Final Project!
http://natgray23.wix.com/thomas-jefferson
Thomas Jefferson made his mark in history through the dedication that he applied to his everyday life, both personally and politically. He is celebrated for his renowned work as a writer and political leader. From being known as a founding father and drafting the Declaration of Independence, to creating the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson was arguably one of the most important people in the history of America. The contributions that Jefferson made throughout his lifetime helped to shape the America that we know today.
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13th 1743 at the Shadwell plantation near Charlottesville Virginia His father, Peter Jefferson was an extremely successful planter and surveyor and his mother, Jane Randolph was a member of one Virginia’s most well known families. Jefferson began his schooling at the early age of nine, and by his second year of schooling he was already learning French, Greek, and Latin. In 1760 at the age of 16, Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, where he met his law professor George Wythe. Jefferson graduated college after only two years and immediately began working for Wythe as a law clerk, which helped him to become one of the most well known lawyers in the United States. Jefferson’s carried his dedication to learning with him, even after his school years. After practicing law for several years Jefferson met and fell in love with widow Martha Wayles. On January 1st, 1772 Martha and Thomas married and had two children together, Martha and Mary.
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson was chosen as a member of the continental congress to draft a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Adopted by the continental congress, the document stated that all men are created equal, and that all men have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence is a symbol of America’s independence from Great Britain. Those that signed the Declaration of Independence were known as the founding fathers and included Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. July 4th is now known as Independence Day, and is a national holiday celebrated in the U.S. People, independence, laws, declaration, states, right, and government are some of the most common words mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. These words give a great representation of what this piece of writing is all about.
Jefferson then moved on to serve as Virginia’s governor, which happened to be the low point in his career. He left the political world in 1781 and re-entered it in 1785 when he replaced Benjamin Franklin as a U.S. minister to France. Jefferson spent about five years in Paris with his family. Because Jefferson was serving his time in Paris, he was not able to make the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Although he was not physically present, the Democratic-Republican managed to express his conservative views. Jefferson returned to the United Stated in 1790.
Upon Jefferson’s arrival back to the United States, George Washington asked him to work as his secretary of state during his presidency. During Washington’s time in office was when America developed two different political parties. These two parties had two very different opinions on how the government should be run. The Democratic-Republicans were under Thomas Jefferson, and the Federalists were under Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson believed that each state should consist of their own strong and local governments, while Hamilton and the Federalists advocated for a strong national government. Jefferson’s form of government was more popular, and the Democratic-Republicans eventually split into the liberal democrats and the conservative republicans we know today.
Jefferson ran for president in 1796 after Washington’s term, but lost to John Adams. He defeated Adams four years later however, and became the third president of the United States; accompanied by Aaron Burr as his vice president. During Jefferson’s presidency, he managed to reduce the size of the armed forces and government, end tax on whiskey, suspend all trade with Europe through the Embargo Act, and purchase the Louisiana Territory back from France.
From 1699-1762 France had control over the Louisiana Territory. In 1762 France gave the territory away to Spain, but got it back in 1800. As president, Jefferson purchased the territory from France for 50 million dollars. The Louisiana territory involved about 14 states total, but only six entire states. The map to left represents the six states that were entirely involved in the Louisiana Purchase. Another one of Jefferson’s greatest accomplishments was the creation of the University of Virginia in 1819. Jefferson was involved in almost every aspect of the founding. He created the University’s layout and design, planned the curriculum, and even recruited the university’s first staff. The university is known for its the “Rotunda” located on the lawn, modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.
In order to preserve my project and ensure its security overtime, I will check up on my project periodically throughout the year. Checking on my project will help me to ensure that my site is still holding up and running, and it will also give me the opportunity to revise my work and fix anything that I think might need fixing. By editing my project throughout the years, I hope to build a strong piece of work that I could use to show to future employers, in my field of Public Relations. In addition to checking up on my project, I will save the written paragraphs of text to my desktop, which I also always back up onto an external hard dive. In the case that my computer were to crash, all of my files are always stored on my secondary hard drive. Luckily most of what I created on Google is also automatically stored on my Gmail account, giving me a third form of storage. I believe that checking on my project and backing up all of its information are the best solutions to preserving my project throughout time.