Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

The book that I choose to read and analyze was Jefferson The Virginian, written by Dumas Malone. This book was the first volume and it was written in 1948. I choose this book because I have always been interested in Thomas Jefferson and his life. I found this book to be extremely informative about Jefferson. It included growing up on the fringe of western settlement in Virginia, the college of William and Mary in Williamsburg, to the years he served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, to helping write the Declaration of Independence, and to his years as president of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson was born April 2nd 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia. His parents were Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph, the House they live in was called Shadwell, it was named after the parish in London where his mother was from. Jefferson’s father died in the summer of 1757. In Peter Jefferson’s will he said not until his son turned twenty-one would he be able to receive what had been left to him, which included lands on either the Rivanna or the Fluvanna, a proper share of the livestock, half of the slaves not disposed of, and the residue of the estate. After his father’s death he had no true father figure in his early life. The man who had the greatest impact early in his life was while he was studying under the Reverend James Maury. This partnership probably did little to influence Jefferson’s political views in future years, but Maury did encourage him to study the classics like the Greeks and Italians. After leaving from Maury’s school he attended William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The most

influential professor that he had here was William Small who taught philosophy. Another Influence that Small had on his life was that he got Jefferson work in the law office of George Wythe. He studied law for five years under Wythe. While under Wythe’s leadership Jefferson became friend’s with the governor of the time Francis Fauquier, he was able to meet him through Wythe’s service on the general court. In 1767 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgess at the age of twenty-five, and five years later he married Martha Wayles Skelton.

When it came to time for the revolution against the British Empire, Thomas Jefferson was more than ready. Before he wrote his chief literary contribution to the revolutionary cause, he wrote Summary View. The single most important literary contribution was The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence “became the most state paper of the American Republic not merely because it was the first, but