Thomas Jefferson
At a Glance
Term: 3rd President of the United States (1801-1809)
Born: April 13, 1743, Shadwell plantation, Goochland County, Virginia
Nickname: "Man of the People," "Sage of Monticello"
Education: College of William and Mary (graduated 1762)
Religion: No formal affiliation
Marriage: January 1, 1772, to Martha Wayles Skelton (1748-1782)
Children: Martha (1772-1836), Jane Randolph (1774-1775), infant son (1777), Mary (1778-1804), Lucy Elizabeth (1780-1781), Lucy Elizabeth (1782-1785)
Career: Lawyer, Planter
Political Party: Democratic-Republican
Writings: Writings (10 vols., 1892-99), ed. by Paul L. Ford; The Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1950- ), ed. by Julian P. Boyd; Notes on the State of Virginia 1781 (1955), ed. by William Peden; Autobiography (1959), ed. by Dumas Malone
Died: July 4, 1826, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia
Buried: Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia
A Life in Brief:Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, spent his childhood roaming the woods and studying his books on a remote plantation in the Virginia Piedmont. Thanks to the prosperity of his father, Jefferson had an excellent education. After years in boarding school, where he excelled in classical languages, Jefferson enrolled in William and Mary College in his home state of Virginia, taking classes in science, mathematics, rhetoric, philosophy, and literature. More....
Essays on Thomas Jefferson and His Administration
| Thomas Jefferson A Life in Brief • Life Before the Presidency • Campaigns and Elections • Domestic Affairs • Foreign Affairs • Life After the Presidency • Family Life • The American Franchise • Impact and Legacy • Key Events |
| First Lady Martha Jefferson |
| Vice President Aaron Burr (1801-1805) • George Clinton (1805-1809) |
| Secretary of State James Madison (1801 - 1809) |
| Secretary of War Henry Dearborn (1801 - 1809) |
| Postmaster General Gideon Granger (1801 - 1809) • Joseph Habersham (1801) |
| Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1801 - 1809) • Samuel Dexter (1801) |
| Attorney General Levi Lincoln (1801 - 1804) • John Breckinridge (1805 - 1806) • Caesar A. Rodney (1807 - 1809) |
| Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert (1801) • Robert Smith (1801 - 1805) • Robert Smith (1805 - 1809) • Jacob Crowninshield (1805) |
Consulting Editor: Peter Onuf
Professor Onuf is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia. His writings include:
Jefferson’s Empire: The Language of American Nationhood (University Press of Virginia, 2001)
Statehood and Union: A History of the Northwest Ordinance (Indiana University Press, 1987)
Origins of the Federal Republic: Jurisdictional Controversies in the United States, 1775-1787 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983)
Presidential Speeches
Below are selections from the Miller Center's Thomas Jefferson speech collection. To view the Miller Center's other speeches by Thomas Jefferson or by another President, please click the link below.
January 1, 1802 - Response to Danbury Baptist Association
June 20, 1803 - Instructions to Captain Lewis
January 22, 1807 - Special Message to Congress on the Burr Conspiracy
Miller Center Scholarship and Speakers
The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on Thomas Jefferson.
Listen to Historian Stephen Ambrose’s 1996 presentation at the Miller Center on Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the West.
Click here to learn more about the Center’s National Commission on the Presidency and Science Advising and its relationship to Jefferson.
Scripps Library Reference Resources
Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center's Scripps Library that are designed to help students and scholars quickly conduct their research.