Thomas Jefferson Research Paper

Thomas Jefferson was and still is a very important face in history. Not only was he the third president of the United States, he was a lawyer, a magistrate, a county lieutenant, a member of the House of Burgesses, as well as a member of the Continental Congress. Most importantly he was one of our Founding fathers who helped shaped our destiny. In his early years, Thomas Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary. While attending William and Mary he studied philosophy for two years under the tutelage of professor William Small. Jefferson was known around campus for his hard work and dedication, and for standing firm on what he believed in. After studying philosophy Jefferson went on to study law for five years. He studied law under the already respectable and well known Virginia attorney George Wythe (History.com, 2009). In 1776, Jefferson was a part of the five-man committee drafted to write the Declaration of Independence, which states why we demanded freedom and independence. He was appointed leader of the five-man committee because he had already established a reputation for himself. This reputation came after he published “A Summary View of the Right of British America”. It was proposed in 1774 and was a set of instructions addressed to the first Continental

Shortly after serving Jefferson was appointed leader of Board of Revisers. Jefferson was not too fond of many laws already set into play, so sought out to have many revised. In the years of serving he helped build laws. The state for religious freedom, was one. This law was to “separate church and state and removing the private right of religious belief from control by public law” (Ellis, 2016). Another was “The Bill for General Education”. This law would give everyone whether rich or poor, the same amount of education freedom (Ellis, 2016). By passing these laws Jefferson hoped for a better government for the