Thomas Jefferson

Served: 1801 – 1809, 3rd President

Political Party: Democratic-Republican

Public Service:
– member of the Virginia House of Burgesses
– delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress
– primary author of the Declaration of Independence
– 2nd governor of Virginia
– delegate from Virginia to Congress of the Confederation
– U.S. Ambassador to France
– first U.S. Secretary of State
– Vice-President of the U.S.
– founder of the University of Virginia

Accomplishments while President:
– Accepted the Louisiana Purchase (doubling the size of the U.S.) then sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore and map the area.
– established the U.S. Military Academy at West Point
– Declared war on the Barbary Pirates
– after overseeing a strong economy up to 1806, the Embargo Act of 1807 weakened it
– proposed a Federal plan to build interstate roads and canals
– ‘Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves’ stopped slave trade imports into the U.S.
– appointed three Justices to the Supreme Court
– tried to buy Florida from Spain with the help of Napoleon

Personal Details:

Born – April 13, 1743
Occupation – farmer, slave-owner
Spouse – Martha
Residence – Monticello
Nickname – Founding Father
Died – July 4, 1826

Fun Facts:
– multi-talented: scientist, philosopher, lawyer, architect, naturalist, astronomer, mineralogist, and archeologist; played violin; read/spoke 4 languages
– Once ate a tomato in public to prove that it was not poisonous!
– Was the 1st President to be inaugurated in Washington D.C.
– started the tradition of people shaking hands with the President instead of bowing
– when the Library of Congress burned down during the War of 1812, sold it his personal library of 6500 books to restart the Library.
– kept a record of the weather every day from 1776 to 1818.
– one of the four Presidents on Mt. Rushmore

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