The Great Work of Thomas Jefferson

The Great Work of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was at the center of American history for more than half a century. He was a man of many talents, he was the author of the Declaration of Independence, and he was the third President of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson had many talents. One of his talents was that he was an architectural engineer. With this talent he helped design many things like the city of Washington D.C., the University of Virginia, and his home called Monticello. He designed the rotunda for the University of Virginia library in 1821 (Greene 37).

Another talent that he had was that he was a really good writer. Only Abraham Lincoln was equal in writing talents as Jefferson. It was said of Jefferson that he "could put words together and fashion them into a powerful weapon," (Greene 10).

He also was a great educator. Jefferson would study fifteen hours every day when he was young, because learning was important to him, (Greene 11). He wanted people to have a chance to learn. So he started the University of Virginia. He planned the buildings and chose the teachers. He was known as the father of the University of Virginia, (Greene 40).

He was one of the leading scientists of his day in America. He tried new ways of planting crops and raising animals, (Greene 37). He was one of the first farmers to grow tomatoes in the United States, (Greene 25).

One of his other talents was that he was a creative inventor. He invented a machine that could write two copies of a letter at the same time. He invented a tiny elevator called a "dumbwaiter" to carry things up to his dining room from the basement. Jefferson also invented storm windows, a chair that turned, and much more, (Patterson 25).

Jefferson was chairman of the committee to write the Declaration of Independence. He was asked by the other four members of the committee to write the first draft of the Declaration. When he wrote the Declaration of Independence, he wrote it with common words and phrases so all could understand the plain truth of his statements. He did not consult a book or pamphlet when writing it. Everything came straight from his mind and heart, (Patterson 36).

He made many changes to the Declaration before he was happy with what he wrote. He was known throughout the colonies as a great writer on political issues.