Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of American Independence, created the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, served as the second elected governor of Virginia, and became the third president of the United States.
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Here to Study
Thomas Jefferson (1743–-1826) first came to Williamsburg early in 1760 to study at the College of William & Mary. He proceeded to read law under the tutelage of George Wythe, whose brick home on Palace Green was just a short distance from Jefferson’s lodgings at Market Square Tavern.
Jefferson enjoyed the social opportunities available in the capital, which included dances at the Raleigh Tavern, playing his violin at the Governor’s Palace, attending theater performances, and visiting Randolph relatives. He experienced romantic disappointment when Rebecca Burwell spurned his marriage proposal after an evening in the Raleigh Tavern.
Williamsburg was “the finest school of manners and morals that ever existed in America.
— Thomas Jefferson
Back for Politics
In 1765, Jefferson witnessed Patrick Henry’s brilliant orations against the Stamp Act from a doorway in the Capitol building in Williamsburg. He returned, four years later, as a member of the House of Burgesses. In 1775 and 1776, he represented Virginia in the Continental Congress, where he penned the Declaration of Independence.
While serving as Virginia’s second elected governor, Jefferson lived in the Governor’s Palace. In 1779, Governor Jefferson’s proposal to end state sponsorship of religion was defeated in the House of Burgesses. The Statute for Religious Freedom was eventually passed in 1786 and stood as one of his proudest accomplishments.
Leaving His Mark
Jefferson lived in Williamsburg for twenty years until he helped to move Virginia’s capital to Richmond in 1780. Jefferson looked back fondly at his time in Williamsburg, which was formative for his intellectual and political development. After the Revolution, he continued to shape the young nation’s identity, serving as minister to France, the first secretary of state under President Washington, vice president under John Adams, and completing the Louisiana Purchase during his two terms as president.
Five Facts about Thomas Jefferson
Keep going to learn a few things you might not know about Mr. Jefferson.
1. He experienced a pandemic.
Smallpox was rampant in his life and with a death rate of around 20% in large cities, was a very real danger. Jefferson was inoculated against smallpox, but not everyone was on board with inoculations. In fact, smallpox inoculations caused riots in his time. Jefferson not only inoculated his own person against smallpox, but his enslaved people and residents of Charlottesville. He was awarded a commendation from the Royal Jennarian Society (of Edward Jenner fame) for his creation of a smallpox vaccine in Virginia.
2. He tried to abolish slavery despite owning slaves.
He was a slave-owner his whole life, and yet wrote “that all men are created equal.” Among some of his anti-slavery movements are: a clause in his draft of the Declaration of Independence, his Northwest Ordinances where he cuts off slavery in new portions of the United States, and his privately-written draft of the Virginia constitution. One of his more interesting points he made in his Virginia Constitution is where he disallows generational slavery and slavery at large.
3. Thomas Jefferson was ambidextrous
Sort of. He used his right hand to write, until one fateful day in France. He broke his hand in a fall while serving as minister plenipotentiary in France and because of the break, he began using his left hand to write letters. How, exactly, he broke his hand is left to our imaginations, but he says that “it was from one of those follies by which good cannot come but ill may.” His famous ‘head and heart’ letter was written with his left hand to a woman named Maria Cosway, who clearly held his head and heart, both.
4. He experienced considerable romantic rejection
As a young 18-year-old in Williamsburg Virginia, he fell hard for a young eligible woman named Rebekka Burwell. He proposed to her, apparently twice, (once at the Raleigh Tavern) and twice she turned him down. At this point, he began calling Williamsburg, “Devilsburg” and was sure that the Devil himself had a hand in his misfortunes. All was not lost to him, though, as he began courting a young widow named Martha Wayles Skelton. She said yes. They would have six children together.
5. Jefferson fought pirates
During his presidency Jefferson dealt with pirates. After careful consideration, he decided to battle them at sea and on land. This epic undertaking was witness to backroom deals in Turkish smoking dens with John Adams smoking out of a 6-foot pipe, a 500-mile trek across the Egyptian desert searching for a long-lost heir to a throne, and epic sea battles. The United States won in the end through both military might and negotiation, ensuring the security of trade with foreign nations around the world.
