Wordsworth American classics
1 total work
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third President of the United States, and was almost constantly in the political service of Virginia and the nation until his retirement from the presidency. Among the papers unpublished at his death was his "Autobiography", which revealed for posterity the account of his life, lived at the centre of great political and social change. Indeed, Jefferson was responsible for many of these changes. He made an important contribution to the Revolutionary cause and he was almost wholly responsible for the spirit and phrasing of the "Declaration of Independence". He composed his own epitaph which summarizes his lifelong quest of liberty - political, religious and intellectual: "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia".