Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, born 1743 in Albemarle, Virginia, was a self-made man. He had many endeavors, such as law, and politics in addition to running a 5,000-acre plantation that he inherited from his father.

Jefferson graduated from William and Mary College, and was an accomplished lawyer. Tall, red haired, and freckled, he was not what most people would consider attractive. He married the widowed Martha Wayles Skelton and took her to live in his unfinished home in the mountains of Monticello.

Jefferson was an awful public speaker, but he was a great diplomat. He sympathized with the situation in France at the time, and he easily filled the shoes of Ben Franklin as minister to France in 1785. He then went on as a member of George Washington's cabinet. He remained in this position until 1793.

Soon following his resignation from his position as minister to France, two parties developed in the United States. These two parties still exist today, the Democratic Republican Party and the Republican Party. As previously mentioned, Jefferson was a strong supporter of the French. As a result of States Rights, he soon became a leader of the Republican Party from which he gained a nomination for the office of President of the United States in 1976. Coming within a disappointing three votes from being elected, he became vice-president for John Adams. This was in spite of the fact that he ran against President Adams in this election. Due to this rivalry, he did not speak to Adams for nearly eleven years.

In 1800, he ran for president again, and tied with the Republican Aaron Burr, and through the vote of the House of Representatives, Jefferson was elected President of the United States. As president, Jefferson did well by even the harshest of critics. He cut funding for the Army and Navy in addition to eliminating the tax on whiskey. However, amazingly, he was able to reduce the national debt of the United States.

Although no precedents were set, he added land to the United States with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. This land purchase was important due to the fact that it nearly doubled the land size of the United States.

Throughout his presidency, Jefferson maintained his beliefs in equality and democracy by getting rid of all of the racial and religious standards at his political gatherings.

Jefferson left office after two terms in the year 1809, and moved to his mountaintop home in Virginia. In his latter post-political years, Jefferson became what many would call a "sage". He advised new presidents on the Napoleonic Wars as well as many other topics of importance. Outside of politics, Jefferson lived life to its' fullest. He was in great physical shape. He would rise early and read until breakfast. He would then follow up with a four to five hour horse ride on his farm, and then he would enjoy his dinner. Finally, he would read and write in his study before retiring to his bedroom to read and go to sleep. He never smoked or gambled, but rather spent much of his time designing useful things for his house like plows, carriages, fences and gardens. In other words, he was something of an inventor. He loved flowers and built a garden with many flowers of rare origins. As an inventor, he played with gadgets and invented polygraphs, pantographs,