793. Historian Lawrence S. Kaplan notes Jefferson's "visceral support for the French cause," while agreeing with Washington that the nation should not get involved in the fighting.<ref> "Foreign Affairs," in Peterson, ed. ''Thomas Jefferson: A Reference Encyclopedia'' (1986) p 325 </ref> The arrival in 1793 of an aggressive new French minister, [[Edmond-Charles Genêt]], caused a crisis for the Secretary of State, as he watched Genêt try to violate American neutrality, manipulate public opinion, and even go over Washington's head in appealing to the people; projects that Jefferson helped to thwart. According to Schachner, Jefferson believed that political success at home depended on the success of the French army in Europe:<ref>{{wikiref |id=Schachner-1951 |text=Schachner, '''1''': 495}}</ref>

[[Image:Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Kościuszko.PNG|166px|thumb|right|Thomas Jefferson, [[aquatint]] by [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]].]]

:Jefferson still clung to his sympathies with France and hoped for the success of her arms abroad and a cordial compact with her at home. He was afraid that any French reverses on the European battlefields would give "wonderful vigor to our monocrats, and unquestionably affect the tone of administering our government. Indeed, I fear that if this summer should prove disastrous to the French, it will damp that energy of republicanism in our new Congress, from which I had hoped so much reformation."

===A break from office===
Jefferson at the end of 1793 retired to Monticello where he continued to orchestrate opposition to Hamilton and Washington. However, the [[Jay Treaty]] of 1794, orchestrated by Hamilton, brought peace and trade with Britain — while Madison, with strong support from Jefferson, wanted, Miller says, "to strangle the former mother country" without actually going to war. "It became an article of faith among Republicans that 'commercial weapons' would suffice to bring Great Britain to any terms the United States chose to dictate." Jefferson, in retirement, strongly encouraged Madison.<ref> Miller (1960), 143–4, 148–9.</ref>

===The 1796 election and Vice Presidency===
As the Republican candidate in 1796 he lost to [[John Adams]], but had enough electoral votes to become [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] (1797–1801). He wrote a manual of [[parliamentary procedure]], but otherwise avoided the Senate.

[[Image:Tj3.gif|thumb|left|Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1800]]

With the [[Quasi-War]], an undeclared naval war with France, underway, the [[Federalist]]s under John Adams started a navy, built up the army, levied new taxes, readied for war, and enacted the [[Alien and Sedition Acts]] in 1798. Jefferson interpreted the Alien and Sedition Acts as an attack on his party more than on dangerous enemy aliens; they were used to attack his party, with the most notable attacks coming from [[Matthew Lyon]], congressman of [[Vermont]]. He and Madison rallied support by anonymously writing the [[Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions]], which declared that the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it by the states. The Resolutions meant that, should the federal government assume such powers, its acts under them could be voided by a state. The Resolutions presented the first statements of the [[states' rights]] theory, that later led to the concepts of [[nullification]] and [[interposition]].

===The election of 1800===
{{main|United States presidential election, 1800}}
Working closely with [[Aaron Burr]] of New York, Jefferson rallied his party, attacking the new taxes especially, and [[United States presidential election, 1800|stood for the Presidency]] in 1800. Consistent with the traditions of the times, he did not formally campaign for the position. Prior to the passage of the [[Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution|12th Amendment]], a problem with the new union's electoral system arose. He tied with Burr for first place in the [[electoral college|Electoral College]], leaving the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] (where the Federalists still had some power) to decide the election.

After lengthy debate within the Federalist-controlled House, Hamilton convinced his party that Jefferson would be a lesser political evil than Burr and that such scandal within the electoral process would undermine the still-young regime. The issue was resolved by the House, on [[17 February]] [[1801]] after thirty-six ballots, when Jefferson was elected President and Burr Vice President. Burr's refusal to remove himself from consideration created ill will with Jefferson, who dropped Burr from the ticket in 1804 after [[Burr-Hamilton duel|Burr killed Hamilton in a duel]].

==Presidency 1801–1809==
{{main|Presidency of Thomas Jefferson}}

===Administration and cabinet===
{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=left
|clear=yes
|Name=Jefferson
|President=Thomas Jefferson
|President start=1801
|President end=1809
|Vice President=[[Aaron Burr]]
|Vice President start=1801
|Vice President end=1805
|Vice President 2=[[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]]
|Vice President start 2=1805
|Vice President end 2=1809
|State=[[James Madison]]
|State start=1801
|State end=1809
|Treasury=[[Samuel Dexter]]
|Treasury date=1801
|Treasury 2=[[Albert Gallatin]]
|Treasury start 2=1801
|Treasury end 2=1809
|War=[[Henry Dearborn]]
|War start=1801
|War end=1809
|Justice=[[Levi Lincoln, Sr.]]
|Justice start=1801
|Justice end=1804
|Justice 2=[[Robert Smith (cabinet)|Robert Smith]]
|Justice date 2=1805
|Justice 3=[[John Breckinridge (1760-1806)|John Breckinridge]]
|Justice start 3=1805
|Justice end 3=1806
|Justice 4=[[Caesar A. Rodney]]
|Justice start 4=1807
|Justice end 4=1809
|Post=[[Joseph Habersham]]
|Post date=1801
|Post 2=[[Gideon Granger]]
|Post start 2=1801
|Post end 2=1809
|Navy=[[Benjamin Stoddert]]
|Navy date=1801
|Navy 2=[[Robert Smith (cabinet)|Robert Smith]]
|Navy start 2=1801
|Navy end 2=1809}}

===Supreme Court appointments===
Jefferson appointed the following Justices to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]:
*'''[[William Johnson (judge)|William Johnson]]''' – 1804
*'''[[Henry Brockholst Livingston]]''' – 1807
*'''[[Thomas Todd]]''' – 1807

===States admitted to the Union===
*'''[[Ohio]]''' – [[March 1]], [[1803]]

==Father of a university==
[[Image:Lawn.jpg|thumb|180px|The Lawn, University of Virginia.]]

After leaving the Presidency, Jefferson continued to be active in public affairs. He also became increasingly concerned with founding a new institution of higher learning, specifically one free of church influences where students could specialize in [[University of Virginia#History|many new areas]] not offered at other universities. Jefferson believed educating people was a good way to establish an organized society, and also felt schools should be paid for by the general public, so less wealthy people could obtain student membership as well.<ref>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1370.htm Jefferson on Politics & Government: Publicly Supported Education]</ref> A letter to [[Joseph Priestley]], in January, 1800, indicated that he had been planning the University for decades before its establishment.

His dream was realized in 1819 with the founding of the University of Virginia. Upon its opening in 1825, it was then the first university to offer a full slate of elective courses to its students. One of the largest construction projects to that time in [[North America]], it was notable for being centered about a library rather than a church. In fact, no campus chapel was included in his original plans. Until his death, Jefferson invited students and faculty of the school to his home; [[Edgar Allan Poe]] was among those students.

Jefferson is widely recognized for his architectural planning of the [[University of Virginia|UVA]] campus, an innovative design that is a powerful representation of his aspirations for both state sponsored education and an agrarian democracy in the new Republic. His educational idea of creating specialized units of learning is physically expressed in the configuration of his campus plan, which he called the "[[The Lawn|Academical Village]]." Individual academic units are expressed visually as distinct structures, represented by Pavilions, facing a grassy quadrangle, with each Pavilion housing classroom, faculty office, and residences. Though unique, each is visually equal in importance, and they are linked together with a series of open air arcades that are the front facades of student accommodations. Gardens and vegetable plots are placed behind surrounded by [[serpentine shape|serpentine]] walls, affirming the importance of the agrarian lifestyle.

