Thomas Jefferson

● NAME: Thomas Jefferson

● OCCUPATION: Diplomat, U.
S. President, U.S. Vice
President, U.S. Governor,
Government Official
● BIRTH DATE: April 13, 1743
● DEATH DATE: July 04, 1826
● EDUCATION: College of
William and Mary
● PLACE OF BIRTH: Shadwell,
Virginia
● PLACE OF DEATH:
Monticello (near
Charlottesville), Virginia
● Author of the Declaration of Independence
● Jefferson served in the Virginia legislature and the Continental Congress
(1775-83)
● He was governor of Virginia.
● He was vice president under John Adams (1735-1826).
● Jefferson was elected president in 1800(the third U.S. president)
● He helped found the University of Virginia.
 Thomas Jefferson's Curious Facts
1-After his father death Thomas(who was a teenager) inherited the Sahdwell property.
There Jefferson began cleaning a mountaintop on the land. He wanted to build a mansion.
He called this construction "Monticello", which means "little mountain" in Italian". He designed the
house and its gardens himself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-In 1772 he married Martha Wayles Skelton (a young widow). They had six children but only 2
survived: Martha and Mary. Jefferson's wife died at the age of 33

Martha Wayles Sketton

3-Thomas died at the age of 83 , the 50 th. anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of the
Independence.

4-Coincidentally, John Adams, ,Jefferson's friend and fellow signer of the Declaration of
Independence, died the same day.

5- He wasn't big on birthdays: Apparently, Jefferson was the "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to"
type.

6-He was America's first Secretary of State

7- Thomas was talented musician

8- Thomas Jefferson was a terrible public speaker

9- He was the first to bring to the United States of America:

French Fries
 10- Thomas Jefferson has a unique tombstone
for the size of a president.

11- Near the end of his life Thomas

Jefferson designed his own gravestone
and prepared the text to be engraved on it.

"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of American
Independence Of the Statute of Virginia
for religious freedom & Father of the
University of Virginia"
 have Inalienable
1. The people
Rights
choose

protects

Government

2. Justification Facts
 The Legacy of the
Declaration
Before Americans were Americans, they were British.
Before Americans governed themselves, they were
governed by a distant British king. Before America was
an independent state, it was a dependent colony.Before
Americans claimed equal rights, they were subject to
brithish tyranny. What brought about these
transformations? The Declaration of Independence of
1776.
AMERICAN PEOPLE

A NEW SYSTEM OF
GOVERNANCE

CLOSER TO EUROPE

EQUAL RIGHTS

THE SPIRIT OF 76.

Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence

Jefferson used the preamble to

discuss the basic rights of
man. It has since become the
most famous part of the
document.

By Jefferson's own admission the Declaration contained no

completely original ideas. He's most immediate sources
were two documents written in June 1776.
He was directly influenced by the 1689 English Declaration
of Rights, which formally ended the reign of King James
II.
 Thomas Jefferson`s critics

-Despotic government and it was

not formed by the consent of
the people
-Do not represent people
-Do not respect or protect
unalienable rights of the people
-Destroyed ports in America
-Heavy taxation
-The economic source of the
people was exploited
-False laws against people
The situation
● 1760s and early 1770s: Imperial policies regarding taxation and
frontier policy
● When repeated protests failed to influence British policies, the
Continental Congress was founded to coordinate a colonial boycott
of British goods.
● But colonial leaders hoped to reconcile with the British Government.
● Throughout 1775-1776 the Continental Congress viewed
independence as the only course of action available to them.
● The colonists were aided by the publication of Thomas Paine’s
pamphlet Common Sense, which advocated the colonies’
independence
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment advocated
reason which would
allow human beings to obtain
their truth about the whole of reality.

Americans throughout the colonies were already promoting the

progressive worldview related to ideals about liberty and the right to self-
determination.

It was the fiery political climate into which the Declaration was born that
made Jefferson's words so important. When his final draft was edited
and adopted by Congress on July 4th, the statement signified
independence, but it also solidified the path to all-out war, and not just in
the new United States.
● Congress form a committee to draft a declaration of independence
(duty of Thomas Jefferson).
Benjamin Franklin and John Adams preserved its original form, but
struck passages likely to meet with controversy or skepticism.
● The committee presented the final draft before Congress on June 28,
and Congress adopted the final text of the Declaration of
Independence on July 4.
● The British Government did its best to dismiss the Declaration as a
trivial document, but it was not possible.
● The Declaration’s most important diplomatic effect was to allow for
recognition of the United States by friendly foreign governments.
The Treaty of Paris 1783 ended the War of the American Revolution
Britain's vast army was already on its way towards New York
Harbor when Jefferson sat down to compose the Declaration
in June of 1776,these are the words considered the most
important and revolutionary:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that

all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
The logical assumptions
● Governments are created to secure certain unalienable rights,
rights that are granted, not by government or man, but by God.
(Natural Law.)

