--The Marquis de Chastellux
The above quotation from the French nobleman who visited American from 1780-1782 provides a useful focus for understanding the nature of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.
Childhood
Thomas Jefferson was born to Peter and Jane Randolph Jefferson April 13, 1743, in Albemarle County, Virginia, where his family owned a plantation. As a youth, Jefferson liked to explore the wilderness area surrounding his family’s plantation. He also enjoyed reading. He attended a boarding school; later he attended William and Mary College, where he took courses in science and math, in addition to philosophy and law. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767.
Early Adulthood
Jefferson dedicated himself to working for his country’s independence from England, and politics became his life and vocation. He served in the Continental Congress and wrote the Declaration of Independence 1775-1776. He also served as governor of Virginia during the war for independence and later served as minister to France. Upon his return from France, he became secretary of state under George Washington.
Jefferson’s father left him a considerable estate, on which Jefferson built his now famous Monticello. He married Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow who also had inherited a sizeable plantation. Thomas and Martha had six children, of which only two lived to adulthood. They were married only a decade when Martha died.
The Presidency
Jefferson’s presidency from 1801 to 1809 was the first to began and be completed in the White House, which was then called the Presidential Mansion.
Probably the most significant, although unconstitutional, act of President Thomas Jefferson was his purchase of the Louisiana Territory, which doubled the size of the United States. He also commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition that explored the northwestern portion of the United States.
Jefferson’s political philosophy included a strong belief in states and individual rights. He was wary of judges, but ironically, it was during his presidency that the Supreme Court gained power to interpret the Constitution.
Jefferson was a humble man but gifted in self-expression, as the first two sentences of his first inaugural address attest:
Called upon to undertake the duties of the first executive office of our country, I avail myself of the presence of that portion of my fellow-citizens which is here assembled to express my grateful thanks for the favor with which they have been pleased to look toward me, to declare a sincere consciousness that the task is above my talents, and that I approach it with those anxious and awful presentiments which the greatness of the charge and the weakness of my powers so justly inspire. A rising nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry, engaged in commerce with nations who feel power and forget right, advancing rapidly to destinies beyond the reach of mortal eye--when I contemplate these transcendent objects, and see the honor, the happiness, and the hopes of this beloved country committed to the issue, and the auspices of this day, I shrink from the contemplation, and humble myself before the magnitude of the undertaking.Death
Jefferson died at his home on the Monticello estate on July 4, 1826—a few hours before the second president John Adams died at his farm in Quincy, Massachusetts. This date marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
______________________________________________________________________________
Books by Linda Sue Grimes:
Singing in the Silence: Poems of Faith
In 1978, I began studying the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. I still study those teachings and strive to practice what I learn. I think of my writing as an extension and reinforcement of my spiritual studies. I am especially happy when the poems focus on my spiritual journey, as those in this volume do. I want to take sadness and turn it into joy, and I want to take anger and turn it into acceptance. But mostly, I want to acknowledge the beauty and mystery of God's presence in creation.Jiggery Jee's Eden Valley Stories
Hello, my name is Jiggery-Jee. I live in Eden Valley. Eden Valley is located in the very center of the Land of the Imagination. Surrounding Eden Valley are such places as Tulip Grove, Carrot Valley, Bunnyville, Faultner Grove, and Flower Town. We have many residents in Eden Valley who came to the Valley from the surrounding places. They come here because Eden Valley is peaceful. All of the residents of Eden Valley work and play and live in an atmosphere of harmony. The weather is always perfect; the sun shines when we need sun, and the rain rains when we need rain. However, I must warn you that although things really are peaceful and harmonious in Eden Valley, sometimes they do not start out that way; we often have to work to make life peaceful and harmonious._____________________________________________________________________________