His highly ordered site plan establishes an ensemble of buildings surrounding a central rectangular quadrangle, named The Lawn, which is lined on either side with the academic teaching units and their linking arcades. The quad is enclosed at one end with the library, the repository of knowledge, at the head of the table. The remaining side opposite the library remained open-ended for future growth. The lawn rises gradually as a series of stepped terraces, each a few feet higher than the last, rising up to the library set in the most prominent position at the top, while also suggesting that the Academical Village facilitates easier movement to the future.

Stylistically, Jefferson was a proponent of the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] styles, which he believed to be most representative of American democracy by historical association. Each academic unit is designed with a two story temple front facing the quadrangle, while the library is modeled on the [[Pantheon, Rome|Roman Pantheon]]. The ensemble of buildings surrounding the quad is an unmistakable architectural statement of the importance of secular public education, while the exclusion of religious structures reinforces the principal of separation of church and state. The campus planning and architectural treatment remains today as a paradigm of the ordering of manmade structures to express intellectual ideas and aspirations. A survey of members of the [[American Institute of Architects]] identified Jefferson's campus as the most significant work of architecture in America.

The University was designed as the capstone of the educational system of Virginia. In his vision, any citizen of the [[Commonwealth (United States)|commonwealth]] could attend school with the sole criterion being ability.

==Jefferson's death==
[[Image:Thomas Jefferson's Grave Site.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Jefferson's gravesite.]]

Jefferson died on the [[Independence Day (United States)|Fourth of July]], 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. He died a few hours before the death of [[John Adams]], co-signer of the Declaration of Independence, one time political rival and later friend and correspondent.

Although he was born into one of the wealthiest families in the United States, Thomas Jefferson was deeply in debt when he died. His possessions were sold at auction. In 1831, Jefferson's 552 acres (223 hectares) were sold for $7,000 to James T. Barclay. Thomas Jefferson is buried on his Monticello estate, in [[Charlottesville, Virginia]]. In his will, he left Monticello to the United States to be used as a school for orphans of navy officers. His [[epitaph]], written by him with an insistence that only his words and "not a word more" be inscribed, reads:
{| align="center" cellpadding=4
| |<center>
:''HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON''
:''AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE''
:''THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM''
:''AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA''
</center>
|}

Below the epitaph on a separate panel is written:
{| align="center" cellpadding=4
| |<center>
:''BORN APRIL 2 1743 O.S.''
:'' DIED JULY 4 1826''
</center>
|}
The initials O.S. are a notation for [[Old Style and New Style dates#Differences between Julian and Gregorian dates|Old Style]] and that is a reference to the change of dating that occurred during Jefferson's life time from the [[Julian calendar]] to the [[Gregorian calendar]] under the British [[Calendar (New Style) Act 1750]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.monticello.org/reports/life/old_style.html
| title = Monticello Report: The Calendar and Old Style (O. S.)
| publisher = Thomas Jefferson Foundation (Monticello.org)
|date = 2007
|accessdate = 2007-09-15}}</ref>

==Appearance and temperament==
Jefferson has been described by many people as a thin, tall man, who stood at approximately six feet and remarkably straight.<ref>[http://www.monticello.org/reports/people/descriptions.html Monticello Report: Physical Descriptions of Thomas Jefferson]. Accessed September 14, 2007.</ref>

"The Sage of Monticello" cultivated an image that earned him the other nickname, "Man of the People." He affected a popular air by greeting White House guests in homespun attire like a robe and slippers. [[Dolley Madison]], wife of James Madison (Jefferson's secretary of state), and Jefferson's daughters relaxed White House protocol and turned formal state dinners into more casual and entertaining social events.<ref name="americanpresident.org">[http://www.americanpresident.org/history/thomasjefferson/biography/FamilyLife.common.shtml 'Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)' at the University of Virginia]</ref> Although a foremost defender of a free press, Jefferson at times sparred with partisan newspapers and appealed to the people.<ref>[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWjefferson.htm Thomas Jefferson]</ref>

Jefferson's writings were utilitarian and evidenced great intellect, and he had an affinity for languages. He learned [[Irish language|Gaelic]] in order to translate [[Ossian]], and sent to [[James Macpherson]] for the originals.

As President, he discontinued the practice of delivering the [[State of the Union Address]] in person, instead sending the address to Congress in writing (the practice was eventually revived by [[Woodrow Wilson]]); he gave only two public speeches during his Presidency. Jefferson had a [[lisp]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awesomestories.com/biography/thomas_jefferson/thomas_jefferson_ch1.htm |title=Thomas Jefferson: Silent Member | accessdate=2007-07-23}}</ref> and preferred writing to public speaking partly because of this. He burned all of his letters between himself and his wife at her death, creating the portrait of a man who at times could be very private. Indeed, he preferred working in the privacy of his office than the public eye.<ref>[http://www.futurecasts.com/Ellis,%20Jefferson,%20American%20Sphinx.htm 'American Sphinx' by Joseph J. Ellis at Futurecasts.com]</ref>

==Interests and activities==
Jefferson was an accomplished [[architect]] who was extremely influential in bringing the [[Palladian architecture|Neo-Palladian]] style—popular among the [[British Whig Party|Whig]] aristocracy of Britain—to the United States. The style was associated with Enlightenment ideas of [[republic]]an civic virtue and political liberty. Jefferson designed his famous home, [[Monticello]], near [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]], [[Virginia]]; it included automatic doors, the first [[swivel chair]], and other convenient devices invented by Jefferson. Nearby is the only university ever to have been founded by a U.S. president, the [[University of Virginia]], of which the original [[curriculum]] and architecture Jefferson designed. Today, Monticello and the University of Virginia are together one of only four man-made [[World Heritage Site]]s in the United States of America. Jefferson also designed [[Poplar Forest]], near [[Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg]], in [[Bedford County, Virginia|Bedford County]], Virginia, as a private retreat from a very public life. Jefferson is also credited with the architectural design of the [[Virginia State Capitol]] building, which was modeled after the [[Maison Carrée]] at Nîmes in southern France, an ancient [[Roman temple]]. Jefferson's buildings helped initiate the ensuing American fashion for [[Federal architecture]].

Jefferson's interests included archeology, a discipline then in its infancy. He has sometimes been called the ''"father of archeology"'' in recognition of his role in developing [[excavation]] techniques. When exploring an [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] burial mound on his Virginia estate in 1784, Jefferson avoided the common practice of simply digging downwards until something turned up. Instead, he cut a wedge out of the mound so that he could walk into it, look at the layers of occupation, and draw conclusions from them.

[[Image:Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Estate.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Monticello.]]

Thomas Jefferson enjoyed his fish pond at Monticello. It was around three feet (1 m) deep and mortar lined. He used the pond to keep fish that were recently caught as well as to keep eels fresh. This pond has been restored and can be seen from the west side of Monticello.

In 1780, he joined Benjamin Franklin's [[American Philosophical Society]]. He served as president of the society from 1797 to 1815.

Jefferson was an avid [[wine]] lover and noted gourmet. During his years in [[France]] (1784–1789) he took extensive trips through French and other [[Europe]]an wine regions and sent the best back home. He is noted for the bold pronouncement: "We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good." While there were extensive vineyards planted at Monticello, a significant portion were of the European wine grape ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' and did not survive the many vine diseases native to the Americas.

In 1801, he published [http://www.constitution.org/tj/tj-mpp.htm ''A Manual of Parliamentary Practice''] that is still in use. In 1812 Jefferson published a second edition.

