Chapter 1 Early Life Early Life Early Life and Political and Political and Political Career Career Career Career Career Career A n agent of the American Revolution and the author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 Thomas Jefferson was an active statesman who from 1801 to 1809 served as the third president of the United States During his presidency the territory of the United States doubled with the Louisiana Purchase To investi gate the vastness of this newly acquired land in the West he dispatched two of the most famous explorers in U S history Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to blaze a trail through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacifi c Ocean In the fi rst overseas war in U S history Jefferson sent military forces to the Mediterranean Sea to crush Tripoli’s piracy threats 1212
Early Life and Political Career Thomas Jefferson SuperStock Getty Images 13
Thomas Jefferson Jefferson entered the political arena in 1769 as a Virginia state legislator From 1775 to 1801 he held several notable public positions including Continental Congress delegate gov ernor of Virginia U S secretary of state and vice president of the United States His time in Paris during the 1780s as U S ambassador to France brought about more controversy concerning his personal life than any achieve ments in foreign relations An alleged love affair with Sally Hemings one of his slaves whom he summoned to Paris sparked a pater nity debate that persisted long after his death Jefferson initiated free public education and the separation of church and state in Virginia which were the cornerstones for these reforms throughout the nation As an activist for states rights Jefferson founded the Republican party to contend with Federalist ideals of a powerful federal government A Founding Father of his country Jefferson inspired a sense of nation alistic pride for the United States based on liberty and human rights Family and Education Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13 April 2 according to the calendar used then 1743 14
Early Life and Political Career in Shadwell Va His parents were Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph Jefferson Peter Jefferson was a landowner surveyor and public offi cial of Albemarle County Jane Randolph Jefferson was descended from one of the most prominent families in Virginia The couple had two sons of whom Thomas was the eldest and six daughters In 1745 Peter Jefferson moved his fam ily to Tuckahoe the Randolph plantation The garden at Tuckahoe Plantation near Richmond Va where Jefferson spent part of his childhood AP Images 15
