Thomas Jefferson Characteristics

Thomas Jefferson embodied some of the characteristics most often associated with being a true American. He was a scholar, fluent in Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian; as well as founding Virginia University. He pursued sciences and arts along with politics. His progressive mindset was brought upon from the Enlightenment, where he among many others questioned aspects of life in the 18th century. When the revolutionary war had been going on for about two years, Jefferson concluded that compromise couldn’t happen, and that the Americans only option was to demand independence from England. In 1776 Jefferson drafted the first official written document declaring independence. This document embodies the key characteristics of what many associate …show more content…
As a founding father, he was on the front line when it came to revolution. Coming from the Enlightenment, Jefferson was no stranger to questioning the norms and was a strong advocate for freedom of thought and speech. He also experienced first-hand being considered as secondary by a bigger power, and not being treated like a normal person. Through the many acts that led to revolution such as the stamp act, tea act, sugar act, etc. the colonists were being fleeced by the British government. These acts were unfair promoted a rebellious attitude. Therefore, in Jefferson’s View Of The Rights Of British America, he states, “...complaints which are excited by many unwarrantable encroachments and usurpations, attempted to be made by the legislature of one part of the empire, upon those rights which god and the laws have given equally and independently to all.”(1) Jefferson sees freedom as a universal human right as a result of being bullied by England. This attitude sparked many great things and is what made him such a great leader in America’s desperate conception, but still contradicts his very actions. These thoughts are still encompassed in American society today. 150+ years after the civil war and over 250 years after the birth of our nation, we still face problems regarding the issue of equality. We supposedly solved the issue after slavery was abolished, but this was just a small step. After this, blacks in America faced extreme discrimination and did not have the same rights as white people. This led to the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, still supposedly solving most of the problem, yet the tension built up is too great to bear and the issue of racial equality is buried deep down in fear of expressing guilt. Fast forward to just these recent years where finally, the seemingly small acts of harassment and disdain towards black people in America have triggered an uproar. In Ferguson Missouri and many