Thomas Jefferson Essays -- essays research papers

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 on his familys plantation in Shadwell, Virginia. The third of six children his parents raised him modestly and his sustain schooled him to be a gentleman. The young Jefferson suffered an emotional shock, when at the age of 14 his father Peter Jefferson died. The young Jefferson was the first male of the family and so he acquire the bulk of his fathers assets, leaving him with a sizable fortune. He received his early education along with his sisters and cousins near the family farm, and later was sent forward to be tutored by a professional teacher in foreign languages and more advanced sciences and math. Beginning in 1760 Jefferson began attending the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. season there he began studying such enlightenment thinkers as Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke. His admiration for these men became even greater as he began to wreak his way in life. Once he finished his college education Jefferson decided he wanted to pursue a career in law. To achieve this he began studying for the bar exam under a practicing lawyer George Wythe. After completeing his studies he began establishing a law practice out of his home in Shadwell. because in 1768 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses where from the very start he made his presence known. If first proposal to the body was to establish procedures for the emancipation of slaves, an root quickly shot down. He remained a member of the house until its dissolution in 1774 by the colonys British Governor Dunmore.The same division plans were made to hold a continental congress of all the colonies. In preperation for this meeting Jefferson wrote an essay called A Summary of the Rights of British Americans, in which he diffused his thoughts on the rights of men. Due to illness he was unable to attend this meeting, but its widespread publishing lead to his nomination to the certify Contin ental congress.During the 1776 meeting of the second Continental Congress Jefferson wrote one of the most famous documents in American history, the Declaration of Independence. This document would become the basis for the writing of the Articles of Conferderation and eventually the United States Constitution. some other document written by Jefferson that would become an integral part of the federal Constitution would be ... ...umed the office of vice- president. Jeffersons first act as president was to tell Secretary of State James Madison to withhold the midnight appointment of William Marbury to the office of Justice of the Peace of the District of Columbia. Marbury sued for the appointment President Adams had given him and headsman Justice John Marshall ruled in his favor. The case Marbury vs. Madison set the precedent of the courts right to judicial review of the other branches of government.Jefferson went against his belief in strict Constitutional interpretation several tim es during office as president, the first time was when he authorized the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. though the power to purchase the land was not given to him as president in the Constitution he went ahead with it because he felt that it was in the top hat interest of the nation. He went against his beliefs two other times when he went along with the 1804 impeachments of Federal district judge John Pickering and Supreme court judge Samuel Chase. The formation states that treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors must be committed to warrant this, but both men were impeached by the Senate due to erratic behavior.