● When government takes away these rights, the governed have

just cause to overthrow or separate themselves from that
government.

● Great Britain is guilty of attempting to take away the

aforementioned God given rights; therefore, the colonists are
justified in separating themselves from Great Britain.
The history of the King of Great Britain is a history of
repeated injuries and usurpations.
When there is a long train of abuses and usurpations,
it is the right and the duty of people throw off such
government, and to provide new guards for their
future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance
of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which
constrains them to alter their former Systems of
Government.
 Did You Know?

Most Americans did not know Thomas Jefferson was

the principal author of the Declaration of
Independence until the 1790s; before that, the
document was seen as a collective effort by the
entire Continental Congress.
 Things You May Not Know About the Declaration of
Independence

1. The Declaration of Independence wasn't signed on July 4, 1776

2. More than one copy exists
3. Eight of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were
born in Britain
4. One signer later recanted
5. There was a 44-year age difference between the youngest and
oldest signers
6. Two additional copies have been found in the last 25 years
 U.S. Constitution
Preamble
We the People of the United States, in Order to form
a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
 Congress of the United States.
The Government, must do the best to ensure the beneficent ends of its institution:

RESOLVED by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in
Congress assembled, two thirds of both houses concurring, that the following Articles be
proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the
United States, all or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said
Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of
America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States,
pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution...
 The Articles of the U.S.
Constitution
Article 1: the laws of the United States. Congress has two parts, the House of Representatives and
the Senate.
Article 2: the President, Vice-President, Cabinet, and Departments under the Cabinet Secretaries
takes to the objective the laws made by Congress.
Article 3: the Supreme Court decides court cases according to U.S. Constitution. The courts under
the Supreme Court decide criminal and civil court cases according to the correct federal, state
and local laws.
Article 4: the States have the power of their own laws. State laws that are related to the people
and problems of their area. States respect other states laws and work together with other states to
fix problems.
Article 5: The Constitution can be changed. New Amendments can be added to the U.S.
Constitution with the approval by a two thirds vote in each house of Congress and three fourth by
the States.
Article 6: The Constitution and federal laws are superior than state and local laws. All laws
must agree with the U.S. Constitution.
Article 7: The Constitution was presented to George Washington and to the Constitutional
Convention on September 17th, 1787. Representatives from twelve states signed the Constitution.
 Signers of the Declaration of
Georgia:
Independence
Button Gwinnett (1735 - 1777) Was a political leader and also president of
Georgia in 1777.

Lyman Hall (1724 – 1790)Was a physician, clergyman, and statesman.

George Walton (1749 - 1804) Was elected Secretary of the Georgia provincial
Congress, became president of the Council of Safety and was elected Governor of
Georgia.
North Carolina

William Hooper (1742-1790) Was an American lawyer, politician, and a member of

the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777.

Joseph Hewes (1730 – 1779) Was a merchant. After finishing his apprenticeship he
earned himself a good name and a strong reputation, which would serve him well in
becoming one of the most famous signers of the Declaration of Independence .

John Penn 1741 – 1788) Was a signer of both the United States Declaration of
Independence and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of North
Carolina.
South Carolina:

Edward Rutledge (1749 –1800) Was an American

politician and youngest signer of the United States
Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Heyward, Jr. (1746 –1809) He was a member

of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.
He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775
and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Thomas Lynch, Jr. (1749–1779) He studied law at the Middle Temple in London .
He became a company commander in the 1st South Carolina regiment in 1775 and
was elected to the Continental Congress. He was taken ill at the end of 1779 and he
sailed, with his wife, for St. Eustatius in the West Indies. Their ship disappeared at
sea in a storm and was never found.

Arthur Middleton (1742 –1787) He was a leader

of the American Party in Carolina and one
of the boldest members of the Council of Safety
and its Secret Committee
Massachusetts:

Samuel Adams (1722 –1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States. Adams was a leader of the movement that became the
American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American
republicanism that shaped the political culture of the United States.

John Adams (1735 - 1826) was the second president of the United States (1797–1801), having
earlier served as the first vice president of the United States. An American Founding Father, [2]
he was a statesman, diplomat, and a leading advocate of American independence from Great
Britain.

Elbridge Thomas Gerry (1744 - 1814) was an American

statesman and diplomat.
As a Democratic-Republican he was selected as the fifth
Vice President of the United States.

Robert Treat Paine (1731 –1814) was a Massachusetts

lawyer and politician.

