Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration Of Independence

Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson was the author of The Declaration of Independence, and according to Bellis, Jefferson was also a jurist, a diplomat, a writer, an inventor, a philosopher, an architect, a gardener, a negotiator of Louisiana Purchase, but he only requested three of his many accomplishments to be noted on his tomb. (2005). Thomas Jefferson was a very smart politician and he knew what to say to whom in order to enhance their support. This essay will be an analytical paper discussing Thomas Jefferson and The Declaration of Independence. It will also clarify the basic ideas contained in The Declaration of Independence; the influence of the Declaration upon American War of Independence, and the reasons the Declaration was considered a "Fundamental document." (According to my High School teacher).

Biography:

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 at Shadwell, Virginia. His mother was Jane Randolph Jefferson; his father was a landowner name Peter Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson attended College (1760-62) of William and Mary. In 1769 he began six years of service as a representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1770 he begun building Monticello on the land he inherited from his father. It took years to build it, but according to an Internet article Brief...Jefferson, when he married Martha Wayles Skelton on January 1, 1772 part of the Monticello mansion was ready to be lived in. Mr.

and Mrs. Jefferson produced six children, but only two survived to adulthood and four were deceased during their childhood. (Brief...Jefferson, 2005). In 1776 he was chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence, "which has been regarded ever since as a charter of American and universal liberties" (Brief...Jefferson, 2005). The same year he also left Congress, he returned to Virginia and served in the legislature, and was elected governor from 1779-81. In 1874, in France he entered public service again, "first as trade commissioner an then as Benjamin Franklin's successor as minister" (Brief...Jefferson, 2005). According to Brief...Biography article, in 1790 Jefferson accepted the post of secretary of state under his friend George Washington. In 1794, he defeated Adams for president of the United States, and the first notable achievements of his term as president were the purchased of Louisiana Purchased Territory in 1803 and of course his support of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In his second term, he had a difficult times dealing with both the domestic and foreign fronts; there were conflicts between Britain and France, and his effort did not stop the war with Britain in 1812.

His fried James Madison succeeded Jefferson as president in 1809, and during the last seventeen years of his life, he stayed at his mansion, Monticello. Just hours before his close friend Adam was to signing the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. As he also wished that his

tombstone reflects the things that he had given the people, not the people that had given to him.

HERE WAS BURIED

THOMAS JEFFERSON

AUTHOR OF THE

DECLARATION

OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE

OF THE

STATUTE OF VIRGINIA

FOR

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

AND FATHER OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

BORN APRIL 2. 1743. O.S.

DIED JULY 4. 1826

Declaration of Independence:

In 1776, since Jefferson was a member of Continental Congress, he was chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence, since he was a member of Continental Congress. (Brief...Jefferson, 2005). Looking back in High School, the class discussion about The Declaration of Independence was that Jefferson predicted the coming of great changes in America within the times that he lived in. He wrote this document for the American Citizens at the time, and it still exists today. The Declaration personified many of the ideas that separated the colonies from England and therefore the process of creating a new country begun.

The Declaration of Independence started talking about human events, political bands, and power. On the first sentence or opening statement. "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people...to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal God entitle them," (Jefferson, 414). The next sentence is my favorite one and I am sure it is a well-known phrase "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" (Jefferson, 414). On the footnote of this sentence it was John Locke's ideas, where he identified natural rights as those to "Life, Liberty, and estates, which he meant "Property." The document also mentioned that any kind of Government becomes destructive of these ends, People have the right to abolish it, and rights to form new Government. This is what Jefferson and the other writers of the Declaration wants. On this document Jefferson also mentioned "He," and he was referring to the King of the British Parliament (George III), at least that's what I got from it. On page 415 "He," was mentioned so many times, "He has called together legislative...his measures---He has dissolved...of the people.---He has endeavored to prevent...of