CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was born at Shadwell, along the Rivanna River in what is now Albemarle County. At age fourteen, when his father died, Jefferson inherited more than 5,000 acres of land, about twenty enslaved laborers, and his father's books. He attended the College of William and Mary, where he studied law, but he practiced as a lawyer only for a few years. He would go on to become an architect, diplomat, master gardener, musician, and statesman. Jefferson was also a slave holder, and may have owned as many as 600 enslaved people throughout his lifetime.
First elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1769, Thomas Jefferson's political career spanned forty years and included service in the House of Delegates (1776–1779), as a member of the Continental Congress (1775–1776), as governor of Virginia (1779–1781), minister to France (1784–1789), U.S. Secretary of State (1790–1793), Vice President (1797–1801), and President (1801–1809). As the third president of the United States, Jefferson doubled the size of the country with his purchase of the Louisiana territory from France (1803). He also arranged for the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803–1806) to the Pacific Ocean.
Jefferson's many accomplishments included his design of Monticello and the Virginia state capitol, writing the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, as well as establishing the University of Virginia. He died on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Declaration of Independence. He is buried at his home Monticello and his grave is marked with an epitaph that he requested listing what he considered his greatest accomplishments:
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
author of the
Declaration
of American Independence
of the
Statute of Virginia
for
Religious Freedom
and the Father of the
University of Virginia
Citation: Portrait of Thomas Jefferson, ca. 1827, by George Catlin after Thomas Sully. State Art Collection, Library of Virginia.
For more information about Thomas Jefferson, read his Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry on Encyclopedia Virginia.
Standards
Art: 4.18, 4.19, 5.18, 5.19
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Look at It: Examine the portrait painting of Jefferson. Using the painting as your source, what can you conclude about Jefferson? Look at his dress, posture, and facial expression.
Post Activities
Social Media Spin: Create a social media post about Thomas Jefferson. The post should include references to a variety of facts about Thomas Jefferson.
Form an Opinion: What might be a reason Thomas Jefferson did not list being President of the United States as one of his greatest accomplishments?