Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

"Slavery is an abomination and must be loudly proclaimed as such. But I own that neither I nor any man has any yet immediate solution to the problem."

- Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Independence

     President Thomas Jefferson

    Congressman of the Colony of Virginia

Author of The Declaration of Independence

April (2, O.S.) 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826

Brooding. Quiet. Introverted. Intelligent. Tragic. Radical.

Thomas Jefferson, the soft-spoken, introverted, redheaded congressman from the Virginia colony was perhaps- and surprisingly-the most tragic and radical of the founding fathers. Though tame by today's standards, Jefferson trusted not the government, the banks, and those countries wanting to wage war with the newly- formed United States.

The author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson doubted himself in every aspect of Congressional and political life, from writing the declaration to being the Minister to France, to becoming Vice-President first under General Washington, and then under President Adams.

The young redhead not only authored the greatest document in American history, he also played the role of inventor and architect- from the portable copying press to his plantation home of Monticello. Using his portable copying press- two pens connected together by an aparratus of wood and wire, that created two copies of letters and speeches- Jefferson was able to make two copies of every letter he wrote, and keep one in case he lost a copy.

He also created the swivel chair, using  two seats and rollers created from the pulleys from the sashes of the windows. But his greatest creation, by far, next to the Declaration, has to be his plantation, Monticello. Over forty years, from 1769 to 1809, Jefferson worked tirelessly on the house, having it built, torn down, redesigned, rebuilt, multiple times before it was finally completed. Never fully satisfied with aspects of the house (the porticoes particularly plagued him), Jefferson kept redesigning the beautiful house, even after he became president in 1800.

Monticello Reflected



Jefferson was said to fear speaking in public, and therefore claimed that, "I have no gift for oratory." He was by far the quietest and most shy of the Continental Congressmen, saying nothing during the meetings of the Congress; preferring to stay in the back and listen. He did not voice his opinions during the meetings of the Congress, and very much kept to himself.

Thomas Jefferson lost both his wife, Martha, and one of his daughters, Lucy Elizabeth, just months apart- Lucy Elizabeth, in 1781; Martha, the following year in the fall of 1782. Not long after, Jefferson was appointed to France as minister. Two years later, in 1784, he lost another daughter. So distraught over the loss of his wife, Thomas never remarried. Their fairytale had finally ended.

Normally a loner, Thomas Jefferson developed a close friendship with John and Abigail Adams of Massachusetts. When the two men worked as Ministers to Europe, they met up in Paris along with Abigail, and Thomas's two daughters. They watched France make its way to the overthrow of the monarchy, and after Adams went to London, Jefferson followed, where the two men took in time to see the gardens of London.

Their friendship seemed to fray not long after Adams took office in 1797. Facing war with France, Jefferson worked tirelessly against Alexander Hamilton and the others in Adams's cabinet. The violent upheavel France had gone through years prior, was something Jefferson wanted desperately to prevent. The States had fought one war, and could not afford another.

They finally came to blows in the Revolution of 1800- the first and only time that a Vice-President has run against the current in-office President and won. In two very bitter campaigns that reeked of today's political campaign standards, the parties went at each others' throats, in attempts to sway the public.

Eventually, it came down to the outgoing House members to chose the president. In a 10 to 4 vote, Jefferson won the presidency. Adams, having lost the presidency, and having his name raked through the mud during the campaign- including being labeled a monarchist, returned to Braintree, and broke off all contact with Jefferson.

Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson served two terms as president, purchased French Louisiana and allowed Lewis and Clark to start their exploration. When he retired from the presidency in 1809, Jefferson returned to Monticello, $10,000 in debt, with no way to pay it.

The famous Adams - Jefferson correspondence began in 1812, at the urging of Dr. Rush, a close friend of both Adams's and Jefferson. Jefferson wrote back quickly, upon being told by Rush, who had visited Adams, that Adams had said, "I always loved Jefferson, and still love him." The former Virginian Congressman hurriedly sent a letter back to Adams, telling Rush,

"This is enough for me. I only needed this knowledge to revive towards him all of the affections of the most cordial moments of our lives." For the next 15 years, the two former presidents wrote back and forth to one another, comparing the number of grandchildren they each had, the politics of the day, and those of their generation (that had served the Congress) still living. When Abigail died in October 1818, Adams wrote to Jefferson, informing him of her untimely death.

Jefferson, who had lost his wife 36 years earlier, wrote back, ".... that it is of some comfort to us both, that the term is not very distant, at which we are to.... ascend.... to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved and lost, and whom we shall still love and never lose again. God bless you and support you under your heavy affliction."

Thomas Jefferson's Signature

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams corresponded up until their deaths. On July 4, 1826- the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence- Jefferson passed away at Monticello, surrounded by his family. John Adams died the same day, hours later. Jefferson was 83.

~ Bridget Aine