Jefferson Born: The Pen Behind American Liberty
Thomas Jefferson wrote 'all men are created equal' and spent 50 years explaining why he didn't mean what it sounded like. He was 33 when he drafted the Declaration. He owned more than 600 enslaved people over his lifetime and freed only two, both skilled tradesmen. He was a polymath who designed his own house, founded a university, catalogued plants, and wrote a dictionary of a Native American language. He doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 without asking Congress, then worried about whether he had the constitutional authority to do so. He died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration, within hours of John Adams, his old friend and old enemy. His tombstone, which he wrote himself, doesn't mention the presidency.
April 13, 1743
283 years ago
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