What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?

1. What Would Thomas Jefferson Do? By: Elena Schiavone 10-1

2. About: WWTJD? • This is in interactive, electronic book narrating the significant parts of Thomas Jefferson’s life • Use the arrow keys to advance to the next slide • At eight stages in the e-book, you will asked “What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?” • When asked WWTJD, click on the action that you think Thomas Jefferson took Click on the arrow to begin your What Would Thomas Jefferson Do? Experience

3. ABOUT Early Life On April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson was born.At the age of two, Jefferson and his family moved to his uncle’s old plantation because it was asked of them in his uncle’s will. Jefferson began his education at the age of five. He was tutored at the plantation until he was nine years old. When his family moved back to Shadwell, Jefferson was taught by Reverend William Douglass at Dover Church. On August 17th 1757 Jefferson’s father, Peter Jefferson, died at the age of forty-nine. Given that he was the eldest male in his family, Jefferson was responsible for taking care of himself, the plantation, and helping the family.

4. ABOUT March 1790: WWTJD? Aided by his father’s old slaves, Jefferson was able to continue his education at William and Mary College in Williamsburg. Thomas Jefferson would decide to stay at home in order to run the plantation for the next couple years. OR

5. ABOUT CORRECT! Thomas Jefferson liked to learn. I believe he wouldn’t have stayed at the plantation unless it was necessary. On, 1786 August 27 Jefferson told Thomas Mann Randolph: "Knowledge indeed is a desirable, a lovely possession.“ NEXT

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7. ABOUT College Life In just over two years, Thomas Jefferson quickly mastered Greek grammar, physics and calculus. He also learned all that he could about the arts, sciences, and moral philosophies.He left college in April of 1762. Jefferson always made fun of the odd language of lawyers. Yet after he left college, he was forced to study it.

8. ABOUT 1767: WWTJD? With no love for the legal profession…. Thomas Jefferson would nonetheless practice law. He would become a very successful lawyer. Thomas Jefferson would reject law, and turn to another profession. OR

9. CORRECT! ABOUT Jefferson would continue his life practicing law although he would never grow to enjoy it. He would regard his job as a lawyer as the “dark side” of his life. One perk was the money he earned as a lawyer. Because he valued learning and reading so highly, he would spend most of his money earned on books. NEXT

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11. ABOUT Career Beginnings On New Year’s day in 1772, two years after he met Martha WaylesSkelton, Jefferson married the beautiful widow. In the fall of 1773, Jefferson assisted in the creation called the Committee of Correspondence in the Virginia House of Burgesses. This committee’s responsibility was to aid the communication between the thirteen colonies in order to unite against the British. After the “Boston Tea Party” the British governor of Virginia was so outraged that he dissolved the House of Burgesses. Nonetheless the committee managed to meet at a nearby tavern to continue their work. The House of Burgesses

12. ABOUT After the Meeting: WWTJD? He wrote his first political masterpiece A Summary View of the Rights of British America. He returned home to be with his wife and relax. There he would tell his wife about his political opinions. OR

13. CORRECT! ABOUT A Summary View of the Rights of British America spoke of the unjust British rule and how the “the god who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.” Printed around all of America, the essay was read by thousands. Do you think the Declaration of Independence would have been supported less had the essay never been written? NEXT

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15. ABOUT The Continental Congresses In September of 1774, Jefferson attended the First Continental Congress. One year later, he went to the Second Continental Congress. After Christmas in 1775, he left the Second Continental Congress because he was sick. In May of 1776, he began his journey back. He arrived on May 14th. At the age of thirty-two, he was the youngest delegate. Jefferson was popular and a man of many talents. He knew several foreign languages, was an expert mathematician, could design buildings, perform medical operations, survey land, play violin, and even tame horses. He was an incredible writer.

