Thomas Jefferson

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Born: April 13, 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia
Died: July 4, 1826 in Monticello in Virginia

Man of the people

It is pretty easy to explain why Thomas Jefferson had the nickname ‘Man of the People’.
Even when young, Jefferson made politics a daily element of his life. At age 25, after studying law and a few years of practicing it, Jefferson was elected to the House of Burgesses.
There he tried to force through a proposition about making it possible to free slaves.
The fight against the English oppression of the colonies soon became his greatest interest and he participated in founding several local committees, which were leading the struggle.

Jefferson argued for the individual freedom and demanded the US to break with the British Empire. These thoughts were appreciated among many liberals, and when the congress finally declared America independent from Great Britain, Jefferson was to lead the argumentation for political independence. On July 4th 1776, the day that later on would become America’s national day, the Congress adopted Jefferson’s ‘Declaration of Independence’.

Declaration of Independence

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson declared that man has certain rights.
Among them is the right to “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
Jefferson believed that every man has the right to his own life and take his life to wherever he wants.

The main part of Jefferson’s thinking was freedom of speech as well as religious freedom.
But only by being able to speak freely and practise your religion, one is not free.
One shall also be able to fulfil his dreams and ideas. According to Jefferson, without fulfilling your dreams, you are no free man.
Obstacles such as state regulations and taxes, which can be in the way of economical freedom, must therefore be as few as possible.
State and government shall only have one task: to protect the right for man to live his life in freedom.

Jefferson and slaves

One thing that may seem a bit ironic, is that despite his struggle for freeing slaves, Jefferson at one moment had 170 slaves working for him.
According to him, slaves who have been brought up in slavery, would not be able to manage the freedom they would get if they were set free.
Though, he freed a few of his slaves, after teaching them responsibility and how it was to live a life outside slavery.
However, Jefferson was very careful with the way he treated his slaves.
They were never to work harder than “free” people.

America’s third president

1789, after some years as an ambassador in Paris, Thomas Jefferson returned to America and formed a party, which later on would be considered as the precursor to today’s Democratical Party. Eleven years later, in 1800, Jefferson was elected for president and with that, a new era started in American politics.
Rights, earlier explained in the Declaration of Independence, now took effect.
Jefferson wanted to increase the inhabitants’ influence on their lives, and so he did.
He reduced the number of politicians drastically and shut down sever...