Thomas Jefferson

Article Outline

Introduction; Early Life; Early Career; President of the United States; Second Term as President; Later Life

Richmond Convention

In March 1775 Jefferson was a delegate to a Virginia convention held at Richmond to approve the decisions made at the First Continental Congress, an assembly of representatives from the different colonies that had met the previous fall to organize resistance to Britain. At Richmond it was decided that the colonies must resort to arms against England. Patrick Henry on this occasion made his stirring “give me liberty or give me death” speech. Jefferson supported Henry's call to arms with his first public address. The convention then chose him as an alternate delegate to the Second Continental Congress to serve if the elected delegate, Peyton Randolph, should be unable to attend.

Burgesses' Last Session

Before the Second Continental Congress convened, events in Virginia reached a crisis. Lord Dunmore, the governor, had angered Virginians by his high-handed conduct. They were further aroused when word came of the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, when Massachusetts militias first took up arms against the British troops. The American Revolution had begun. (See Lexington, Battle of; Concord, Battle of.) Dunmore was frightened and called a meeting of the General Assembly, which both Jefferson and Randolph attended.

At first, Dunmore tried to calm the assembly with assurances that no more taxes would be levied. Instead, he said, they would return to the old system whereby the colonies voluntarily contributed money to Great Britain. However, these assurances came too late to appease the Virginians. Dunmore felt his life was endangered and fled to a British warship. He never returned to Virginia.

The assembly continued to work without him. Jefferson's written reply to the assurances made by Dunmore stated that “the British Parliament has no right to intermeddle with the support of civil Government in the Colonies.” Virginia, Jefferson declared, was now represented in the Continental Congress and would go along with the decisions of the other colonies. His reply, slightly amended, was adopted by the assembly, and Jefferson left for Philadelphia and the meeting of the Continental Congress. Randolph remained in Williamsburg to preside over the assembly.

Declaration of Independence

On June 21, 1775, Jefferson took his seat in Congress. A few days later, John Rutledge of South Carolina was appointed to write a statement explaining the colonists' reasons for making war on Britain. Rutledge's paper was not approved, and Jefferson, who by now had earned wide acclaim as a writer, was asked to write a new draft. His version contained many of the ideas expressed in the Summary View, and it brought forth the same cry of radicalism from the conservatives. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania rewrote Jefferson's paper, and Congress approved it on July 6, 1775.

The following summer, Jefferson sat in Congress as an elected delegate, not as an alternate. It was at this session that he wrote his most famous document, the Declaration of Independence.

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, who was also a congressman from Virginia, proposed a resolution stating “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” Jefferson was one of a committee of five appointed to draft a declaration “to the effect of the said ... resolution.” The committee asked Jefferson to draft the paper, and according to committee member John Adams, Jefferson replied, “Well, if you are decided, I will do as well as I can.” When his draft was completed, Adams, committee member Benjamin Franklin, and Jefferson himself made corrections.

On July 2, 1776, Lee's resolution for independence was passed by Congress. Technically, this was the actual day of American independence. Then the declaration was debated, several changes were made, and some parts were dropped entirely. Jefferson regretted especially the deletion of a long paragraph denouncing the slave trade and the whole institution of slavery as a “cruel war against human nature itself.”

The objective of the declaration, in Jefferson's own words, was to justify American independence “in terms so plain and full as to command their assent.” As an expression of the philosophy of the natural rights of people in an age when absolute monarchs ruled throughout the world, it had an immense impact in America and in Europe as well. Jefferson did not originate the concept of government by consent and the belief that all people are endowed with certain rights that government cannot infringe upon. These ideas came from European philosophers, most notably 17th century British philosopher John Locke. However, in the declaration they were given a practical application for the first time. Furthermore, in Jefferson's words they achieved their most eloquent expression.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted. The bands that had connected America with Great Britain were broken. Within a few days the declaration was being read to people throughout the colonies, and it was received with great rejoicing. The declaration held the essence of Jefferson's ideals, and he spent the rest of his life applying its principles to the new American government.

Virginia Legislator

While Jefferson was writing the declaration, a convention of the General Assembly in Virginia was drafting laws suitable for the state's new republican form of government. Eager to take part in this enterprise, Jefferson resigned from Congress and, in September 1776, returned to Virginia. A congressional appointment as minister to France followed him home. However, he declined the appointment in order to serve in the Virginia convention.

Legislation

Jefferson was opposed to all forms of tyranny. He also had great faith in the ability to rule by reason. Therefore, in helping to make laws for Virginia, his guiding principle was to place as few restrictions as possible upon the people of the state. Jefferson was a strong advocate of land reform. A few families owned most of the land in Virginia and, because ownership of land was a prerequisite for voting, these same families also controlled the government. By his efforts the old hereditary property laws were modified to enable more people to own land, which led to greater democracy in the state.

Jefferson's most noteworthy achievement at the convention was his bill to establish religious freedom and to ensure the separation of church and state. The bill guaranteed, in Jefferson's own words, “that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever.” It guaranteed, too, that no one should suffer in any way for his “religious opinions or belief.” Introduced in 1779, the bill did not become law until 1786, when, through the leadership of Legislator James Madison, it was enacted by the General Assembly.

Jefferson was less successful with his educational program. His “bill for the more general diffusion of knowledge” would have provided schooling for children whose parents could not afford private schools. The bill as written never passed the General Assembly. However, it set forth a philosophy that was eventually embodied in the national institution of the free public school.

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Richmond Convention

Burgesses' Last Session

Declaration of Independence

Virginia Legislator

Legislation