After the British burned Washington, D.C. and the [[Library of Congress]] in August 1814, Jefferson offered his own collection to the nation. In January 1815, Congress accepted his offer, appropriating $23,950 for his 6,487 books, and the foundation was laid for a great national library. Today, the [[Library of Congress]]' website for federal legislative information is named THOMAS, in honor of Jefferson.<ref>[http://thomas.loc.gov/ THOMAS (Library of Congress)]</ref> His two-volume 1764 edition of the [[Qur'an]] was used by [[Keith Ellison (politician)|Rep. Keith Ellison]] in 2007 [[Qur'an oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress#Thomas Jefferson's Quran|for his swearing in]] to the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite news|title=But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran!|authors=Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts| date=January 3, 2007|page=C03|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010300075.html|publisher=The Washington Post}} Retrieved on January 3, 2007</ref>

==Political philosophy==
[[Image:1818 letter Jefferson to Mordecai Noah.jpg|thumb|In his [[May 28]], [[1818]] letter to [[Mordecai Manuel Noah]], Jefferson expressed his faith in mankind and his views on the nature of democracy.]]

Jefferson was a leader in developing republicanism in the United States. He insisted that the British aristocratic system was inherently corrupt and that Americans' devotion to civic virtue required independence. In the 1790s he repeatedly warned that Hamilton and Adams were trying to impose a British-like monarchical system that threatened republicanism. He supported the [[War of 1812]], hoping it would drive away the British military and ideological threat from Canada. Jefferson's vision for American virtue was that of an agricultural nation of yeoman farmers minding their own affairs. It stood in contrast to the vision of Alexander Hamilton, who envisioned a nation of commerce and manufacturing, which Jefferson said offered too many temptations to corruption. Jefferson's deep belief in the uniqueness and the potential of America made him the father of [[American exceptionalism]]. In particular, he was confident that an under-populated America could avoid what he considered the horrors of class-divided, industrialized Europe.

Jefferson's republican political principles were heavily influenced by the Country Party of 18th century British opposition writers. He was influenced by John Locke (particularly relating to the principle of inalienable rights). Historians find few traces of any influence by his French contemporary, [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]].<ref> [[J. G. A. Pocock]], ''The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition'' (1975), 533; see also Richard K. Matthews, ''The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson'', (1986), p. 17, 139n.16.</ref>

His opposition to the [[Bank of the United States]] was fierce: "I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."<ref>Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor May 28, 1816, in Appleby and Ball (1999) p 209); also Bergh, ed. ''Writings'' 15:23 </ref> Nevertheless Madison and Congress, seeing the financial chaos caused by the lack of a national bank in the War of 1812, disregarded his advice and created the [[Second Bank of the United States]] in 1816.

Jefferson believed that each individual has "certain inalienable rights." That is, these rights exist with or without government; man cannot create, take, or give them away. It is the right of "[[liberty]]" on which Jefferson is most notable for expounding. He defines it by saying "rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law,' because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual."<ref>Letter to Isaac H. Tiffany, April 4, 1819 in Appleby and Ball (1999) p 224. </ref> Hence, for Jefferson, though government cannot ''create'' a right to liberty, it can indeed violate it. And the limit of an individual's rightful liberty is not what law says it is but is simply a matter of stopping short of prohibiting other individuals from having the same liberty. A proper government, for Jefferson, is one that not only prohibits individuals in society from infringing on the liberty of other individuals, but also restrains ''itself'' from diminishing individual liberty.

Jefferson's commitment to equality was expressed in his successful efforts to abolish primogeniture in Virginia, the rule by which the first born son inherited all the land.<ref>{{wikiref |id=Brown-1954 |text=Brown, pp. 51–52}}</ref>

Jefferson believed that individuals have an innate sense of [[morality]] that prescribes right from wrong when dealing with other individuals—that whether they choose to restrain themselves or not, they have an innate sense of the natural rights of others. He even believed that moral sense to be reliable enough that an [[anarchism|anarchist]] society could function well, provided that it was reasonably small. On several occasions, he expressed admiration for [[tribe|tribal]], communal way of living of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]s:<ref>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefVirg.html Notes on Virginia]</ref> In fact, Jefferson is sometimes seen as a [[philosophical anarchism|philosophical anarchist]].<ref>Adler, Mortimer Jerome. The Great Ideas. Open Court Publishing 2000. p. 378</ref>

He said in a ''letter to Colonel Carrington'': "I am convinced that those societies (as the Indians) which live without government, enjoy in their general mass an infinitely greater degree of happiness than those who live under the European governments." However, Jefferson believed anarchism to be "inconsistent with any great degree of population."<ref>''[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl53.htm Letter to James Madison], 30 January 1787''</ref> Hence, he did advocate government for the American expanse provided that it exists by "consent of the governed."

In the Preamble to his original draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote:
{{Cquote|''We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independant, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these ends, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles & organising its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness.''<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/ruffdrft.html Professor Julian Boyd's reconstruction of Jefferson's "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence]</ref>}}

Jefferson's dedication to "consent of the governed" was so thorough that he believed that individuals could not be morally bound by the actions of preceding generations. This included debts as well as law. He said that "no society can make a perpetual constitution or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation." He even calculated what he believed to be the proper cycle of legal revolution: "Every constitution then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of nineteen years. If it is to be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right." He arrived at nineteen years through calculations with expectancy of life tables, taking into account what he believed to be the age of "maturity"—when an individual is able to reason for himself.<ref>''[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl81.htm Letter to James Madison], 6 September 1789''</ref> He also advocated that the [[government debt|national debt]] should be eliminated. He did not believe that living individuals had a moral obligation to repay the debts of previous generations. He said that repaying such debts was "a question of generosity and not of right."<ref>''[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl81.htm Letter to James Madison], 6 September 1789; Daniel Scott Smith, "Population and Political Ethics: Thomas Jefferson's Demography of Generations," ''The William and Mary Quarterly,'' 3rd Ser., Vol. 56, No. 3 (Jul., 1999), pp. 591–612 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597(199907)3%3A56%3A3%3C591%3APAPETJ%3E2.0.CO%3B2-B in jstor]</ref>

Jefferson's very strong defense of States' rights, especially in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798, set the tone for hostility to expansion of federal powers. However, some of his foreign policies did in fact strengthen the government. Most important was the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when he used the implied powers to annex a huge foreign territory and all its French and Indian inhabitants. His enforcement of the [[Embargo Act of 1807]], while it failed in terms of foreign policy, demonstrated that the federal government could intervene with great force at the local level in controlling trade that might lead to war.

===View on the carrying of arms===
Jefferson’s commitment to liberty extended to many areas of individual freedom. In his "Commonplace Book," he copied a passage from [[Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria]] related to the issue of [[gun politics|gun control]]. The quote reads, "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." He also once stated, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."<ref>http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote/cesare_beccaria_quote_e215</ref><ref>[http://www.madisonbrigade.com/t_jefferson.htm The James Madison Research Library and Information Center]</ref><ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117686668935873725.html 'Gun-Free Zones' - WSJ.com]</ref>

===View on corporations===
Jefferson’s quote, "I hope we shall crush ... in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed [[corporation]]s, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country"<ref>[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff5.htm Favorite Jefferson Quotes]</ref> is often attributed to being a strong warning against corporations and their function in American government and society (although there is debate of this point because at the time of the quote the term corporation was used differently than it is today{{Fact|date=December 2007}}).

