Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States of America,
was born April 2, (old style,) 1743, at Shadwell, in Albemarle County,
Virginia, and was the eldest of eight children. His father, though his
education had been entirely neglected in early life, being a man of
strong mind, acquired, by subsequent study, considerable information.
He died when the subject of our sketch was about twelve years old,
having previously given him every means of knowledge that could be
procured, and left him a considerable estate. After going through a
course of school instruction, young Jefferson entered the college of
William and Mary where he remained for two years. He then commenced
the study of law under the guidance of the celebrated George Wythe, by
whom, in 1767, he was introduced to its practice, at the bar of the
general court of the colony, at which he continued until the
revolution. In 1769 he was elected a member of the provincial
legislature from the county where he resided, and made a fruitless
effort, in that body, for the emancipation of the slaves. By this time
a spirit of opposition had been excited in the colonies to the
arbitrary measures of the British government; and when the governor of
Virginia dissolved the general assembly, in 1769, in consequence of
the sympathy which was displayed by the majority of its members with
the feelings which had been manifested in Massachusetts, they met, the
next day, in the public room of the Raleigh tavern, formed themselves
into a convention, drew up articles of association against the use of
any merchandise imported from Great Britain, and signed and
recommended them to the people. They then repaired to their respective
counties, and were all reëlected, except those few who had declined
assenting to their proceedings. In 1773 Mr. Jefferson associated
himself with several of the boldest and most active of his companions
in the house, (‘not thinking,’ as he says himself, ‘the old and
leading members up to the point of forwardness and zeal which the
times required,’) and with them formed the system of committees of
correspondence, in a private room of the same Raleigh tavern. This
system was adopted as the best instrument for communication between
the different colonies, by which they might be brought to a mutual
understanding, and a unity of action produced. This end was completely
accomplished, as well as another object, that of exciting throughout
the colonies a desire for a general congress. It was accordingly
resolved that one should be held, and in Virginia a convention was
assembled for the purpose of choosing delegates. Of this convention
Mr. Jefferson was elected a member; but being suddenly taken ill on
the road, as he was repairing to Williamsburg, its place of meeting,
he sent on to its chairman, Peyton Randolph, a draft of instructions
which he had prepared as proper to be given to the delegates who
should be sent to congress. It was laid on the table for perusal; but,
though approved by many, the sentiments contained in it were too bold
to be adopted by the majority: ‘tamer sentiments,’ in his own words,
‘were preferred, and, I believe, wisely preferred; the leap I proposed
being too long, as yet, for the mass of our citizens.’ The position
that he maintained was, that the relation between Great Britain and
the colonies was exactly the same as that between England and
Scotland, after the accession of James, and until the union, and the
same as her relations with Hanover, having the same executive chief,
but no other political connection. In this doctrine, however, the only
person who entirely concurred with him was George Wythe, the other
patriots ‘stopping at the half-way house of John Dickinson, who
admitted that England had a right to regulate our commerce, and to lay
duties on it for the purposes of regulation, but not of raising
revenue.’ Though the paper was not adopted, the convention,
nevertheless, caused it to be printed in a pamphlet form, under the
title of a Summary View of the Rights of British America. Having found
its way to England, it was taken up by the opposition, and, with a few
interpolations of Mr. Burke, passed through several editions. It
procured for its author considerable reputation, and likewise the
dangerous honor of having his name placed on a list of proscriptions,
in a bill of attainder, which was commenced in one of the houses of
parliament, but was speedily suppressed. June 21, 1775, Mr. Jefferson
took his seat for the first time in congress, having been chosen to
fill the place of Peyton Randolph, who had resigned. In this new
capacity, he persevered in the decided tone which he had assumed,
always maintaining that no accommodation should be made between the
two countries, unless on the broadest and most liberal basis. After
serving on several committees, he was at length appointed a member of
that, whose report has linked the name of its author with the history
of American independence. June 7, 1776, the delegates from Virginia,
in compliance with the instructions of the convention, moved that
congress should declare the United Colonies free and independent
states. This gave rise to a warm and protracted debate; for as yet
there were many who continued to cling to the hope of a peaceful
adjustment. In the course of the discussion, it appearing that several
colonies were not yet fully ripe for separation, it was deemed prudent
to defer the final decision of the question for a short time; and, in
the meanwhile, a committee was appointed to prepare a declaration of
independence, consisting of John Adams, doctor Franklin, Roger
Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and Mr. Jefferson. The last named
gentleman was requested to draw up the paper, which he did, and it was
reported to the house, after receiving a few alterations from doctor
Franklin and Mr. Adams. On the first of July, the day selected for
deciding upon the original motion of the Virginia delegates, it was
carried in the affirmative by a large majority, and two or three days
afterwards by a unanimous vote. The declaration of independence was
then brought before the house, by which, though generally approved, it
was, in some respects, modified. Those passages, especially, which
conveyed censure upon the people of England, were either greatly
softened, or entirely omitted, as the idea was still entertained that
the colonies possessed friends in England, whose good will it would be
proper to cherish; and a clause reprobating the slave-trade was
canceled, in complaisance to some of the Southern States, who were
largely engaged in the traffic. The debates respecting the declaration
occupied three days, on the last of which, the fourth of July, it was
signed by every member present, except John Dickinson, who deemed a
rupture with the mother country, at that moment, rash and premature.
