1774  Thomas Jefferson wrote A Summary View of the Rights of British America, an important document in the growing independence movement
1776  Wrote Declaration of Independence, passed after some alteration

1776 Elected to Virginia House of Delegates also appointed to revise Virginia laws.

1777 Drafted Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, passed by General Assembly in 1786. Jefferson later said this was one of his most significant achievements.

1778 Drafted Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge. Education was always a key feature in Jefferson’s belief’s

“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”

– Thomas Jefferson

1783 Elected delegate to Congress

1790 -93   Served as first United States Secretary of State.

1797 -1801 Served as United States Vice President.

1801 – 09 Served as United States President.

1805  Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of America

1817   Cornerstone of Central College (later University of Virginia) laid.

1825 University of Virginia opened.

Jefferson wanted his greatest achievements to be written on his tombstone. Jefferson chose these words and these accomplishments

HERE WAS BURIED
THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR OF THE
DECLARATION
OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE
STATUTE OF VIRGINIA
FOR
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
BORN APRIL 2, 1743 O.S.
DIED JULY 4. 1826

When President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962, saying, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

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