===Views on the judiciary===
Trained as a lawyer, Jefferson was a great writer but never a good speaker or advocate and never comfortable in court. He believed that judges should be technical specialists but should not set policy. He denounced the 1801 Supreme Court ruling in ''[[Marbury v. Madison]]'' as a violation of democracy, but he did not have enough support in Congress to propose a Constitutional amendment to overturn it. He continued to oppose the doctrine of [[judicial review]]:
{{Cquote|''To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as other men and not more so. They have with others the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps. Their maxim is ''boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem'' [good justice is broad jurisdiction], and their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective control. The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots. It has more wisely made all the departments co-equal and co-sovereign within themselves.''<ref>Letter to William C. Jarvis, 1820</ref>}}

===Views on political violence===
Concerning the [[Shays' Rebellion]] after he had heard of the bloodshed, Jefferson wrote to [[William S. Smith]], John Adams's son-in-law, "What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must from time to time be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."<ref>''[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jefffed.html Letter to William Smith], 13 November 1787''</ref> Several anti-government groups have pointed to these words to justify their movement. [[Timothy McVeigh]], the [[Oklahoma City bombing|Oklahoma City bomber]], was wearing a T-shirt when arrested bearing the words, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."<ref>{{wikiref |id=Hitchens-2005 |text=Hitchens 2005, p. 68}}</ref>

===View on self-esteem===
In a letter to [[Francis Hopkinson]] of March 13, 1789, Jefferson wrote:<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9116912 Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to American Presidents]</ref>
{{cquote|''I never had an opinion in politics or religion which I was afraid to own. A costive reserve on these subjects might have procured me more esteem from some people, but less from myself.''}}

==Religious views==


Though his religious views diverted widely from the orthodox Christianity of his day, throughout his life Jefferson was intensely interested in theology, spirituality, and biblical study.<ref>Charles Sanford, ''The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (Charlotte: UNC Press, 1987).</ref> His religious commitment is probably best summarized in his own words as he proclaimed that he belonged to a sect with just one member.

Jefferson's conclusions about the Bible are noteworthy. He considered much of the new testament of the Bible to be lies. He described these as "so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture". He described the "roguery of others of His disciples", and called them a "band of dupes and impostors" describing Paul as the "first corruptor of the doctrines of Jesus", and wrote of "palpable interpolations and falsifications". He also described the Book of Revelation to be "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams". While living in the White House, Jefferson began to make his own condensed version of the Gospels, omitting Jesus' virgin birth, miracles, divinity, and resurrection, primarily leaving only Jesus' moral philosophy, of which he approved. This compilation was published after his death and became known as the ''[[Jefferson Bible]]''.<ref name="short"/>

===Youth===

Jefferson was raised in the [[Church of England]] at a time when it was the [[State religion|established church]] in Virginia and only denomination funded by Virginia tax money. [[Avery Dulles]], a leading [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] theologian reports, "In his college years at William and Mary [Jefferson] came to admire Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, and John Locke as three great paragons of wisdom. Under the influence of several professors he converted to the deist philosophy."<ref>Avery Cardinal Dulles, "The Deist Minimum" ''First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life'' Issue: 149. (January 2005) pp 25+ http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0501/articles/dulles.htm</ref> Dulles concludes:
{{Cquote|''In summary, then, Jefferson was a deist because he believed in one God, in divine providence, in the divine moral law, and in rewards and punishments after death; but did not believe in supernatural revelation. He was a Christian deist because he saw Christianity as the highest expression of natural religion and Jesus as an incomparably great moral teacher. He was not an [[Conservative Christianity|orthodox Christian]] because he rejected, among other things, the doctrines that Jesus was the promised Messiah and the incarnate Son of God. Jefferson's religion is fairly typical of the American form of deism in his day.''}}

Before the Revolution, Jefferson was a [[vestryman]] in his local church, a lay position that was informally tied to political office at the time. He also had friends who were clergy, and he supported some churches financially.

===Second Continental Congress===

[[Image:Original Declaration of Independence NARA.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] incorporates concepts from Deism.]]

It appears that Jefferson employed deist terminology in the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] where he wrote the words "Creator" and "Nature's God." Jefferson believed, furthermore, it was this Creator that endowed humanity with a number of inalienable rights, such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

In 1776 Jefferson also proposed a motto for the United States Seal. His proposal was, "Rebellion to tyrants is Obedience to God." He suggested that the seal should feature an image of the Biblical Hebrews being rescued by God via the Red Sea.

===Separating Church and State===
[[Image:Jefferson Two Dollar Bill Closeup.jpg|thumb|right|Jefferson is portrayed on the [[United States two-dollar bill]].]]

For Jefferson, separation of church and state was a necessary reform of the religious "tyranny" whereby a religion received state endorsement, and those not of that religion were denied rights, and even punished.

Following the Revolution, Jefferson played a leading role in the disestablishment of religion in Virginia. Previously the Anglican Church had tax support. As he wrote in his ''Notes on Virginia'', a law was in effect in Virginia that "if a person brought up a Christian denies the being of a God, or the Trinity ...he is punishable on the first offense by incapacity to hold any office ...; on the second by a disability to sue, to take any gift or legacy ..., and by three year' imprisonment." Prospective officer-holders were required to swear that they did not believe in the central Roman Catholic doctrine of [[transubstantiation]].

From 1784 to 1786, Jefferson and James Madison worked together to oppose [[Patrick Henry]]'s attempts to again assess taxes in Virginia to support churches. Instead, in 1786, the [[Virginia General Assembly]] passed Jefferson's [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom|''Bill for Religious Freedom'']], which he had first submitted in 1779 and was one of only three accomplishments he put in his own epitaph. The law read:
{{Cquote|''No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.''<ref>Merrill D. Peterson, ed., ''Thomas Jefferson: Writings'' (1984), p. 347</ref>}}

In his 1787 [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/k12/psd/colony/tjnotes.htm Notes on the State of Virginia], Jefferson stated: "Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burned, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make half the world fools and half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the world..."

Jefferson sought what he called a "wall of separation between Church and State," which he believed was a principle expressed by the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]. This phrase has been cited several times by the Supreme Court in its interpretation of the [[Establishment Clause of the First Amendment|Establishment Clause]].<ref>Reynolds (98 U.S. at 164, 1879); Everson (330 U.S. at 59, 1947); McCollum (333 U.S. at 232, 1948) </ref> In an 1802 letter to the [[Danbury, Connecticut|Danbury]] [[Baptist]] Association, he wrote:
{{Cquote|''Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a [[Separation of church and state in the United States|wall of separation]] between church and State.''<ref>[[Wikisource:Jefferson letter to Neremiah Dodge and others|Letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT]], [[January 1]], [[1802]]</ref>}}

Also offering insight into his thinking on the separation of Church and State, is the following quote from [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/k12/psd/colony/tjnotes.htm Notes on the State of Virginia].

{{cquote|''"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."''}}

Jefferson refused to issue proclamations calling for days of prayer and thanksgiving during his Presidency, yet he did do so as Governor in Virginia. His private letters indicate he was skeptical of too much interference by [[clergy]] in matters of civil government. His letters contain the following observations: "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government,"<ref>Letter to [[Alexander von Humboldt]], [[December 6]], [[1813]]</ref> and, "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the [[despotism|despot]], abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."<ref>Letter to Horatio G. Spafford, [[March 17]], [[1814]]</ref> "May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all), the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government."<ref>Letter to [[Roger C. Weightman]] [[June 24]], [[1826]]</ref> While opposed to the institutions of organized religion, Jefferson invoked the notion of divine justice in his opposition to slavery: "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice can not sleep forever: that considering numbers, nature and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation is among possible events: that it may become probable by supernatural interference!"<ref>[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/jefferson/ch18.html Notes on the State of Virginia, Q.XVIII, 1782].</ref>

While the debate over Jefferson's understanding over the separation of Church and state is far from being settled, as are his particular religious tenets, his dependence on divine Providence is not nearly as ambiguous. As he stated, in his second inaugural address:
{{Cquote|I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres17.html Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address]</ref>}}

===Presidency===

During the presidential campaign of 1800, the Federalists attacked Jefferson as an infidel, claiming that Jefferson's intoxication with the religious and political extremism of the French Revolution disqualified him from public office. But Jefferson wrote at length on religion and many scholars agree with the claim that Jefferson was a deist, a common position held by intellectuals in the late 18th century, at least for much of his life.