John Hancock (1737 - 1793) was a merchant, statesman,

and prominent Patriot of theAmerican Revolution.
Maryland:

Samuel Chase (1741 – 1811) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme
Court.

William Paca (1740 –1799) Governor of Maryland and a United States federal judge.

Thomas Stone (1743 –1787) was an American and later worked on the committee
that formed the Articles of Confederation in 1777. He acted as President of
Congress for a short time in 1784.

Charles Carroll (1737 –1832) was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early
advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the
Continental Congress and Confederation Congress and later as first United States
Senator for Maryland.
Virginia:

George Wythe (1726 – 1806) was the first American law professor, a noted classics
scholar and Virginia judge, as well as a prominent opponent of slavery.

Richard Henry Lee (1732 - 1794) was an American statesman from Virginia. Best
known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies
independence from Great Britain. He also served a one-year term as the President of
the Continental Congress, and was a United States Senator from Virginia from 1789
to 1792.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal
author of theDeclaration of Independence and the third President of the United
States.

Benjamin Harrison (1833 – 1901) was the 23rd

President of the United States (1889–1893)
Pennsylvania:

Robert Hunter Morris (1700 – 1764) was a prominent governmental figure in

Colonial Pennsylvania, serving as governor of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the
New Jersey Supreme Court.
Benjamin Rush (1746 -1813) was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived
in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian,
as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United
States. Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician,
postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and
diplomat.

John Morton (1725 – 1777) was a farmer,

surveyor, and jurist from the Province of Pennsylvania.
Thomas Nelson, Jr. (1738 – 1789) was an American planter, soldier, and statesman
from Yorktown, Virginia and was its Governor in 1781.

Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734 – 1797) was a member of the House of Burgesses in the
Colony of Virginia. As an active protester of issues such as the Stamp Act, Lee helped
move the colony in the direction of independence from Britain.

Carter Braxton (1736 - 1797) , a planter, and a representative of Virginia. Braxton

invested a great deal of his wealth in the American Revolution. He loaned money to
the cause and funded shipping and privateering.
George Clymer (1739 – 1813) was an American politician and founding father. He
was one of the last Patriots to advocate complete independence from Britain.

James Smith (1719 – 1806) He studied law at the office of his brother George and
was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania. He became captain of the militia Smith
was also an alumnus of the University of Delaware, which has a new dorm on its
North Campus bearing his name.

George Taylor (1716 –1781) was a Colonial ironmaster . Today, his former home,
the George Taylor House in Pennsylvania.
James Wilson (1742–1798) Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress,
and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution. A leading legal
theorist, he was one of the six original justices appointed by George Washington to
the Supreme Court of the United States.

George Ross (1730 – 1779) From 1768 to 1776, he was for twelve years Crown
Prosecutor until 1778 when he was elected to the provincial legislature of his state.
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney (1728 –1784) was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones.
He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War and the
American Revolution.

George Read (1733 – 1798) was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle.
He was a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a delegate to the U.S.
Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of Delaware, and a member of the
Federalist Party.

Thomas McKean (1734 –1817) was an American lawyer and politician from New
Castle. McKean served as a President of Congress. He served as President of
Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and Governor of Pennsylvania.
New York:
William Floyd (1734 –1821) was an American politician from New York and was a
presidential elector in 1792, voting for George Washington and George Clinton.

Philip Livingston (1716 –1778) was an American

merchant and statesman from New York City.

Francis Lewis (1713 –1802) was a signer of the United States Declaration of
Independence as a representative of New York.

He was taken prisoner and shipped in a box to France while serving as a British
mercantile agent in 1756. On his return to America, he became active in politics.

Lewis Morris (1726 – 1798) was an American

landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York.

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton (1730 –1781) was an American lawyer, jurist and legislator.

John Knox Witherspoon (1723 – 1794) was a Scots Presbyterian minister. As

president of the College of New Jersey he trained many leaders of the early nation
and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the
Declaration.

Francis Hopkinson (1737 –1791), an American author. He later served as a federal

judge in Pennsylvania. He played a key role in the design of the first American flag.
John Hart (1711 – 1779) He was the son of Captain Edward Hart, a farmer, public
assessor, Justice of the Peace, and leader of a local militia unit during the French
and Indian War.

Abraham Clark (1726 –1794) was an American politician and Revolutionary War
figure and served in the United States House of Representatives in both the Second
and Third United States Congress.
New Hampshire:

Josiah Bartlett (1729 –1795) was an American physician and statesman, delegate to
the Continental Congress for New Hampshire. He was Chief Justice of the New
Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature and Governor of the state.

Matthew Thornton (1714 –1803) Thornton became Londonderry Town Selectman, a

President of the Provincial Assembly, and a member of the Committee of Safety.

