Leo Sher, M.D.

Thomas Jefferson was born 167 years ago, on April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia. He was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers of this country. Jefferson was the Governor of Virginia (1779–1781), first United States Secretary of State (1789–1793), and second Vice President (1797–1801).

Jefferson believed that each individual has rights that exist with or without government. Man cannot create, take, or give them away. Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence (1776).In his original draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.” The final version of the Declaration of Independence stated, “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.”

While in the Virginia legislature (1776-1779), Jefferson drafted 126 bills in 3 years. It is of interest to note that Jefferson introduced a bill to outlaw the death penalty for all crimes except murder and treason, the bill failed by one vote. In 1779, Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly enacted the statute into the state’s law after deleting significant portions of Jefferson’s original text. The Statute for Religious Freedom supported separation of church and state, and freedom of conscience.

Jefferson advocated restraining government in order to protect individual freedoms. He stated, “I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive,” “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent” and “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” He has also noted that, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”

Jefferson trusted that educating people was a good way to establish an organized society. Jefferson was an intellectual person, learned several languages, and valued education and intellectual pursuit. He wrote, “Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.”

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. He corresponded with many scholars in America and Europe, seeking the best faculty to teach in the areas of philosophy, arts, foreign languages, science, law, and medicine. The University of Virginia was opened in March 1825. Jefferson hosted students for a dinner each Sunday.

Jefferson was considered a very private man. For example, he burned all the letters between himself and his wife after her death.

Thomas Jefferson wished to be remembered for three achievements. His tombstone which he designed and for which he wrote the inscription, reads, “…author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.”