Thomas Jefferson: A Founding Father

Thomas Jefferson is widely recognized throughout the nation as a Founding Father, a Secretary of State and America's third president. Jefferson's actions shaped our country into what it is today. But what makes him such an important figure in U.S. history? Thomas Jefferson is one of the greatest, most influential and interesting leaders in American History as shown through his interest in science, strides toward freedom and controversial possession of slaves. Jefferson was obsessed with science, even during his presidency. He once said to Monsieur d'Ivernois as the U.S. minister to France, "Freedom, the first-born of science." For example, he interested himself in paleontology. As president, Jefferson brought more than three hundred specimens …show more content…
As a Founding Father, he wrote that all men are allowed "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" in the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. In addition, he believed that people had the right to practice their religion freely. Jefferson wrote this in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and said, "...no man shall...suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to...maintain their religious opinion." This later influenced the creation of the First Amendment, which protected people's freedom to religious practice. In fact, Jefferson is considered to be the best spokesman for American liberty when it came to his writing. He must have been popular in the nation at the time and probably received a great amount of praise for his works. The Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom was so successful that he wrote it on his tombstone. Jefferson was clearly proud of his works, actions and beliefs he put forward to bring American liberty. He believed in ridding the country of tyranny and allowing the people their rights. Jefferson declared this responsibility and said, "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." His firm and inspiring belief in liberty and freedom made him the choice pick for president. In office, he lowered the national debt, rid the country of European royalty and …show more content…
While this was common throughout the nation, slavery was beginning to be discouraged in northern states and the idea that slaves were also men and therefore had the same constitutional rights was spreading. Jefferson himself wrote that all men were guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. His possession of nearly two hundred slaves goes against his beliefs about peoples' rights, which led some to call him hypocritical. Jefferson even spoke against slavery, calling it a "moral depravity." He formed a plan of gradual emancipation, but this later proved ineffective. However, he ironically believed that blacks and whites could never live together peacefully and wanted to free slaves and deport them elsewhere. While he supported emancipation, Jefferson still had negative views towards African American slaves, calling them inferior and saying slavery was comparable to holding "a wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go." While these claims are true, Jefferson still had little choice when it came to slavery. Slavery was popular for attaining economic success and spread quickly, especially in Virginia, where his plantation Monticello was located. Getting rid of his slaves would start trouble, both for his reputation and his plantation. Jefferson managed to free only seven of his bondsmen who were Hemmings, a slave