Thomas Jefferson

Legendary card · No. 1692

Thomas Jefferson (April 13 [O.S. April 2], 1743 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Father and the third president of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. A prolific writer and philosopher, Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. His political philosophy formed the basis for Jeffersonian democracy, which dominated early American politics alongside federalism. Jefferson remains celebrated as an icon of American political values, but is also controversial for being a lifelong slave owner. Born into a slave owning family in Shadwell, Virginia, Jefferson emerged as an ideological leader of the American Revolution through his fierce advocacy for civil liberties, including the freedoms of speech, religion, and thought. He was elected to represent Virginia in the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and selected a member of the Committee of Five. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence largely alone, and the document was unanimously passed by the Congress...

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