<h1>Pioneer of American democracy</h1>
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, to a wealthy farmer's family in Virginia. Because of the good family conditions, he got a good education.
In 1752, at the age of 9, Jefferson began studying Latin, Ancient Greek, and French.
In 1757, Jefferson's father died, and at the age of 14 he inherited about 5,000 acres of land and dozens of black slaves. Thereafter, he began to study history and the natural sciences, and in 1760 he began a two-year study of mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophy with eminent scholars. Legend has it that he was reading for 15 hours a day at this time, carrying books with him, and was called the "encyclopedia of activities".
In 1762, Jefferson began studying law, in 1767 he qualified as a lawyer, and over the next seven years of his career as a lawyer he handled thousands of cases.
In 1769, Jefferson was elected a member of the Virginia Assembly.
In 1774, he wrote a pamphlet, A Review of the Rights of British America, in which he questioned the legitimacy of the British Crown's colonial rights and told people that "the British Parliament has no right to exercise power over us." The book caused a stir in China, the booming independence movement.
<h1>Drafting the Declaration of Independence: Changing the World with Words</h1>
In May 1775, Jefferson attended the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia as a virginia delegate.
The meeting decided that a five-member committee would be responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson, who was good at law, familiar with the system of government, and well-written, was the best candidate, and the manifesto was eventually written by Jefferson and slightly revised by Franklin and Adams.
The Declaration of Independence is a proclamation of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain by the thirteen British colonies of North America and is one of the most important founding instruments of the United States. July 4, 1776, was approved by the Second Continental Congress, and this day became the Anniversary of American Independence.
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson attacked British rule and oppression of the colonies:
"He forced the people of the vast land to give up their seats in Parliament, feared only by tyrants; he obstructed the administration of justice; he controlled the term of office of judges; he held offices in a big way; he made military power independent above civil rights; he imposed taxes without consent; he instigated ruthless Indians to kill the inhabitants of our frontier; he imprisoned our fellow citizens.
At every stage of these oppressions, we are always humble and willing, asking Him to correct us, and we petition again and again, and the response is repeated humiliation. A monarch, every word and every deed, reveals that he is a tyrant by nature and is not worthy to rule over a free people. ”
He told people in words that "all men are created equal":
"We believe that the following truths are self-evident: that all men are created equal, that the Creator has given them a number of non-negotiable rights, including survival, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. In order to guarantee these rights, governments are formed among people, and the legitimate rights of those who govern them come from the consent of the governed. At any time, in any form of government, once these objectives are violated, people have the right to change the government, or to abolish the old government and form a new one, laying the basic principles of government and forming the form of government in the way that the people feel best guarantees their safety and happiness. ”
<h1>Third President of the United States</h1>
From 1779 to 1781, Jefferson was governor of Virginia. During Jefferson's reign, Virginia was invaded twice by the British, and he resigned as governor in 1781 and retired to a private residence.
In 1783, Jefferson returned to Congress, and from 1784 to 1789 he went on a mission with Franklin to France.
In 1789, Washington was elected the first president of the United States, and Jefferson was appointed the first secretary of state of the United States. During his tenure as secretary of state, he disagreed with first Treasury Secretary Hamilton on economic and diplomatic issues.
In 1793, Jefferson resigned as secretary of state and set out to build a Democratic Republican Party against Hamilton's Federalist Party.
In 1796, Washington insisted on retirement, and Jefferson was elected vice president for losing to Adams in the presidential race.
In 1800, Jefferson finally defeated Adams and was elected third President of the United States.
<h1>The biggest bargain that the United States picked up after the founding of the People's Republic of China: the Louisiana land purchase case</h1>
Originally one of Spanish colonies in North America, the Louisiana region was transferred to France by signing a secret treaty with France in 1800.
When Jefferson learned of this, he feared that the transfer would deprive the United States of navigation rights on the Mississippi River and the right to use New Orleans, so he immediately sent someone to negotiate with Napoleon about the purchase of land.
Coincidentally, Napoleon was suffering a military setback and desperately needed war funds, so he proposed to sell the entire Louisiana area to the United States, not just New Orleans.
Although the United States originally planned to bid only two million dollars to buy New Orleans, how can such a good thing be missed? Thus came the famous Louisiana Land Purchase Case: in 1803, after negotiations, the United States purchased more than two and a half million square kilometers of land from France for about three cents per acre, for a total transaction price of fifteen million US dollars.
The land purchase doubled the territory of the United States.
<h1>Founded university, died in debt</h1>
In March 1825, the University of Virginia, the first university in the United States, which had nothing to do with religious doctrine, was founded by Thomas Jefferson. The University of Virginia is now the second-ranked public university in the United States.
From 1816 onwards, Jefferson, who was in his seventies, began to devote himself to the establishment of the school, and although the state House of Representatives finally agreed to build the school under his efforts, it only allocated $15,000 a year to the college.
Jefferson was president for eight years, but it seemed that his income could not cover all kinds of expenses, but instead owed more than $50,000 in debt.
On July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson died at home in Virginia, and his debts remained unpaid until his death.
<h1>Meritorious enough to go up Presidential Hill</h1>
On Thomas Jefferson's tombstone is an epitaph of his own design:
The author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Religious Freedom Act, the father of the University of Virginia, is buried here.
He doesn't want people to remember him as one of america's founding fathers, who was president of the United States for eight years, but he wants people to remember his Declaration of Independence, and his spirit can be passed on in the university he founded.
Thomas Jefferson's work made a significant contribution to the freedom and progress of the United States and the world, and his merits were enough to make him carved on the presidential hill and admired by all people.
Second from left: Jefferson