September 2, 1776, Mr. Jefferson retired from his seat in congress,
and, on the 7th of October, took his place in the legislature of
Virginia, of which he had been elected a member from his county. In
this situation he was indefatigable in his labors to improve the
imperfect constitution of the state, which had been recently and
hastily adopted before a draft of one which he had formed on the
purest principles of republicanism, had reached the convention, which
was deliberating at Richmond. The chief service which he performed was
as a member of a commission for revising the laws, consisting, besides
himself, of Edmund Pendleton, George Wythe, George Mason, and Thomas
Ludwell Lee, by whom no less than 126 bills were prepared, from which
are derived all the most liberal features of the existing laws of the
commonwealth. The share of Mr. Jefferson in this great task was
prominent and laborious. June 1, 1779, he was chosen the successor of
Mr. Henry in the office of governor of the state, and continued in it
for two years, at the end of which period he resigned, ‘from a
belief,’ as he says, ‘that, under the pressure of the invasion under
which we were then laboring, the public would have more confidence in
a military chief, and that, the military commander being invested with
the civil power also, both might be wielded with more energy,
promptitude, and effect, for the defense of the state.’ General Nelson
was appointed in his stead. Two days after his retirement from the
government, he narrowly escaped capture by the enemy, a troop of horse
having been despatched to Monticello, where he was residing, for the
purpose of making him prisoner. He was breakfasting, when a neighbor
rode up at full speed with the intelligence that the troop was
ascending a neighboring hill. He first sent off his family in a
carriage, and, after a short delay for some indispensable
arrangements, mounted his horse, and, taking a course through the
woods, joined them at the house of a friend, a flight in which it
would be difficult to discern any thing dishonorable, although it has
been made the subject of sarcasm and reproach without end by the
spirit of party. June 15, 1781, Mr. Jefferson was appointed minister
plenipotentiary, in conjunction with others, to negotiate peace then
expected to be effected, through the mediation of the empress of
Russia; but he declined, for the same reason that had induced him, in
1776, to decline also the appointment of a commissioner, with doctor
Franklin, to go to France in order to negotiate treaties of alliance
and commerce with that government. On both occasions the state of his
family was such that he could not leave it, and he ‘could not expose
it to the dangers of the sea, and of capture by the British ships then
covering the ocean.’ He saw, too, that ‘the laboring oar was really at
home,’ especially at the time of his first appointment. But, in
November, 1782, congress having received assurances that a general
peace would be concluded in the winter and spring, renewed the offer
which they had made the previous year; and this time it was accepted;
but the preliminary articles being agreed upon before he left the
country, he returned to Monticello, and was chosen (June 6, 1783) a
member of congress. It was during the session at Annapolis, that, in
consequence of Mr. Jefferson’s proposal, an executive committee was
formed, called the _committee of the states_, consisting of a member
from each state. Previously, executive and legislative functions were
both imposed upon congress; and it was to obviate the bad effects of
this junction, that Mr. Jefferson’s proposition was adopted. Success,
however, did not attend the plan; the members composing the committee
quarreled, and finding it impossible, on account of their
altercations, to fulfill their duties, they abandoned their post,
after a short period, and thus left the government without any visible
head, during the adjournment of congress. May 7, 1784, congress,
having resolved to appoint another minister, in addition to Mr. Adams
and doctor Franklin, for negotiating treaties of commerce with foreign
nations, selected Mr. Jefferson, who accordingly sailed from Boston,
July 5, and arrived in Paris August 6. Doctor Franklin was already
there, and Mr. Adams having, soon after, joined them, they entered
upon the duties of their mission. They were not very successful,
however, in forming the desired commercial treaties, and, after some
reflection and experience, it was thought better not to urge them too
strongly, but to leave such regulations to flow voluntarily from the
amicable dispositions and the evident interests of the several
nations. In June, 1785, Mr. Adams repaired to London, on being
appointed minister plenipotentiary at the court of St. James, and, in
July, doctor Franklin returned to America, and Mr. Jefferson was named
his successor at Paris. In the February of 1786, he received a
pressing letter from Mr. Adams, requesting him to proceed to London
immediately, as symptoms of a better disposition towards America were
beginning to appear in the British cabinet, than had been manifested
since the treaty of peace. On this account he left Paris in the
following March, and on his arrival in London, agreed with Mr. Adams