16. ABOUT Speeches: WWTJD? Jefferson made very eloquent speeches expressing his views. He could be very persuasive. Jefferson was very shy and didn’t like speaking out in public. He expresses his thoughts mainly through writing. OR

17. ABOUT CORRECT! Speeches have proved to be a very persuasive form of communication. Do you think the world would have been any different had Thomas Jefferson not had a fear of speaking in public? NEXT

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19. ABOUT The Declaration of Independence Friday, June 7th, 1776 Richard Henry Lee asked congress to vote on the question of American independence. The vote was delayed until July 1st but a committee was elected to write the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was the chairman, and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston were the other members. Jefferson wrote first draft of the Declaration within a few days. John Adams made two miniscule changes, and Benjamin Franklin made five. Jefferson himself made sixteen corrections. On July 2nd congress voted in favor of independence. That day began the three day discussion of Jefferson’s words. On July 4th, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. Thomas Jefferson

20. ABOUT Revisions: WWTJD? Some of Jefferson’s harsh words towards the British and their king as well as the anti-slavery section sparked debate. Jefferson stood up for his work because he believed in what he wrote. Reluctant to speak in front of audiences and thinking of what is best for the new country, Jefferson sat quietly as changes were made to his work. OR

21. ABOUT CORRECT! Thomas Jefferson was too shy to try to convince others not to change his words. It is unknown how much he cared that his work was being revised. He also realized that some changes needed to be made so all the states would be for the declaration. He simply sat there, took weather measurements, and listened. His accusative words were softened and a section declaring that no more slaves would be brought into America was removed. NEXT

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23. ABOUT Virginian Laws In September of 1776, Jefferson left congress and returned to Virginia for he felt he had urgent business in the Virginia House of Delegates. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and sometimes Patrick Henry worked to change Virginia laws to be more democratic. Slowly but surely Virginians gained more and more freedom because of their hard work. Almost everyone was able to get an education, estates could be broken up for inheritance, and there was a law regarding religious freedom. Virginia became the first place where religion and government were officially kept separated. He completed the first edition of Notes on the State of Virginia, a book still read today, at the French’s insistence in 1781. Virginia House of Delegates

24. ABOUT Life at Home & at Congress During the summer of 1782, Jefferson had a lot to deal with. His wife, Martha, died while giving birth to their sixth child. He promised his wife that he would never remarry; he stayed true to his word. After Martha’s death, Jefferson spent six months staying in his house, seeing only his children. In 1783, Jefferson was elected delegate to congress. In May of 1784, he was asked by Congress to serve as a minister to Europe in junction with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. Martha

25. ABOUT From Secretary of State to Vice-president In November of 1789 Jefferson was asked by Washington to be his Secretary of State. He accepted, but was shocked with other politician’s perspectives and opinions. Washington seemed to be the only other people who wished for their new nation to be democratic. Since everyone else didn’t trust humanity to be able to govern themselves, most politicians wanted America to be ruled by a king. George Washington, who didn’t originally want to run for president, refused to run for a third term; his cabinet seemed to always argue and he was tired of it. John Adams believed that a President should be similar to a king. He ran for president. At the insistence of his friends, Jefferson ran against Adams. Most likely due to Jefferson’s poor campaigning, John Adams won, but just barely. Because Jefferson received the second most amount of electoral votes, he became the vice-president of the Unites States of America. He was sworn into his new position on March 4th 1797.

26. ABOUT Feeling Helpless: WWTJD? When laws were suggested that broke the first amendment, he didn’t have the authority to not let them pass. The Alien and Sedition Acts especially angered Jefferson. Although he was very irritated, Thomas Jefferson didn’t take any action against these laws because he was too shy. OR These acts fueled him to run for president.

27. CORRECT! ABOUT Jefferson was extremely upset that people were put in jail for speaking their beliefs and that those dubbed dangerous were exiled. It is thought that his anger and strong beliefs are what made run for the presidency. NEXT

