Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson

Who: Thomas Jefferson was born in Albermarle County, Virginia. He attended the College of William and Mary. Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton and they lived at Monticello. He was a member of the Continental Congress and the Virginia House of Burgesses. At the age of 33 he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson became minister to France causing much conflict with Alexander Hamilton. He was the third President of the United States and retired after his second term. Thomas Jefferson pushed for states rights as opposed to a central government. He died in 1826.

What: In 1776 at the age of 33 Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. He would later write a bill for the freedom of religion that would be enacted in 1786. Thomas Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to france in 1785. As two parties began to form Jefferson took the leadership of the Republicans. He lost the presidential election by three votes to Adams, only to become his Vice President. When he finally became President the revolution in France was over. Jefferson cut back on Army and Navy expenditures, cut the budget, and got rid of the tax on whiskey and still managed to drop the national debt by thirty three percent. The greatest success of his presidency was the Louisiana Purchase. With this he was able to double the size of the United States by purchasing vast amounts of land from Napoleon. The purchase also brought along troubles with Spain since the boundaries were unclear. Jefferson later tried to purchase the Floridas but to no avail. During his second year Jefferson had to deal with French and English warships forcing American merchants into service. To stop the impressment of Americans Jefferson passed the Embargo Act, cutting off all trade from America. A very unpopular and hard to enforce act, it was later replaced by the NonIntercourse Act prohibiting trade with Great Britain an...