Thomas Jefferson, the man who drafted the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson's Birthday

The birthday of Thomas Jefferson, who was the United States' third president, is an annual national legal observance on April 13 . He was the principal author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and is known as one of the country's founding fathers.

Celebrate Thomas Jefferson's Birthday

Thomas Jefferson's Birthday celebrations are coordinated by community groups, organizations and venues dedicated to the president, such as the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center at Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia. Public ceremonies, leadership awards, educational games for kids and other activities are held on this day.

Presidents' Day also honors Jefferson, fellow president George Washington, and other U.S. presidents.

Public life

Thomas Jefferson's Birthday is a national legal observance in the U.S.

About Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was born in Shadwell, Virginia, on April 13, 1743. He played a key role in shaping American politics and drafted the United States' Declaration of Independence. He was the nation's first secretary of state, second vice-president, and third president. He was strongly against oppressive governments and believed in freedom of speech and religion. He died at Monticello, Virginia, on July 4, 1826.

Thomas Jefferson (April 13 [O.S. April 2] 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States (1801–1809). He was an ardent proponent of democracy and embraced the principles of republicanism and the rights of the individual with worldwide influence. At the beginning of the American Revolution, he served in the Continental Congress, representing Virginia, and then served as a wartime Governor of Virginia (1779–1781). In May 1785, he became the United States Minister to France and later the first United States Secretary of State (1790–1793) serving under President George Washington. In opposition to Alexander Hamilton's Federalism, Jefferson and his close friend, James Madison, organized the Democratic-Republican Party, and later resigned from Washington's cabinet. Elected Vice President in 1796 in the administration of John Adams, Jefferson opposed Adams, and with Madison secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which attempted to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Elected president in what Jefferson called the "Revolution of 1800", he oversaw acquisition of the vast Louisiana Territory from France (1803), and sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806), and later three others, to explore the new west. Jefferson doubled the size of the United States during his presidency. His second term was beset with troubles at home, such as the failed treason trial of his former Vice President Aaron Burr. When Britain threatened American shipping challenging U.S. neutrality during its war with Napoleon, he tried economic warfare with embargo laws, which only impeded American foreign trade. In 1803, President Jefferson initiated a process of Indian tribal removal to the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River, having opened lands for eventual American settlers. In 1807 Jefferson drafted and signed into law the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves that banned slave importation into the United States.

A leader in the Enlightenment, Jefferson was a polymath in the arts, sciences, and politics. Considered an important architect in the classical tradition, he designed his home Monticello and other notable buildings. Jefferson was keenly interested in science, invention, architecture, religion, and philosophy; he was an active member and eventual president of the American Philosophical Society. Besides English, he was "thoroughly schooled" in Latin and Greek, "proficient" in French, Italian, and Spanish, and studied other languages and linguistics.[2] Such interests led him to found the University of Virginia after his presidency. Although not a notable orator, Jefferson was a skilled writer and corresponded with many influential people in America and Europe throughout his adult life.

As long as he lived, Jefferson expressed opposition to slavery, yet owned hundreds of slaves and freed only a few of them. Historians generally believe that after the death of his wife Jefferson had a long-term relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings, and fathered some or all of her children, while others note that all evidence is circumstantial and also points to a fair number of other potential fathers. It is not known whether Hemings consented to this relationship (or indeed if it occurred) but as a slave she would have had no right to refuse. Although criticized by many present-day scholars over the issues of racism and slavery, Jefferson is consistently rated as one of the greatest U.S. presidents.

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