ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE * PRESIDENTS
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OUR PRESIDENTS
about_presidents_georgewashington 1. George Washington
about_presidents_johnadams 2. John Adams
about_presidents_thomasjefferson 3. Thomas Jefferson
about_presidents_jamesmadison 4. James Madison
about_presidents_jamesmonroe 5. James Monroe
about_presidents_johnquincyadams 6. John Quincy Adams
about_presidents_andrewjackson 7. Andrew Jackson
about_presidents_martinvanburen 8. Martin Van Buren
about_presidents_williamhenryharrison 9. William Henry Harrison
about_presidents_johntyler 10. John Tyler
about_presidents_jamespolk 11. James K. Polk
about_presidents_zacharytaylor 12. Zachary Taylor
about_presidents_millardfillmore 13. Millard Fillmore
about_presidents_franklinpierce 14. Franklin Pierce
about_presidents_jamesbuchanan 15. James Buchanan
about_presidents_abrahamlincoln 16. Abraham Lincoln
about_presidents_andrewjohnson 17. Andrew Johnson
about_presidents_ulyssessgrant 18. Ulysses S. Grant
about_presidents_rutherfordbhayes 19. Rutherford B. Hayes
about_presidents_jamesgarfield 20. James Garfield
about_presidents_chesterarthur 21. Chester A. Arthur
about_presidents_grovercleveland 22. Grover Cleveland
about_presidents_benjaminharrison 23. Benjamin Harrison
about_presidents_grovercleveland 24. Grover Cleveland
about_presidents_williammckinley 25. William McKinley
about_presidents_theodoreroosevelt 26. Theodore Roosevelt
about_presidents_williamhowardtaft 27. William Howard Taft
about_presidents_woodrowwilson 28. Woodrow Wilson
about_presidents_warrenharding 29. Warren G. Harding
about_presidents_calvincoolidge 30. Calvin Coolidge
about_presidents_herberthoover 31. Herbert Hoover
about_presidents_franklindroosevelt 32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
about_presidents_harrystruman 33. Harry S. Truman
about_presidents_dwightdeisenhower 34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
about_presidents_johnfkennedy 35. John F. Kennedy
about_presidents_lyndonjohnson 36. Lyndon B. Johnson
about_presidents_richardnixon 37. Richard M. Nixon
about_presidents_geraldford 38. Gerald R. Ford
about_presidents_jimmycarter 39. James Carter
about_presidents_ronaldreagan 40. Ronald Reagan
about_presidents_georgehwbush 41. George H. W. Bush
about_presidents_williamjclinton 42. William J. Clinton
about_presidents_georgewbush 43. George W. Bush
administration_president_obama 44. Barack Obama
[[[Image:3tj_header_sm.jpg|450px|Photo]] of Thomas Jefferson ]
3. THOMAS JEFFERSON 1801-1809
In the thick of party conflict in 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
This powerful advocate of liberty was born in 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia, inheriting from his father, a planter and surveyor, some 5,000 acres of land, and from his mother, a Randolph, high social standing. He studied at the College of William and Mary, then read law. In 1772 he married Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow, and took her to live in his partly constructed mountaintop home, Monticello.
Freckled and sandy-haired, rather tall and awkward, Jefferson was eloquent as a correspondent, but he was no public speaker. In the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress, he contributed his pen rather than his voice to the patriot cause. As the "silent member" of the Congress, Jefferson, at 33, drafted the Declaration of Independence. In years following he labored to make its words a reality in Virginia. Most notably, he wrote a bill establishing religious freedom, enacted in 1786.
Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to France in 1785. His sympathy for the French Revolution led him into conflict with Alexander Hamilton when Jefferson was Secretary of State in President Washington's Cabinet. He resigned in 1793.
Sharp political conflict developed, and two separate parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, began to form. Jefferson gradually assumed leadership of the Republicans, who sympathized with the revolutionary cause in France. Attacking Federalist policies, he opposed a strong centralized Government and championed the rights of states.
As a reluctant candidate for President in 1796, Jefferson came within three votes of election. Through a flaw in the Constitution, he became Vice President, although an opponent of President Adams. In 1800 the defect caused a more serious problem. Republican electors, attempting to name both a President and a Vice President from their own party, cast a tie vote between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The House of Representatives settled the tie. Hamilton, disliking both Jefferson and Burr, nevertheless urged Jefferson's election.
When Jefferson assumed the Presidency, the crisis in France had passed. He slashed Army and Navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated the tax on whiskey so unpopular in the West, yet reduced the national debt by a third. He also sent a naval squadron to fight the Barbary pirates, who were harassing American commerce in the Mediterranean. Further, although the Constitution made no provision for the acquisition of new land, Jefferson suppressed his qualms over constitutionality when he had the opportunity to acquire the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon in 1803.
During Jefferson's second term, he was increasingly preoccupied with keeping the Nation from involvement in the Napoleonic wars, though both England and France interfered with the neutral rights of American merchantmen. Jefferson's attempted solution, an embargo upon American shipping, worked badly and was unpopular.
Jefferson retired to Monticello to ponder such projects as his grand designs for the University of Virginia. A French nobleman observed that he had placed his house and his mind "on an elevated situation, from which he might contemplate the universe."
He died on July 4, 1826.
MD5: 50cbab1896e26a507090cfec0f6bf2c8 Original URL: http://whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/thomasjefferson/