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29. ABOUT Our Third President Jefferson started his campaign in 1800, at the age of fifty-seven, because he believed everyone had equal rights and abilities. He seldom made speeches, but used his impressive writing skills to appeal to the people. Jefferson wrote letters to local politicians and newspapers throughout the nation.His belief that religion and politics should be kept separate caused him to be ostracized. The religious turned on him and accused him of being the anti-Christ, a drunkard, a slave driver, a coward, a mad scientist, and a worshipper of the uneducated masses. Although the masses voted for Jefferson, Aaron burn received that same amount of electoral votes that Jefferson received. Because of this tie, the vote was taken to the House of Representatives. Angry that their federalist candidate had lost, many federalist candidates voted for Aaron Burn. Alexander Hamilton, who didn’t really know Jefferson, came to the rescue and changed their mind. Had Alexander Hamilton never supported the Virginian, he would have most likely never become president. After a week of tied votes, Jefferson was elected president on Feb 17th, 1801. He showed that he felt everyone was equal even in every say life. Unlike John Adams, who sat at the head of the table during dinner parties and seated guests based on their importance, Jefferson encouraged the women to find their seats first at a round table. During his presidency, he slashed Army and Navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated the tax on whiskey so unpopular in the West, yet reduced the national debt by a third.

30. ABOUT Slandered: WWTJD? Many federalist papers slandered Thomas Jefferson. Because he valued free speech and the freedom of the press above himself, he never spoke against the lies. Because Thomas Jefferson believed in justice, he cleared his name. OR

31. ABOUT CORRECT! Thomas Jefferson believed in people’s rights very strongly. On December 23rd of 1791 Jefferson said to Archibald Stuart, "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." NEXT

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33. ABOUT Louisiana Purchase & His Second Term Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe in 1803 to buy Louisiana from the French. He bought this piece of land at the bargain price of about $15 million dollars. This caused the size of the United States of America to double; they were suddenly one of the largest nations. Some people say that this was one of his most influential actions. Although this purchase has caused him to be called a hypocrite since it was a secret deal and he argued for a weak chief executive. In May of 1804, he sent out to army officers to document information on the lands plants, animals, Indians, and routesbecause he wanted to explore America’s new territory. Later in the year was so popular that he easily got re-elected. During his second term, he managed to keep America out of the war between England and France by using economic tactics. He refused to trade with a number of European nations. In the end of 1807, he did not seek a third term. Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea exploring the Louisiana Purchase

34. ABOUT Third Term: WWTJD? Washington tended to favor the Federalists and he Democratic Republicans were gaining increasing support. Due to the above mentioned reason and to follow in Washington’s footsteps, Thomas Jefferson decided to not run for a third term of presidency. Nonetheless, Thomas Jefferson ran for a third term of presidency, but was not re-elected. OR

35. ABOUT CORRECT! Thomas Jefferson only ran for two terms. George Washington, the first president, set an unofficial precedent of serving only two terms, which subsequent presidents followed until 1940. In 1941, the United States entered World War II, leading voters to elect Roosevelt to a fourth term in 1944. In response, after the war the Twenty-second Amendment was adopted. The amendment bars anyone from being elected president more than twice, or once if that person served more than half of another president's term.  NEXT

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37. ABOUT Later Days Thomas Jefferson started a new life at Monticello. He rose every morning at dawn to build a fire, read and/or wrote until breakfast, rode miles on horseback, ate dinner, read again and responded to those who wrote him letters.He received more than a thousand of letters as well as visitors per year. This caused him to maintain beds for fifty beds per night. With his free time he made many inventions. Starting at the year of 1812, John Adams and Jefferson renewed their friendship and wrote each other lengthy letters. In 1817 Jefferson started working on a new education system. It provided free elementary schools, high schools and a new university. Because the government didn’t want to fund the University of VA, he raised money and trained men to help build the erections. He searched for scholars as teachers from all over the world. It opened in 1825. On July 4th 1826, when America was half a century old, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died.

38. Works Cited • Hargrove, Jim. Thomas Jefferson: Third President of the United States. Chicago: Childrens, 1986. Print.s • Independence Hall Association. "Thomas Jefferson." Ushistory.org. Web. 10 Aug. 2011. <http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signer s/jefferson.htm>. • The White House. "Thomas Jefferson." The White House. Web. 21 Aug. 2011. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/th omasjefferson>. • Thomas Jefferson Foundation. "Brief Biography of Thomas Jefferson « Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello." Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Web. 18 Aug. 2011. <http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/brief- biography-thomas-jefferson>. • Whitelaw, Nancy. Thomas Jefferson: Philosopher and President. Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds, 2002. Print.