-
Declaration of Independence
Jefferson was appointed by the Second Continental Congress to a five-man committee tasked with writing the Declaration of Independence. He was the primary author, and although about 1/5th of the draft was revised by Ben Franklin and others, the document remains true to Jefferson's voice and style. The preamble ("We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal...") embodied the spirit of the new nation, and continues to be the symbol of American freedom and democracy. -
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
While he supported the Federalists and lobbied for the ratification of the Constitution to create a stronger federal government, he also strongly believed in the need for legal protection of civil rights. Even before the Bill of Rights was amended to the new Constitution, Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which was passed in 1786. He also announced that "our liberty depends on the freedom of press". -
Constitutional Convention
Thomas Jefferson was a big influence on James Madison, who was a strong force at the Constitutional Convention. He was Madison's mentor and long-time friend, and had an indirect affect on the Constitution because of their correspondence. While in Paris, he also communicated with John Jay, another main author of the Constitution. -
Inauguration
The turn of the century was also a turning of the tides for the political party in charge. Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as the third president of the United States, after Alexander Hamilton for the House of Representatives broke the electoral college tie between Jefferson and Burr. Now, the Democrat-Republican party was in power. -
The Enabling Act
President Jefferson signed the Enabling Act, which dictated how territories under a specific ordinance could become a state and join the US on equal standing with the rest of the states. This allowed people in the Ohio territory to convene to write a constitution and vote on various matters. -
Appointments
The President appointed James Monroe to go to Paris and continue discussing and negotiating the purchase of the Louisiana territory, supporting Monroe with the "unlimited confidence of the administration and of the Western people". The same month, Jefferson proposed a Westward expedition and asked Congress for funding; this was the Lewis and Clark Expedition, used not only to map the land but take note of the available natural resources and make good relations with the Native Americans. -
The Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson sent Monroe and Livingstone to France to negotiate the purchase of land. They did not expect to gain all of the land that they did, but in the end Jefferson purchased all of the Louisiana territory, including New Orleans, from Napoleon for fifteen million dollars, about four cents an acre. This purchase doubled the size of the United States, and began to shape the country's geography that we are familiar with today. -
The Slave Trade Act
Jefferson appealed to Congress asking for a ban on the transcontinental slave trade. The Slave Trade Act was passed that next year. Throughout his career, Jefferson held the radical view that slavery was immoral and against the American ethics of freedom, contradicting the Declaration's preamble that he wrote himself. He passed various pieces of legislature that took steps towards banning slavery, but he ultimately believed that complete abolishment would have to be a democratic process.