During his Presidency, Jefferson attended the weekly church services held in the House of Representatives. He also permitted church services in executive branch buildings throughout his administration, believing that Christianity was a prop for republican government.<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html Religion and the Federal Government: PART 2 (Religion and the Founding of the American Republic, Library of Congress Exhibition)]</ref>

{{Cquote|''[The Jefferson Bible] is a document in proof that I am a ''real Christian'', that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call ''me'' infidel and ''themselves'' Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its author never said nor saw.''<ref>Letter to Charles Thomson 9 January 1816</ref>}}

===As Ex-President===

His experience in France just before the French Revolution made him deeply suspicious of Catholic priests and bishops as a force for reaction and ignorance. Similarly, his experience in America with inter-denominational intolerance served to reinforce this skeptical view of religion. In an 1820 letter to [[William Short (American ambassador)|Willam Short]], Jefferson wrote: "the serious enemies are the priests of the different religious sects, to whose spells on the human mind its improvement is ominous."<ref name="short">[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(ws03101)) Letter to William Short, April 13, 1820]</ref>

Jefferson also expressed general agreement with his friend Joseph Priestley's [[Unitarianism]], that is the rejection of the doctrine of Trinity. In an 1822 letter to a pioneer in Ohio he wrote, "I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its conscience to neither kings or priests, the genuine doctrine of only one God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian."<ref>[http://lachlan.bluehaze.com.au/lit/jeff17.htm Letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse] [[June 26]] [[1822]]</ref>

Jefferson did not believe in the divinity of Jesus, but he had high esteem for Jesus' moral teachings, which he viewed as the "principles of a pure deism, and juster notions of the attributes of God, to reform [prior Jewish] moral doctrines to the standard of reason, justice & philanthropy, and to inculcate the belief of a future state."<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02031532&id=4dnSClToke0C&pg=PA374&lpg=PR18&dq=%22Joseph+Priestley,+April+9,+1803%22 Letter to Joseph Priestley, April 9 1803], Thomas Jefferson. Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., ''The Writings of Thomas Jefferson,'' vol. x, p.374 </ref> Jefferson did not believe in miracles. Biographer Merrill Peterson summarizes Jefferson's theology:
{{Cquote|''First, that the Christianity of the churches was unreasonable, therefore unbelievable, but that stripped of priestly mystery, ritual, and dogma, reinterpreted in the light of historical evidence and human experience, and substituting the Newtonian cosmology for the discredited Biblical one, Christianity could be conformed to reason. Second, morality required no divine sanction or inspiration, no appeal beyond reason and nature, perhaps not even the hope of heaven or the fear of hell; and so the whole edifice of Christian revelation came tumbling to the ground.''<ref>{{wikiref |id=Peterson-1975 |text=Peterson 1975, p. 50–51}}</ref>}}

==Jefferson and slavery==
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Jefferson owned many slaves over his lifetime. Some find it baffling that Thomas Jefferson owned slaves yet was outspoken in saying that slavery was immoral and it should be abolished. Biographers point out that Jefferson was deep in debt and had encumbered his slaves by notes and mortgages; he chose not to free them until he finally was debt-free, which he never was.<ref>Herbert E. Sloan, ''Principle and Interest: Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Debt'' (2001) pp. 14–26, 220–1.</ref> Jefferson seems to have suffered pangs and trials of conscience as a result.<ref>{{wikiref |id=Hitchens-2005 |text=Hitchens 2005, p. 48}}</ref> He wrote about slavery, "We have the wolf by the ears; and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other."<ref>Miller, John Chester (1977). ''The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery.'' New York: Free Press, p. 241. The letter, dated April 22, 1820, was written to [[John Holmes (U.S. politician)|John Holmes]], former senator from Maine.</ref>

During his long career in public office, Jefferson attempted numerous times to abolish or limit the advance of slavery. According to a biographer, Jefferson "believed that it was the responsibility of the state and society to free all slaves."<ref>Willard Sterne Randall, ''Thomas Jefferson: A Life''. p 593.</ref> In 1769, as a member of the House of Burgesses, Jefferson proposed for that body to emancipate slaves in Virginia, but he was unsuccessful.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID%2B@lit(tj010010)) The Works of Thomas Jefferson in Twelve Volumes] at the Library of Congress.</ref> In his first draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson condemned the British crown for sponsoring the importation of slavery to the colonies, charging that the crown "has waged cruel war against [[human nature]] itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another [[Western Hemisphere|hemisphere]]." However, this language was dropped from the Declaration at the request of delegates from [[South Carolina]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].

In 1778, the legislature passed a bill he proposed to ban further importation of slaves into Virginia; although this did not bring complete [[abolitionism|emancipation]], in his words, it "stopped the increase of the evil by importation, leaving to future efforts its final eradication." In 1784, Jefferson's draft of what became the [[Northwest Ordinance]] stipulated that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude" in any of the new states admitted to the Union from the [[Northwest Territory]].<ref>[http://www.econlib.org/library/ypdbooks/lalor/llCy787.html Ordinance of 1787] Lalor Cyclopædia of Political Science</ref> In 1807, he signed a bill abolishing the [[History of slavery#Early United States law|slave trade]]. Jefferson attacked the institution of slavery in his ''[[Notes on the State of Virginia]]'' (1784):
{{Cquote|''There must doubtless be an unhappy influence on the manners of our people produced by the existence of slavery among us. The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other.''<ref>''Notes on the State of Virginia'', Ch 18.</ref>}}

In this same work, Jefferson advanced his suspicion that black people were inferior to white people "in the endowments both of body and mind."<ref>''Notes on the State of Virginia'' Query 14</ref> However, Jefferson did also write in this same work that a black person could have the right to live free in any country where people judge them by their nature and not as just being good for labor as well.<ref name>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=JefVirg.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=18&division=div1 'Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 . Notes on the State of Virginia ' at University of Virginia Library]</ref> He also wrote, "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free. [But] the two races...cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion has drawn indelible lines of distinction between them."<ref name="americanpresident.org"/> According to historian [[Stephen Ambrose]]: "Jefferson, like all slaveholders and many other white members of American society, regarded Negroes as inferior, childlike, untrustworthy and, of course, as property. Jefferson, the genius of politics, could see no way for African Americans to live in society as free people."<ref>[http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2002/november/presence.php Flawed Founders] by Stephen E. Ambrose.</ref> His solution seems to have been for slaves to be freed then deported peacefully, failing which the same result would be imposed by war and that, in Jefferson's words, "human nature must shudder at the prospect held up [by war]. We should in vain look for an example in the Spanish deportation or deletion of the Moors. This precedent [the Spanish deportation or deletion] would fall far short of our case."<ref>{{wikiref |id=Hitchens-2005 |text=Hitchens 2005, pp. 34–35}}</ref>

[[Image:Thomas Jefferson Presidential $1 Coin obverse.png|200px|thumb|right|Presidential Dollar of Thomas Jefferson]]

On [[February 25]], [[1809]], Jefferson repudiated his earlier view, writing in a letter to [[Abbé Grégoire]]:
{{Cquote|Sir,--I have received the favor of your letter of August 17th, and with it the volume you were so kind to send me on the "Literature of Negroes." Be assured that no person living wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a complete refutation of the doubts I have myself entertained and expressed on the grade of understanding allotted to them by nature, and to find that in this respect they are on a par with ourselves. My doubts were the result of personal observation on the limited sphere of my own State, where the opportunity for the development of their genius were not favorable and those of exercising it still less so. I expressed them therefore with great hesitation; but whatever be their degree of talent it is no measure of their rights. Because Sir Isaac Newton was superior to others in understanding, he was not therefore lord of the person or property of others. On this subject they are gaining daily in the opinions of nations, and hopeful advances are making toward their re-establishment on an equal footing with the other colors of the human family. I pray you therefore to accept my thanks for the many instances you have enabled me to observe of respectable intelligence in that race of men, which cannot fail to have effect in hastening the day of their relief; and to be assured of the sentiments of high and just esteem and consideration which I tender to yourself with all sincerity.<ref>Letter of February 25, 1809 from Thomas Jefferson to French author Monsieur Gregoire, from ''The Writings of Thomas Jefferson'' (H. A. Worthington, ed.), Volume V, p. 429. Citation and quote from [[Morris Kominsky]], ''The Hoaxers'', pp. 110–111.</ref>}}