on a very summary form of treaty, proposing ‘an exchange of
citizenship for our citizens, our ships, and our productions
generally, except as to office.’ At the usual presentation, however,
to the king and queen, both Mr. Adams and himself were received in the
most ungracious manner, and, after a few vague and ineffectual
conferences, he returned to Paris. Here he remained, with the
exception of a visit to Holland, to Piedmont and the south of France,
until the autumn of 1789, zealously pursuing whatever was beneficial
to his country. September 26 of that year he left Paris for Havre,
and, crossing over to Cowes, embarked for the United States. November
23 he landed at Norfolk, Va., and, while on his way home, received a
letter from President Washington, covering the appointment of
secretary of state, under the new constitution, which was just
commencing its operation. He soon afterwards received a second letter
from the same quarter, giving him the option of returning to France,
in his ministerial capacity, or of accepting the secretaryship, but
conveying a strong intimation of desire that he would choose the
latter office. This communication was produced by a letter from Mr.
Jefferson to the president, in reply to the one first written, in
which he had expressed a decided inclination to go back to the French
metropolis. He then, however, consented to forego his preference, and,
March 21, arrived in New York, where congress was in session, and
immediately entered upon the duties of his post. It would be
altogether inconsistent with our limits to give a minute account of
the rest of Mr. Jefferson’s political life. This could not be done
without writing the history of the United States for a certain period.
We must therefore content ourselves with stating that he continued to
fill the secretaryship of state, until the 31st of December, 1793,
when he resigned. From that period until February, 1797, he lived in
retirement. In this year he was elected vice-president of the United
States, and, in 1801, was chosen president by a majority of one vote
over his competitor, Mr. Adams. At the expiration of eight years he
again retired to private life, from which he never afterwards emerged.
The rest of his life was passed at Monticello, which was a continued
scene of the blandest and most liberal hospitality. Such, indeed, was
the extent to which calls upon it were made, by foreigners as well as
Americans, that the closing year of his life was embittered by
distressing pecuniary embarrassments. He was forced to ask permission
of the Virginia legislature to sell his estate by lottery, which was
granted. Shortly after Mr. Jefferson’s return to Monticello, it having
been proposed to form a college in his neighborhood, he addressed a
letter to the trustees, in which he sketched a plan for the
establishment of a general system of education in Virginia. This
appears to have led the way to an act of the legislature, in the year
1818, by which commissioners were appointed with authority to select a
site, and form a plan for a university, on a large scale. Of these
commissioners, Mr. Jefferson was unanimously chosen the chairman, and,
Aug. 4, 1818, he framed a report, embracing the principles on which it
was proposed the institution should be formed. The situation selected
for it was at Charlottesville, a town at the foot of the mountain on
which Mr. Jefferson resided. He lived to see the university――the child
of his old age――in prosperous operation, and giving promise of
extensive usefulness. He fulfilled the duties of its rector until a
short period before his death, which occurred on the 4th of July,
1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of independence, and
within the hour in which he had signed it.
In person, Mr. Jefferson was tall and well formed; his countenance was
bland and expressive; his conversation fluent, imaginative, various
and eloquent. Few men equaled him in the faculty of pleasing in
personal intercourse, and acquiring ascendancy in political
connection. He was the acknowledged head of the republican party, from
the period of its organization down to that of his retirement from
public life. The unbounded praise and blame which he received as a
politician, must be left for the judgment of the historian and
posterity. In the four volumes of his posthumous works, edited by his
grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, there are abundant materials to
guide the literary or historical critic in forming an estimate of his
powers, acquirements, feelings and opinions. His name is one of the
brightest in the revolutionary galaxy. Mr. Jefferson was a zealous
cultivator of literature and science. As early as 1781, he was
favorably known as an author, by his Notes on Virginia. He published,
also, various essays on political and philosophical subjects, and a
manual of Parliamentary Practice, for the use of the Senate of the
United States. In the year 1800 the French national institute chose
him one of their foreign members. The volumes of posthumous works, in
addition to an auto-biography of the author to the year 1790, consist
principally of letters from the year 1775 to the time of his death,
and embrace a great variety of subjects.