What is Thomas Jefferson character trait?

Answer 1

In 1743 Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia to an

average family. His parents didn't have much education,

but they wanted their intelligent son to have more than

they had. When he was nine years old he went to live with a

Scottish clergyman who became his teacher. He was

taught French, Greek and Latin along with the regular

subjects. He studied all of the great thinkers in history and

began to come up with his own ideas about how the world

should work. He became very opinionated and felt his ideas were the best ideas.

Thomas loved learning, and finished school at age sixteen. After he graduated,

he studied to become a lawyer.

In 1775, he was elected to be a representative for the state of Virginia. He

was part of the second Continental Congress, where he was asked to write a

declaration explaining why the colonies should be free from Great Britain. Using

all of the lessons he learned in school about how a good government should

work, he wrote down all of the reasons why Americans should not have to be

ruled by the English government. His finished paper became the Declaration of

Independence.

When George Washington was president, he asked Thomas Jefferson to

be Secretary of State. Thomas Jefferson didn't like the job, and felt there were

too many problems. He was stubborn, and didn't get along with some of the

other people in government. They had very different ideas about how America

should be run. For example, he thought that people should be free to say

whatever they want in the press, and practice whatever religion they want. At

that time, the other people in government didn't agree with his ideas. After his

term in office was over, Thomas Jefferson decided he would never work in

government again.

Later he changed his mind. He was determined that the country could be

even better. The way America was being run made him mad, because people

didn't have as much freedom as he thought they should. In 1800, he ran for

president and won. When he became president, he made sure the government ©Jessica Johnson 2008

gave people a lot more freedom and let them have more control over their own

lives. He was such a popular president, he was re-elected in 1804.

He was considered a great president, but Thomas Jefferson was not

perfect. He was a slave owner who had 187 slaves. After his wife died, there

were rumors that he had children with one of his slaves, a woman named Sally

Hemings. Thomas Jefferson never admitted the story, but he did not deny it,

either. Recently, science has been able to track down the descendents of

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings and they found that Sally's youngest child

was related to Thomas Jefferson, which means that he did have children with

one of his slaves. Some people think this made Thomas Jefferson dishonest, for

never admitting the children were his during his lifetime.

Despite having some scandals during his presidency, later presidents

looked to Thomas Jefferson for advice. When they had problems they went to

Thomas Jefferson for solutions on how to run the country. Aside from being the

president, Thomas Jefferson was a very smart man and created many new

inventions. He loved education very much, so before he died he created the

University of Virginia in 1825. He died only one year after the university was

finished.

Answer 2

In 1743 Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia to an

average family. His parents didn't have much education,

but they wanted their intelligent son to have more than

they had. When he was nine years old he went to live with a

Scottish clergyman who became his teacher. He was

taught French, Greek and Latin along with the regular

subjects. He studied all of the great thinkers in history and

began to come up with his own ideas about how the world

should work. He became very opinionated and felt his ideas were the best ideas.

Thomas loved learning, and finished school at age sixteen. After he graduated,

he studied to become a lawyer.

In 1775, he was elected to be a representative for the state of Virginia. He

was part of the second Continental Congress, where he was asked to write a

declaration explaining why the colonies should be free from Great Britain. Using

all of the lessons he learned in school about how a good government should

work, he wrote down all of the reasons why Americans should not have to be

ruled by the English government. His finished paper became the Declaration of

Independence.

When George Washington was president, he asked Thomas Jefferson to

be Secretary of State. Thomas Jefferson didn't like the job, and felt there were

too many problems. He was stubborn, and didn't get along with some of the

other people in government. They had very different ideas about how America

should be run. For example, he thought that people should be free to say

whatever they want in the press, and practice whatever religion they want. At

that time, the other people in government didn't agree with his ideas. After his

term in office was over, Thomas Jefferson decided he would never work in

government again.

Later he changed his mind. He was determined that the country could be

even better. The way America was being run made him mad, because people

didn't have as much freedom as he thought they should. In 1800, he ran for

president and won. When he became president, he made sure the government ©Jessica Johnson 2008

gave people a lot more freedom and let them have more control over their own

lives. He was such a popular president, he was re-elected in 1804.

He was considered a great president, but Thomas Jefferson was not

perfect. He was a slave owner who had 187 slaves. After his wife died, there

were rumors that he had children with one of his slaves, a woman named Sally

Hemings. Thomas Jefferson never admitted the story, but he did not deny it,

either. Recently, science has been able to track down the descendents of

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings and they found that Sally's youngest child

was related to Thomas Jefferson, which means that he did have children with

one of his slaves. Some people think this made Thomas Jefferson dishonest, for

never admitting the children were his during his lifetime.

Despite having some scandals during his presidency, later presidents

looked to Thomas Jefferson for advice. When they had problems they went to

Thomas Jefferson for solutions on how to run the country. Aside from being the

president, Thomas Jefferson was a very smart man and created many new

inventions. He loved education very much, so before he died he created the

University of Virginia in 1825. He died only one year after the university was

finished.