The downturn in land prices after 1819 pushed Jefferson further into debt. Jefferson finally emancipated his five most trusted slaves; the others were sold after his death to pay his debts.<ref>{{wikiref |id=Peterson-1975 |text=Peterson 1975, pp. 991–992, 1007}}</ref>

====The Sally Hemings controversy====
Whether Jefferson fathered children with [[Sally Hemings]] is the subject of considerable controversy. Regarding [[miscegenation|marriage between blacks and whites]], Jefferson wrote that "[t]he amalgamation of whites with blacks produces a degradation to which no lover of his country, no lover of excellence in the human character, can innocently consent."<ref>Miller, John Chester (1977). ''The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery.'' New York: Free Press, p. 207. Jefferson wrote these words in 1814.</ref> In addition, Hemings was likely the half-sister of Jefferson's deceased wife Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. The allegation that Jefferson fathered children with Hemings first gained widespread public attention in 1802, when controversial journalist [[James T. Callender]], wrote in a Richmond newspaper, "...[Jefferson] keeps and for many years has kept, as his [[concubinage|concubine]], one of his slaves. Her name is Sally." Jefferson never responded publicly about this issue but is said to have denied it in his private correspondence.<ref>[http://www.ashbrook.org/articles/mayer-hemings.html#VIA The Thomas Jefferson - Sally Hemings Myth and the Politicization of American History]</ref>

A 1998 DNA study concluded that there was a DNA link between some of Hemings descendants and the Jefferson family, but it did not conclusively prove that Jefferson himself was their ancestor. (He belonged to the [[Haplogroup K2 (Y-DNA)|Haplogroup K2 DNA group]].) Three studies were released in the early 2000s, following the publication of the DNA evidence. In 2000, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which runs Monticello, appointed a multi-disciplinary, nine-member in-house research committee of [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.s]] and an [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]] to study the matter of the paternity of Hemings's children. The committee concluded "it is very unlikely that any Jefferson other than Thomas Jefferson was the father of [Hemings's six] children."<ref>[http://www.monticello.org/plantation/hemingscontro/appendixj.html Report of the Research Committee on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Appendix J: The Possible Paternity of Other Jeffersons, A Summary of Research]</ref>

In 2001, the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society<ref>[http://www.tjheritage.org/scholars.html The Scholars Commission on the Jefferson-Hemings Issue]</ref> commissioned a study by an independent 13-member Scholars Commission. The commission concluded that the Jefferson paternity thesis was not persuasive. On [[April 12]], [[2001]], they issued a report; at 565 pages, it was far longer than the Foundation report, though many of those pages were devoted to a review of the evidence that the Thomas Jefferson Foundation study examined. The conclusion of most of the Scholars Commission was that "the Jefferson-Hemings allegation is by no means proven"; those members' individual conclusions ranged from "serious skepticism about the charge" to "a conviction that it is almost certainly false." The majority suggested the most likely alternative is that [[Randolph Jefferson]], Thomas's younger brother, was the father of Eston.

The ''National Genealogical Society Quarterly'' then published articles reviewing the evidence from a genealogical perspective and concluded that the link between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings was valid.<ref>Helen F. M. Leary, "Sally Hemings's Children: A Genealogical Analysis of the Evidence," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 89, no. 3 (September 2001), 165–207. [http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0205/hemings.html]</ref>

==Monuments and memorials==
[[Image:Jefferson memorial 1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The [[Jefferson Memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[Image:MtRushmore Tom close.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Jefferson on [[Mount Rushmore]]]]
{{see|List of places named for Thomas Jefferson}}

*[[April 13]] [[1943]], the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birth, the [[Jefferson Memorial]] was dedicated in [[Washington, D.C.]] The interior includes a {{convert|19|ft|m|0|sing=on}} statue of Jefferson and engravings of passages from his writings. Most prominent are the words which are inscribed around the monument near the roof: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man".
*Jefferson, together with [[George Washington]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]], was chosen by sculptor [[Gutzon Borglum]] to be depicted in stone at the [[Mount Rushmore|Mount Rushmore Memorial]].
*Jefferson's portrait appears on the U.S. [[United States two-dollar bill|$2 bill]], [[Nickel (United States coin)|nickel]], and the $100 Series EE [[Treasury security|Savings Bond]].
*[[July 8]], [[2003]], the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] ship ''Thomas Jefferson'' was commissioned in [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], Virginia. This was done in commemoration of his establishment of a Survey of the Coast, the predecessor to NOAA's National Ocean Service.
*In [[2005]], a [[bronze]] [[monument]] was placed in [[Jefferson Park, Chicago]] at the entrance to the Jefferson Park Transit Center along [[Milwaukee Avenue (Chicago)|Milwaukee avenue]].

==See also==
*[[Jeffersonian]]
*[[Monticello Association]]
*[[The Rotunda (University of Virginia)]]
*[[Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measures of the United States]]
*[[Jeffersonia]]
*[[Thomas Jefferson and Haitian Emigration]]
*[[Maria Cosway]]
*[[List of coupled cousins]]
*[[Jefferson disk]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{1911}}
{{Refend}}

===Primary sources===
{{Refbegin}}
*''Thomas Jefferson: Writings: Autobiography / Notes on the State of Virginia / Public and Private Papers / Addresses / Letters'' (1984, ISBN 978-0-94045016-5) [[Library of America]] edition; see discussion of sources at [http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=67&section=notes]. There are numerous one-volume collections; this is perhaps the best place to start.
*''Thomas Jefferson, Political Writings'' ed by Joyce Appleby and Terence Ball. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107255488 Cambridge University Press. 1999 online]
*[http://www.constitution.org/tj/jeff.htm Lipscomb, Andrew A. and Albert Ellery Bergh, eds. ''The Writings Of Thomas Jefferson'' 19 vol. (1907)] not as complete nor as accurate as Boyd edition, but covers TJ from birth to death. It is out of copyright, and so is online free.
*Edwin Morris Betts (editor), ''Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book'', (Thomas Jefferson Memorial: [[December 1]], [[1953]]) ISBN 1-882886-10-0. Letters, notes, and drawings—a journal of plantation management recording his contributions to scientific agriculture, including an experimental farm implementing innovations such as horizontal plowing and crop-rotation, and Jefferson's own moldboard plow. It is a window to slave life, with data on food rations, daily work tasks, and slaves' clothing. The book portrays the industries pursued by enslaved and free workmen, including in the blacksmith's shop and spinning and weaving house.
*Boyd, Julian P. et al, eds. ''The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.'' The definitive multivolume edition; available at major academic libraries. 31 volumes covers TJ to 1800, with 1801 due out in 2006. See description at [http://www.princeton.edu/~tjpapers/index.html]
*[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/foley/ ''The Jefferson Cyclopedia'' (1900)] large collection of TJ quotations arranged by 9000 topics; searchable; copyright has expired and it is online free.
*The Thomas Jefferson Papers, 1606–1827, 27,000 original manuscript documents at the Library of Congress [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/ online collection]
*Jefferson, Thomas. ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1787), London: Stockdale. This was Jefferson's only book
**Shuffleton, Frank, ed., (1998) Penguin Classics paperback: ISBN 0-14-043667-7
**Waldstreicher, David, ed., (2002) Palgrave Macmillan hardcover: ISBN 0-312-29428-X
**[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefVirg.html online edition]
*Cappon, Lester J., ed. ''The Adams-Jefferson Letters'' (1959)
*Howell, Wilbur Samuel, ed. ''Jefferson's Parliamentary Writings'' (1988). Jefferson's Manual of Parliamentary Practice, written when he was vice-President, with other relevant papers
*Smith, James Morton, ed. ''The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, 1776–1826'', 3 vols. (1995)
{{Refend}}

