THOMAS JEFFERSON

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), a statesman, Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence

and the served as the third U.S. President from 1801 to 1809.  Jefferson served as wartime Governor of
Virginia (1779 – 1781), U.S. Minister to France (1785 – 1789), first U.S. Secretary of State (1790 – 1793)
under President George Washington and U.S. Vice President (1797–1801) under President John Adams.
In 1804, he was re-elected by an overwhelmingly majority. He considered his presidency as the 2nd
American Revolution.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON

THOMAS JEFFERSON WROTE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

The Declaration of Independence (1776) was a formal statement announcing that the United States was
no longer a part of the British Empire. The Committee of Five established to create it voted to have
Jefferson write the document. The Declaration proved to be an inspiration to numerous national
declarations throughout the world. The second sentence of the declaration, in which Jefferson first used
the famous phrase “All men are created equal”, has become a well-known statement on human rights and
has been called “the most potent and consequential words in American history”.

Religious Tolerance

Though he himself was an atheist but he was very much tolerant of other religions. In 1777, Jefferson
drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom which disestablished the Church of England in
Virginia and guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all religious faiths. It was enacted into the state’s
law in 1786. It was a precursor to the clause in the First Amendment to US Constitution which prohibited
any law which would impede free exercise of religion.

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY WAS ESTABLISHED DURING HIS

PRESIDENCY

In 1801, shortly after his inauguration as president, Jefferson directed that plans be set in motion to
establish the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York. On July 4, 1802, the
USMA formally started as an institution for scientific and military learning. It went on to become one of
the leading institutions in America. Its alumni include two U.S. presidents, presidents of Costa Rica,
Nicaragua and of the Philippines, numerous famous generals, and seventy-five Medal of Honor
recipients.
JEFFERSON DOUBLED THE SIZE OF THE UNITED STATES DURING HIS
PRESIDENCY

In 1802, President Jefferson had made an arrangement for the purchase of New Orleans and adjacent
areas from France. Napoleon I offered to sell the entire Louisiana territory for $15 million. The Louisiana
Purchase took place in 1803. It doubled the size of the United States at a sum of less than 3 cents per
acre and was by far the largest territorial gain in U.S. history. The Louisiana territory proved to be one of
the largest fertile tracts of land on the planet. It included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two
Canadian provinces.

HE MADE SURE US PRESENCE WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE LOUISIANA

TERRITORY

After the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson required the mostly unknown territory to be mapped and explored
to establish American presence there before the European powers tried to claim it. This resulted in
the Corps of Discovery Expedition which was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. It helped
establish the U.S. presence in the newly acquired territory; and diplomatic and trade relations were made
with indigenous tribes. The expedition also obtained a wealth of scientific and geographic knowledge. Its
success led to Jefferson organizing three other western exploration expeditions.

PRESIDENT JEFFERSON ABOLISHED THE SLAVE TRADE

On December 2, 1806, in his annual message to Congress, President Jefferson called for
the criminalization of international slave trade on the first day it was possible. The Act Prohibiting
Importation of Slaves was signed into law by Jefferson on March 2, 1807 by which no new slaves were
permitted to be imported into the United States. It took effect on January 1, 1808, the earliest date
permitted by the Constitution. The abolition of the slave trade was a major achievement of Jefferson’s
presidency.

 HE MADE AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

As president, Thomas Jefferson played an important role in establishing the structure of the Library of
Congress. Later when most of the collection of the library was destroyed by the British in 1814 during
the War of 1812, Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement. In January 1815, Congress
accepted Jefferson’s offer, appropriating $23,950 to purchase his 6,487 books. On June 13, 1980, the
name of the main building of the Library of Congress was changed to Thomas Jefferson Building to
honor his contribution.

THOMAS JEFFERSON FOUNDED THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Jefferson considered education very important in building a good society. He wanted to establish a new
institution free of church influences and where students could specialize in new areas not offered at other
universities. In 1819, the 76-year-old Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. He was also
the principal designer of the buildings. When the university opened in 1825 it was the first to offer a full
slate of elective courses and was notable for being centered about a library rather than a church.

HE WROTE A BOOK TITLED “NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA”

Notes on the State of Virginia is the only full-length book written by Jefferson. It was first published in
France in 1785. In the book Jefferson has compiled data about Virginia’s natural resources and economy;
and also expressed his views on various subjects including the separation of church and state,
constitutional government, checks and balances, individual liberty and slavery. It is often dubbed as
the most important American book published before the 1800s.