William Whipple, Jr. (, 1730 –1785) He became a Ship's Master by the age of twenty-
three. In 1775, he was elected to represent his town at the Provincial Congress. In
1776 New Hampshire dissolved the Royal government and reorganized with a House
of Representatives and an Executive Council.
Rhode Island:

Stephen Hopkins (1707 –1785) was a governor of the Colony

of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and a Chief
Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

William Ellery (1727 - 1820) In 1764, the Baptists consulted

with Ellery and the Congregationalist Reverend Ezra Stiles on
writing a charter for the college that became Brown
University.
Connecticut:

Roger Sherman (1721 – 1793) was an early American lawyer and politician,
as well as a founding father.

Samuel Huntington (1731 - 1796) was a jurist, statesman, and Patriot in

the American Revolution.

William Williams (1731 –1811) was a merchant, He studied theology and

graduated from Harvard in 1751.

Oliver Wolcott (1726 –1797) was a signer of the United States Declaration
of Independence and also the Articles of Confederation as a representative
of Connecticut and the fourth Governor of Connecticut.
How amendments are made

It takes two steps to add an amendment

to the Constitution
Step 1
Proposal:An amendment can be proposed by
either two-thirds vote in congress,including
both,the House of the Representatives and the
Senate or National convention made up of two-
thirds of the states.
 Step 2
Step 2:Ratification-Next,the amendment
has to be ratified. It can be ratified by
either three-fourths of the states
legislatures or by state conventions in the
three-fourths of the states. Only the 21 st
amendment used the state convention
method
Amendments to the Constitution of the
United States of America

From I to X
 1 .Freedom of Religion, Assembly, Petition,
Opinion and Speech
2. The freedom to bear arms.
3. No military in your home, except in war times.
4. No unreasonable searches.
5. The right to remain silent and not criminate yourself.
6. The right to a speedy and public trial.
7. The right to a jury trial in civil matters of $20 and over.
8. The right to fair fines and bail. No cruel and unusual
punishment.
9. Individual rights. Rights that are not in the constitution
are still rights given to citizens.
10. State rights. Any right not given in the constitution is
given to the state to legislate.
 Why are the amendments to the US
Constitution Important?
The amendments are important to the United States because
it explain their rights and duties as citizens.
They are also important because americans can defend
using the first 10 amendments court for as an example.
It was important to their ancestors because it ends the slaves
and the differences between woman and man.
 Amendment X

Is about State Rights: Any right not given

in the constitution is given to the states to
legislate
 Amendment XI

February 7,1795- This amendment set

limits on when the state can be sued. In
particular it gave immunity to states from
law suits from out-of-state citizens and
foreigners not living within the state
borders
 Amendment XII

June 15,1804- Revised the presidential

election procedures.
The electoral college must have two
separate elections for president and vice
president
 Amendment XIII

December 6,1865- This amendment

abolished slavery and involuntary
servitude.
Emancipation. All slaves are free
 Amendment XIV

July 9,1868- Defined what it means to be

a US citizen. It prohibits states from
reducing the privileges of citizens and
ensures each citizen the “right to due
process and the equal protection of the
law”.
Foreign born citizens can vote
 Amendment XV

February 3,1870- Gave all men the right

to vote regardless of race or color or
whether they had been slaves.
All men get the right to vote,including ex-
slaves
 Amendment XVI

February 3,1913- Gave the federal

government the power to collect income
tax.
The Federal Income Tax is established
 Amendment XVII

April 8,1913- Established that senators

would be directly elected.
The people elect their own US senators
 Amendment XVIII

January 16,1919- Prohibition of alcohol

making alcoholic drinks illegal.(It would
later be repealed by the twenty-first
Amendment).
 Amendment XIX

August 18,1920- The 19th amendment

gave women the right to vote. It’s also
called women’s suffrage
 Amendment XX

January 23,1933- Gave details on the

terms of office for Congress and the
President.
January the 20th is the day that the new
President takes office
Amendments

From XX to XXVI
 Amendment XX

Section 1.

The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of
Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have
ended if this article had not been ratified;

Section 2.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of
January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 3.

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice
President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the
beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act
as President until a President shall have qualified

Section 4.

The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of
Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for
the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the
 Amendment XXI

Section 1.

The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2.

The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or
use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3.

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by
conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
 Amendment XXII

Section 1.

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the
office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was
elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply
to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress

Section 2.

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the
legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the
States by the Congress.
 Amendment XXIII

Section 1.

The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as Congress
may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and
Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than
the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be
considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a
State;

Section 2.

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
 Amendment XXIV

Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President,
for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
 Amendment XXV

Section 1.

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall
become President.

Section 2.

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President
who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3.

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and
until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by
the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4.

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of
such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office
 Amendment XXVI

Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.