===Biographies===
{{Refbegin}}
*Appleby, Joyce. ''Thomas Jefferson'' (2003), short interpretive essay by leading scholar
*Bernstein, R. B. ''Thomas Jefferson''. (2003) Well regarded short biography
*Burstein, Andrew. ''Jefferson's Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello.'' (2005).
*Cunningham, Noble E. ''In Pursuit of Reason'' (1988) well-reviewed short biography
*[[Joseph Ellis|Ellis, Joseph J.]] ''[[American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson]]'' (1996). Prize winning essays; assumes prior reading of a biography
*[[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens, C. E.]]''Thomas Jefferson: Author of America'' (2005), short biography
**"American Sphinx: The Contradictions of Thomas Jefferson." essay by leading scholar online at [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjessay1.html]
*[[Dumas Malone|Malone, Dumas]]. ''Jefferson and His Time'', 6 vols. (1948–82). Multi-volume biography of TJ by leading expert; [http://members.aol.com/historiography/jefferson.html A short version is online]
*Onuf, Peter "The Scholars' Jefferson," ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 3d Series, L:4 (October 1993), 671–699. Historiographical review or scholarship about TJ; online through JSTOR at most academic libraries.
*Pasley, Jeffrey L. "Politics and the Misadventures of Thomas Jefferson's Modern Reputation: a Review Essay." ''Journal of Southern History'' 2006 72(4): 871–908. Issn: 0022-4642 Fulltext in Ebsco
*{{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Merrill D. |title=Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation |year=1975}} A standard scholarly biography
*Peterson, Merrill D. (ed.) ''Thomas Jefferson: A Reference Biography'' (1986), 24 essays by leading scholars on aspects of Jefferson's career.
*{{cite book |last=Schachner |first=Nathan |title=Thomas Jefferson: A Biography |year=1951}} 2 vol.
*[[Sandor Salgo|Salgo, Sandor.]] ''Thomas Jefferson: Musician and Violinist'' (1997), a book detailing Thomas Jefferson's love of music
{{Refend}}

===Academic studies===
{{Refbegin}}
*Ackerman, Bruce. ''The Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy.'' (2005)
*Adams, Henry. ''History of the United States of America during the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson'' (1889; [http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=16&section=notes Library of America edition 1986)] famous 4-volume history
**Wills, Garry, ''Henry Adams and the Making of America'' (2005), detailed analysis of Adams' ''History''
*Banning, Lance. ''The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology'' (1978)
*{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Stuart Gerry |title=The First Republicans: Political Philosophy and Public Policy in the Party of Jefferson and Madison |year=1954}}
*Channing; Edward. ''The Jeffersonian System: 1801–1811'' (1906), "American Nation" survey of political history
*Dunn, Susan. ''Jefferson's Second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism'' (2004)
*Elkins; Stanley and Eric McKitrick. ''The Age of Federalism'' (1995) in-depth coverage of politics of 1790s
*Fatovic, Clement. "Constitutionalism and Presidential Prerogative: Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian Perspectives." '': American Journal of Political Science,'' 2004 48(3): 429–444. Issn: 0092-5853 Fulltext: in Swetswise, Ingenta, Jstor, and Ebsco
*{{cite book |last=Ferling |first=John |title=Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 |year=2004}}
*Finkelman, Paul. ''Slavery and the Founders: Race and Liberty in the Age of Jefferson'' (2001), esp ch 6–7
*Hatzenbuehler, Ronald L. ''"I Tremble for My Country": Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Gentry,'' (University Press of Florida; 206 pages; 2007). Argues that the TJ's critique of his fellow gentry in Virginia masked his own reluctance to change
*{{cite book |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |title=Author of America: Thomas Jefferson |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2005}}
*Horn, James P. P. Jan Ellen Lewis, and Peter S. Onuf, eds. ''The Revolution of 1800: Democracy, Race, and the New Republic'' (2002) 17 essays by scholars
*Jayne, Allen. ''Jefferson's Declaration of Independence: Origins, Philosophy and Theology'' (2000); traces TJ's sources and emphasizes his incorporation of Deist theology into the Declaration.
*Roger G. Kennedy. ''Mr. Jefferson's Lost Cause: Land, Farmers, Slavery, and the Louisiana Purchase'' (2003).
*Knudson, Jerry W. ''Jefferson and the Press: Crucible of Liberty.'' (2006)
*Lewis, Jan Ellen, and Onuf, Peter S., eds. ''Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, Civic Culture''. (1999)
*McDonald, Forrest. ''The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson'' (1987) intellectual history approach to Jefferson's Presidency
*Matthews, Richard K. "The Radical Political Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson: An Essay in Retrieval," ''Midwest Studies in Philosophy,'' XXVIII (2004)
*Mayer, David N. ''The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson'' (2000)
*Onuf, Peter S. ''Jefferson's Empire: The Languages of American Nationhood''. (2000). [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.cgi?path=23482982861596 Online review]
*Onuf, Peter S., ed. ''Jeffersonian Legacies''. (1993)
*Onuf, Peter. [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/journals/EH/EH35/onuf1.html "Thomas Jefferson, Federalist" (1993)] online journal essay
*Perry, Barbara A. "Jefferson's Legacy to the Supreme Court: Freedom of Religion." ''Journal of Supreme Court History'' 2006 31(2): 181–198. Issn: 1059-4329 Fulltext in Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco
*Peterson, Merrill D. ''The Jefferson Image in the American Mind'' (1960), how Americans interpreted and remembered Jefferson
*Rahe, Paul A. "Thomas Jefferson's Machiavellian Political Science". ''Review of Politics'' 1995 57(3): 449–481. ISSN 0034–6705 Fulltext online at Jstor and Ebsco.
*Sears, Louis Martin. ''Jefferson and the Embargo'' (1927), state by state impact
*Sloan, Herbert J. ''Principle and Interest: Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Debt'' (1995). Shows the burden of debt in Jefferson's personal finances and political thought.
*Smelser, Marshall. ''The Democratic Republic: 1801–1815'' (1968). "New American Nation" survey of political and diplomatic history
*Staloff, Darren. ''Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding.'' (2005)
*Taylor, Jeff. ''Where Did the Party Go?: William Jennings Bryan, Hubert Humphrey, and the Jeffersonian Legacy'' (2006), on Jefferson's role in Democratic history and ideology.
*Tucker, Robert W. and David C. Hendrickson. ''Empire of Liberty: The Statecraft of Thomas Jefferson'' (1992), foreign policy
*Urofsky, Melvin I. "Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall: What Kind of Constitution Shall We Have?" ''Journal of Supreme Court History'' 2006 31(2): 109–125. Issn: 1059-4329 Fulltext: in Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco
*Valsania, Maurizio. "'Our Original Barbarism': Man Vs. Nature in Thomas Jefferson's Moral Experience." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 2004 65(4): 627–645. Issn: 0022-5037 Fulltext: in Project Muse and Swetswise
*Wagoner, Jennings L., Jr. ''Jefferson and Education.'' (2004).
*Wiltse, Charles Maurice. ''The Jeffersonian Tradition in American Democracy'' (1935), analysis of Jefferson's political philosophy
*[http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/archives/interviews/frame.htm PBS interviews with 24 historians]
{{Refend}}

