Jamestown, Virginia

Route of the Mayflower in 1620

The Mayflower

Purchase of Manhattan by the Dutch, 1624

European Colonization of the Americas

The Thirteen Colonies of England

The Thirteen Colonies

Slavery in America

Triangular Trade

Diagram of Slave Ship

Jefferson born at Shadwell Plantation, Virginia 1743

Jefferson’s MentorsBy the time he came to College of William and Mary, Jefferson could read Greek and Latin authors in the

original. With William Small, he studied natural philosophy (physics, metaphysics, and mathematics) and moral

philosophy (rhetoric, logic, and ethics), often for fifteen hours a day. Later he studied law with George Wythe.

William Small George Wythe Francis Fauquier

Stamp Act (1765)

Repeal of the Stamp Act (1767)

Placed by Thomas Jefferson in the Virginia Gazette, September 14, 1769

Boston Massacre, 1770

Jefferson:architect, inventor, farmer

Martha Wayles Skelton 1748-1782

Boston Tea Party, 1773

The Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty or give me death."

Thomas Paine writes the pamphlet “Common Sense”

Founding Fathers:John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock

The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776

Presentation of the Declaration to the Continental Congress

King George III: “Nothing important happened today.”

Washington’s Retreat from New York

Washington's Troops Crossing the Delaware River

The British Surrender at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781

The Treaty of Paris, 1783: England recognizes the United States as an Independent nation. Can you recognize anyone in this painting?The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed

“Behold me at length on the vaunted scene of Europe!... You are perhaps, curious to know how this new scene has struck a savage of the mountains of America...Were I to proceed to tell you how much I enjoy their architecture, sculpture, painting, music, I should want words. It is in these arts they shine.”Thomas Jefferson in Paris, September, 1785

“A black, after hard labour through the day, will be induced by the slightest amusements to sit up till midnight, or later, though knowing he must be out with the first dawn of the morning. They are at least as brave, and more adventuresome. But this may perhaps proceed from a want of forethought, which prevents their seeing a danger till it be present. When present, they do not go through it with more coolness or steadiness than the whites. They are more ardent after their female: but love seems with them to be more an eager desire, than a tender delicate mixture of sentiment and sensation. Their griefs are transient.”

Thomas Jefferson: Notes on the State of Virginia 1785

Separation of Church and State

Debating the Constitution

The Creation of the U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Constitution

Amendment One: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

George Washington becomes the first U.S. President.

The Election of 1800: Adams (Federalism) versus Jefferson (Republicanism): the beginning of a two-party system.

1800: Jefferson is Elected President

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806)

Jefferson’s Home at Monticello

Jefferson and Adams renew their friendship--1812

“You ask if I would agree to live my 70. or rather 73. years over again? To which I say Yea. I think with you that it is a good world on the whole, that it has been framed on a principle of benevolence . . . . I steer my bark with Hope in the head, leaving Fear astern. (1816)

Jefferson’s Book Collection

“I cannot live without books”—Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, June, 1815

The Library of Congress

The Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress

The University of Virginia, Founded and Designed by Thomas Jefferson

The University of Virginia, The First Public University in the United States

Jefferson's tombstone at Monticello

Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Inside the Jefferson Memorial