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Thomas Jefferson (April 13 [O.S. April 2] 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American lawyer and Founding Father, and principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776). He was elected the second Vice President of the United States (1797–1801) and the third President (1801–1809). Primarily of English ancestry, he was born and educated in Virginia, where he graduated from the College of William & Mary, practiced law and married Martha Wayles Skelton. Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism and individual rights, which motivated American colonists to break from Great Britain and form a new nation. He produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national level. During the American Revolution, he represented Virginia in the Continental Congress that adopted the Declaration, drafted the law for religious freedom as a Virginia legislator, and served as a wartime governor (1779–1781). He became the United States Minister to France in May 1785, and subsequently the nation's first Secretary of State in 1790–1793 under President George Washington. Jefferson and James Madison organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party during the formation of the First Party System. In 1796 he was elected Vice President under President John Adams. Jefferson and Madison in 1798–1799 anonymously wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which sought to embolden states' rights in opposition to the national government, by nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts. He was elected President of the United States in 1800, and pursued the nation's shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies respectively, while almost doubling the country's territory and curtailing international slave trade. As a result of peace negotiations with France, his administration reduced military forces. After his re-election in 1804, his second term was beset with difficulties at home, including the acquittal of former Vice President Aaron Burr for treason. American foreign trade was diminished when Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act of 1807, in response to British threats to U.S. shipping. In 1803, Jefferson began a controversial process of Indian tribe removal to the newly organized Louisiana Territory and also signed into law in 1807 the disputed Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, which stopped short of addressing domestic slavery. His approach to the Indians and slavery has been vigorously debated, but historians generally rank Jefferson as one of the most successful U.S. Presidents. Jefferson was a polymath whose interests ranged from surveying and mathematics to horticulture and inventions, among others. His foremost book, ''Notes on the State of Virginia'' (1785), is among the nation's momentous publications prior to 1800. He was a proven architect in the classical tradition, whose designs include his home Monticello, the Virginia State Capitol and others. His keen interest in religion and philosophy earned him the presidency of the American Philosophical Society. He shunned organized religion, but was influenced by both Christianity and deism. Besides English, he was well versed in Latin, Greek, French, Italian and Spanish. He founded the University of Virginia in his retirement from public office. Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves and most historians believe that after the death of his wife Martha in 1782, he had a long-term relationship with his slave Sally Hemings, and fathered at least some of her children. Although ineffectual as an orator, he was a skilled writer and corresponded with many influential people in America and Europe. Jefferson died at his home on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. ==Early life and career== (詳細はOS), at the family home in Shadwell, Virginia.〔Tucker, 1837, v.1, p. 18〕 He was of English and possibly Welsh descent.〔Malone, 1948, pp. 5–6〕 His father Peter Jefferson was a planter and surveyor who died when Jefferson was fourteen. His mother was Jane Randolph, daughter of Isham Randolph, a ship's captain and planter. Peter Jefferson's friend William Randolph died a widower in 1745, appointing Peter as guardian to manage his Tuckahoe Plantation and care for his four children. That year the Jeffersons relocated to Tuckahoe, where they lived for the next seven years before returning to Shadwell in 1752. Peter Jefferson died in 1757, and the Jefferson estate was divided between Peter's two sons, Thomas and Randolph.〔Malone, 1948, pp. 31–33〕 Thomas inherited approximately of land, including Monticello, and between 20 and 40 slaves, and had unfettered control of the property at age 21.〔Malone, 1948, pp. 437–40〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thomas Jefferson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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