====Jefferson and religion====
{{Refbegin}}
*Gaustad, Edwin S. ''Sworn on the Altar of God: A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson'' (2001) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, ISBN 0-8028-0156-0
*Sanford, Charles B. ''The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1987) University of Virginia Press, ISBN 0-8139-1131-1
*Sheridan, Eugene R. ''Jefferson and Religion'', preface by [[Martin Marty]], (2001) University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 1-882886-08-9
*Edited by Jackson, Henry E., President, College for Social Engineers, Washington, D. C. "The Thomas Jefferson Bible" (1923) Copyright Boni and Liveright, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Arranged by Thomas Jefferson. Translated by R. F. Weymouth. Located in the National Meusem, Washington, D. C.
{{Refend}}

==External links and sources==
{{sisterlinks|Thomas Jefferson}}
*[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/texts/ University of Virginia Jefferson Papers]
*[http://city-journal.org/html/17_4_urbanities-monticello.html Monticello's Shadows, ''City Journal,'' Autumn 2007]
*[http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/jefferson Extensive essay on Thomas Jefferson and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs]
*[http://www.americanrevolution.com/ThomasJefferson.htm American Revolution.com]
*[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/biog/index.html B. L. Rayner's 1829 ''Life of Thomas Jefferson'', an on-line etext]
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html Biography on White House website]
*[http://www.exploredc.org/index.php?id=72 Explore DC biography]
*[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/cron/1977wolf.html "Frontline: Jefferson's blood: Chronology: The Sally Hemings story (1977), PBS]
*[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/grizzard "The Hobby of My Old Age": Jefferson's University of Virginia]
*[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/ Library of Congress: Jefferson exhibition]
*[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mtjhtml/mtjtime1.html Library of Congress: Jefferson timeline]
*[http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/historiography/tj.html Jefferson: Man of the Millennium]
*[http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g03.htm Medical History and Health of Thomas Jefferson]
*[http://www.monticello.org/ Monticello - Home of Thomas Jefferson]
*[http://www.poplarforest.org/ Poplar Forest-Thomas Jefferson's second home]
*[http://www.nps.gov/thje/ Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC]
*[http://www.jeffersonhour.org/ ''The Thomas Jefferson Hour''] hosted by [[Clay S. Jenkinson]]
*[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/jeffpap.htm The Papers of Thomas Jefferson] at the Avalon Project
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6435 Plaque at University of Missouri at Find-A-Grave]
*[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/ Quotations from Jefferson]
*[http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/narratives/bio_sally_hemings.htm "The Sally Hemings Story" Slavery in America, Narratives/Biographies]
*[http://www.monticello.org/plantation/hemingscontro/hemings_report.html "Report of the Research Committee on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings", Thomas Jefferson Foundation January 2000''] with link to .pdf version of full report
*[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jeflxx.htm Selected letters]
*[http://www.american-presidents.com/presidents/thomas-jefferson Thomas Jefferson Biography]
*{{Find A Grave|id=544}}
*[http://www.monticello.org/plantation/hemingscontro/hemings-jefferson_contro.html "Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: A Brief Account"] at monticello.org
*{{CongBio|J000069}}
*[http://www.luc.edu/depts/polisci/research/katz.html Thomas Jefferson's Liberal Anticapitalism] by Claudio J. Katz
*[http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_by/thomas+jefferson Thomas Jefferson Quotes] at Liberty-Tree.ca
*[http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/biog/lj01.htm University of Virginia biography]
*{{gutenberg author|id=Thomas+Jefferson+(1743–1826)|name=Thomas Jefferson}}
*[http://caracas.usembassy.gov/wwwh272.html US embassy, Caracas biography]
*[http://www.constitution.org/tj/tj-categ.htm ''Writings of Thomas Jefferson'', Albert Ellery Bergh, ed., 19 vol. (1905).] 5145KB zipped ASCII file
*[http://www.colonialhall.com/jefferson/jefferson.php Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856]
*[http://www.yamaguchy.netfirms.com/7897401/jefferson/jefind.html The Earth Belongs to the Living] -- selected letters on currency, banking, statecraft
*[http://www.angelfire.com/va/TJTruth/ TJ Truth]
*[http://www.rumormillnews.com/jefferson.htm Assault on a Founding Father]
*[http://www.jeffersonlegacy.org/ Jefferson legacy website]

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{{s-bef|before=[[Patrick Henry]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of Virginia]]|years=[[1779]] – [[1781]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Fleming]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Jay]]|as=[[United States Secretary for Foreign Affairs]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Secretary of State]]|years=[[September 26]], [[1789]] – [[December 31]], [[1793]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edmund Randolph]]}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[John Adams]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Vice President of the United States]]|years=[[March 4]], [[1797]] – [[March 4]], [[1801]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Aaron Burr]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of the United States]]|years=[[March 4]], [[1801]] – [[March 4]], [[1809]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Madison]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-new|party}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)#Candidates|Democratic-Republican Party presidential candidate]]|years=[[U.S. presidential election, 1796|1796]]¹, [[U.S. presidential election, 1800|1800]], [[U.S. presidential election, 1804|1804]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Madison]]}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Benjamin Franklin]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Minister Plenipotentiary to France]]|years=1785 – 1789}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Short (American ambassador)|William Short]]}}
{{s-ref|Prior to the passage of the [[Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twelfth Amendment]] in 1804, each Presidential elector would cast two ballots; the highest vote-getter would become President and the runner-up would become Vice President. Thus, in 1796, the [[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] fielded Jefferson as a Presidential candidate, but he came in second and therefore became Vice President.}}

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{{USSecState}}
{{VAGovernors}}
{{Enlightenment}}
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{{Jefferson cabinet}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Jefferson, Thomas
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American President
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[April 13]], [[1743]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Albemarle County, Virginia]]
|DATE OF DEATH=[[July 4]], [[1826]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Charlottesville, Virginia]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Thomas}}
[[Category:1743 births]]
[[Category:1826 deaths]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States]]
[[Category:American archaeologists]]
[[Category:American architects]]
[[Category:American book and manuscript collectors]]
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[[Category:People of Virginia in the American Revolution]]
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[[Category:Thomas Jefferson|*]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1792]]
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[[als:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[am:ቶማስ ጄፈርሰን]]
[[ang:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ar:توماس جفرسون]]
[[ast:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[bn:টমাস জেফারসন]]
[[be-x-old:Томас Джэфэрсан]]
[[bs:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[bg:Томас Джеферсън]]
[[ca:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[cs:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[co:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[cy:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[da:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[de:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[dv:ތޯމަސް ޖެފަރސަން]]
[[et:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[el:Τόμας Τζέφερσον]]
[[es:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[eo:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[eu:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[fa:توماس جفرسون]]
[[fr:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ga:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[gl:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ko:토머스 제퍼슨]]
[[hr:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[io:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[id:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[is:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[it:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[he:תומאס ג'פרסון]]
[[pam:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ka:თომას ჯეფერსონი]]
[[sw:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[la:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[lv:Tomass Džefersons]]
[[lb:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[lt:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[hu:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[mr:थॉमस जेफरसन]]
[[ms:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[nl:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ja:トーマス・ジェファーソン]]
[[no:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[nn:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[oc:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[nds:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[pl:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[pt:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ro:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ru:Джефферсон, Томас]]
[[sa:थामस जेफरसन]]
[[sco:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[sq:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[simple:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[sk:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[sl:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[sr:Томас Џеферсон]]
[[sh:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[fi:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[sv:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[ta:தாமஸ் ஜெஃவ்வர்சன்]]
[[th:ทอมัส เจฟเฟอร์สัน]]
[[vi:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[tg:Томас Ҷефферсон]]
[[tr:Thomas Jefferson]]
[[uk:Джефферсон Томас]]
[[ur:ٹامس جیفرسن]]
[[yi:טאמעס זשעפערסאן]]
[[zh:托马斯·杰斐逊]]

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Directory:Thomas Jefferson (view source)

Revision as of 16:33, 1 April 2008

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