Thomas Jefferson, a highly educated Virginian lawyer in the late eighteenth century, is known most notably as the author of the Declaration of Independence. However, Jefferson affected events during that time in many more ways. Jefferson was an exceedingly brilliant man, and very politically motivated. He helped found our country, nursing it along in its youthful, turbulent beginnings, and he strove to improve upon it in many ways. He was our third president, and he even played a part in developing the political parties we see today. Jefferson affected his time in many ways, some he is well known for, and some he is not.Jefferson received his first taste of politics when he was elected to the House of Burgesses, at that time under British rule in America. During his time there, he brought several pieces of legislature to the House dealing with the abolition of slavery, even though he knew it to be a hopeless cause at the time, and he himself owned slaves. Instead of the complete abolition of slavery, Jefferson then concentrated on the limiting of it. He worked to reduce the number of slaves in the population, believing that all men are created equal and no man had the right to take another as his property. These ideas were unheard of, and while Jefferson put forth a valiant effort in this fight, no legislation was passed to limit slavery in any way, for it was a necessary part of the Southern economy.When Jefferson journeyed to take a place at the Constitutional Congress, he met many great minds of the day. These included such men as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and many more men who Jefferson respected and admired. Fast becoming known for his skills with the written word, the young Jefferson was given the responsibility of putting pen to paper for the Congress. In this capacity, Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. During the war, Jefferson was a member of the Congress, and he als...
