1801-1809
Democratic-Republican Party
Vice Presidents
First Term - Aaron Burr
Second term - George Clinton
Born in Shadwell, Albemare County, Virginia in 1743, Thomas Jefferson would at the age of 19, graduate from
William and Mary College, and take up the study of law under the direction of Judge George Wythe in 1762.
In 1769, at the age of twenty-six, Jefferson was elected to Virginia's legislature, where he developed a
reputation for patriotism and liberty, and for possessing a unique writing skill to express those deeply held beliefs.
These skills would in 1776, bring him to the Second Continental Congress, and to the committee charged with
drafting the Declaration of Independence.
Also serving on that committee were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams,
Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. His elder and distinguished committee colleagues chose Jefferson
to complete the actual writing. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the final draft
of that document, which not only announced America's independence, but clearly defined the rights of all men for
all time.
During the Revolutionary War, Jefferson returned to his native Virginia serving again in the legislature and then
as governor. During this period, he successfully struggled to bring about the passage of the Statute of Virginia
for Religious Freedom. Following the war, Jefferson would serve in the new nation's Congress established under the Articles of
Confederation. From this experience, Jefferson concluded that the new national government was too weak
and needed major modification. Jefferson would not be able to take part in the drafting of the new
government, due to his diplomatic service for the nation in Europe. However, upon hearing of the newly
drafted Constitution, Jefferson gave the document and the governmental structure it created his full
endorsement.
Once the Constitution was ratified, George Washington, who was elected as the nation's first President,
chose Jefferson to serve as the first Secretary of State. As Secretary of State, Jefferson attempted
to steer the new nation clear of Europe's power struggles. However, with the
French Revolution, Jefferson argued for American support for the new French Republic, which was
soon at war with Great Britain. American support was not to be, as Washington and others initiated
a policy of neutrality. The disagreement would ultimately lead to Jefferson's resignation from the
Washington Administration on December 31,1793.
With the original method of presidential elections outlined in the Constitution, the candidate with the
second highest electoral votes for President, would be selected as Vice President. As a leader of
the opposition to what was becoming known as the Federalist Party, Jefferson soon became identified
with the new Democratic-Republican Party. In the election of 1796, Jefferson would receive 68 electoral
votes to John Adams' 71, and as such was elected the nation's second Vice President. The role of
Vice President was little more appealing to Jefferson than it had been to Adams himself when he served
in that position. Political divisions between Jefferson and Adams' cabinet set the stage for a long-lasting
isolation between Jefferson and Adams, and led to the hotly
contested election of 1800, in which John Adams became the first President defeated for re-election,
and Thomas Jefferson became the only Vice President to beat the sitting President in a presidential
election. With some highly unusual maneuvering by Aaron Burr, who was publicly a candidate for
Vice President, the Presidential Election of 1800 was the first to be forced to the House of Representatives
for a decision, where after several ballots, Jefferson was finally declared the winner. The whole
experience lead to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which forever divided the presidential and
vice presidential elections.
As President, Jefferson moved to expand and strengthen the individual liberties of the people, and
oversaw the largest (and peaceful) expansion of the nation in its history. While only one new state
was admitted to the Union during the Jefferson Administration, with the acquisition of the
Louisiana Territory, the nation doubled in size. Thirteen states would ultimately enter the union from
this vast expanse of land the reached from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Jefferson
had sent James Monroe to Paris to assist Robert Livingston, America's Minister to France, in an effort to
buy New Orleans and as much land to the east for a maximum of 10 million dollars. Instead, America's
representatives ultimately negotiated the purchase of the region to the west. For the sum of 15 million dollars,
828,000 square miles of land were purchased for about three cents per acre. Despite Jefferson's belief
that the purchase probably required the passage of a constitutional amendment, time was of the essence,
and Jefferson moved the Congress to ratify the treaty with France, finalizing the deal in 1803. Jefferson sent
explorers Capt. Meriwether Lewis, and Lewis’ friend, Capt.
William Clark on a major expedition into this vast
new territory. Over the course of more than two years the expedition, known as the Corps of Discovery, blazed
the new trail westward to the Pacific Ocean. Learn more about this journey by going to the pages on Lewis and
Clark from PBS Online.
Jefferson was widely popular through the end of his second term. Believing that a third term was unhealthy for the
nation, Jefferson did not run for re-election, and instead backed his Secretary of State, James Madison for President. Madison, with
Jefferson's support, became the nation's Fourth President in 1809.
Following his Presidency, Jefferson remained active as a farmer, writer, inventor and educator. In 1816,
he founded the University of Virginia and served as that institution's first rector, playing an active
role in all areas of the university's development. During this time Jefferson and
John Adams renewed their
deep friendship, and in an astounding twist of fate both men died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth
anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was 83 years old at the time
of his death.
| Date of Birth | Occupations | Wife | Children |
| 13 Apr 1743 | Lawyer, Planter Inventor Philosopher Scientist, Architect Surveyor, Educator and More | Martha Wayles Skelton | One boy Five girls |
| Prior Military Service | Offices Held Before Presidency | Electoral and Popular Votes In 1800 | Age When First Inaugurated |
| None | Member Virginia House of Burgesses County Lieutenant County Surveyor Deputy Delegate Second Continental Congresses Member Virginia House of Delegates Governor of Virginia Delegate to Congress Commissioner to France Minister to France Secretary of State Vice President | 73 Electoral Votes Popular Vote Unknown | 57 |
| Number of States When First Inaugurated | Population When First Inaugurated | Electoral and Popular Votes In 1804 | States Admitted to Union While President |
| 16 | 5,485,528 | 162 Electoral Votes Popular Vote Unknown | Ohio |
| Offices Held After Presidency | Other Main Activities After Presidency | President at Time of Death | Date of Death |
None | Founder and First President of the University of Virginia | John Quincy Adams | 4 July 1826 |
Q1: Thomas Jefferson was one of only two presidents to have also signed the Declaration of Independence. Was the other George Washington, John Adams or James Madison?
Q2: Jefferson's 1801 inauguration was the first to be held ....where?
And the answer is...
Q3: Which of these foods was Thomas Jefferson the first person in North America known to grow as a crop? The green bean, lettuce, or the tomato.
Q4: Of Thomas Jefferson's many accomplishments, one of the following listed below is not included in the epitaph on his monument. Is it....
President of the United States,
Author of the Declaration of Independence,
Author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, or
Father of the University of Virginia?
Q5: Following the War of 1812, what happened to Thomas Jefferson's private library of books? And the answer is...
Go to the U.S. Department of Energy's
Ames Laboratory
"Washington, D.C. Sightseeing" website, and visit their page on
Thomas Jefferson.
Go to the page for Thomas Jefferson maintained by the
White House
Historical Association.
B.L. Rayner's "Life of Thomas Jefferson",
the complete biography of the Third President originally published in 1834, is available online in a
revised edition from Eyler Robert Coates, Sr.
Sample the writings of our Third President by going to
The Letters of Thomas Jefferson,
Or by going to
The Works of Thomas Jefferson
by Liberty Online Publishing.
Experience the wisdom of the man by going to the page for
Jefferson's Quotes on government, politics and more.
And go to the Jeffersonian Perspective
for commentary on today's political issues based upon the writings of Thomas Jefferson.
Visit the Monticello
Historic Site's pages on
The Home of Our Third President, including their
extensive
"Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson" series.
Monticello is also the site where President Jefferson is
buried.
Go to Lucidcafe's
Thomas Jefferson Page.
Read the Inaugural Addresses of each of our presidents by going to the site maintained by the
Bartleby Library.
The Mount Rushmore National Monument was the vision of sculptor John Gutzon Borglum, and stands in the
Black Hills of South Dakota on the face of the 6000 foot mountain that bears its name.
The carving took place over a fourteen year period from 1927 to 1941.
Borglum is said to have
chosen to include Thomas Jefferson as one of the four Presidents honored because of his roles in defining the
philosophy of the nation, and in securing the Louisiana Purchase, which represented the nation's expansion.
To see and learn more about this magnificent historic site, go to
The Official Mount Rushmore Home Page, maintained by the South Dakota Tourism Bureau, or
the National Park Service's Mount Rushmore National Monument Home Page.
Go to National Park Service to
learn more and plan your visit to the
Thomas Jefferson Memorial along the Potomac River
in Washington, D.C.
Go to the page for the
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
in St. Louis, Missouri, also maintained by the National Park Service.
