Submitted by: Jullie Marie C.

Lugong
BSED major in English 3
E214 Innovative Leadership in Education TF 3-4:30 PM
Submitted to: Ms. Brenda P. Bragat
April 9, 2022

THOMAS JEFFERSON
I. Biography
Jefferson was born April 13, 1743, on his father’s plantation
of Shadwell located along the Rivanna River in the Piedmont region of
central Virginia at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His father
Peter Jefferson was a successful planter and surveyor and his mother Jane
Randolph a member of one of Virginia’s most distinguished families. When
Jefferson was fourteen, his father died, and he inherited a sizeable estate of
approximately 5,000 acres. That inheritance included the house at Shadwell,
but Jefferson dreamed of living on a mountain.
In 1768 he contracted for the clearing of a 250 feet square site on the
topmost point of the 868-foot mountain that rose above Shadwell and where
he played as a boy. He would name this mountain Monticello, and the house
that he would build and rebuild over a forty-year period took on this name
as well. He would later refer to this ongoing project, the home that he loved,
as “my essay in Architecture.” The following year, after preparing the site,
he began construction of a small brick structure that would consist of a
single room with a walk-out basement kitchen and workroom below. This
would eventually be referred to as the South Pavilion and was where he lived first alone and then with his bride,
Martha Wayles Skelton, following their marriage in January 1772.
Unfortunately, Martha would never see the completion of Monticello; she died in the tenth year of their marriage,
and Jefferson lost “the cherished companion of my life.” Their marriage produced six children but only two survived
into adulthood, Martha (known as Patsy) and Mary (known as Maria or Polly).
Along with the land Jefferson inherited slaves from his father and even more slaves from his father-in-law, John
Wayles; he also bought and sold enslaved people. In a typical year, he owned about 200, almost half of them under
the age of sixteen. About eighty of these enslaved individuals lived at Monticello; the others lived on his adjacent
Albemarle County farms, and on his Poplar Forest estate in Bedford County, Virginia. Over the course of his life,
he owned over 600 enslaved people. These men, women and children were integral to the running of his farms and
building and maintaining his home at Monticello. Some were given training in various trades, others worked the
fields, and some worked inside the main house.
Many of the enslaved house servants were members of the Hemings family. Elizabeth Hemings and her children
were a part of the Wayles estate and tradition says that John Wayles was the father of six of Hemings’s children
and, thus, they were the half-brothers and sisters of Jefferson’s wife Martha. Jefferson gave the Hemingses special
positions, and the only slaves Jefferson freed in his lifetime and in his will were all Hemingses, giving credence to
the oral history. Years after his wife’s death, Thomas Jefferson fathered at least six of Sally Hemings’s children.
Four survived to adulthood and are mentioned in Jefferson’s plantation records. Their daughter Harriet and eldest
son Beverly were allowed to leave Monticello during Jefferson’s lifetime and the two youngest
sons, Madison and Eston, were freed in Jefferson’s will.
II. Achievements
After a two-year course of study at the College of William and Mary that he began at age seventeen, Jefferson read
the law for five years with Virginia’s prominent jurist, George Wythe, and recorded his first legal case in 1767. In
two years, he was elected to Virginia’s House of Burgesses (the legislature in colonial Virginia).
His first political work to gain broad acclaim was a 1774 draft of directions for Virginia’s delegation to the First
Continental Congress, reprinted as a “Summary View of the Rights of British America.” Here he boldly reminded
George III that, “he is no more than the chief officer of the people, appointed by the laws, and circumscribed with
definite powers, to assist in working the great machine of government. . . .” Nevertheless, in his “Summary View”
he maintained that it was not the wish of Virginia to separate from
the mother country. But two years later as a member of the Second
Continental Congress and chosen to draft the Declaration of
Independence, he put forward the colonies’ arguments for
declaring themselves free and independent states. The Declaration
has been regarded as a charter of American and universal liberties.
The document proclaims that all men are equal in rights,
regardless of birth, wealth, or status; that those rights are inherent
in each human, a gift of the creator, not a gift of government, and
that government is the servant and not the master of the people.
Jefferson recognized that the principles he included in the
Declaration had not been fully realized and would remain a
challenge across time, but his poetic vision continues to have a
profound influence in the United States and around the world.
Abraham Lincoln made just this point when he declared:
After Jefferson left Congress in 1776, he returned to Virginia and
served in the legislature. In late 1776, as a member of the new
House of Delegates of Virginia, he worked closely with James
Madison. Their first collaboration, to end the religious establishment in Virginia, became a legislative battle which
would culminate with the passage of Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786.
Elected governor from 1779 to 1781, he suffered an inquiry into his conduct during the British invasion of Virginia
in his last year in office that, although the investigation was finally repudiated by the General Assembly, left him
with a life-long pricklishness in the face of criticism and generated a life-long enmity toward Patrick Henry whom
Jefferson blamed for the investigation. The investigation “inflicted a wound on my spirit which will only be cured
by the all-healing grave” Jefferson told James Monroe.
During the brief private interval in his life following his governorship, Jefferson completed the one book which he
authored, Notes on the State of Virginia. Several aspects of this work were highly controversial. With respect to
slavery, in Notes Jefferson recognized the gross injustice of the institution – warning that because of slavery “I
tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his Justice cannot sleep for ever.” But he also expressed
racist views of blacks’ abilities; albeit he recognized that his views of their limitations might result from the
degrading conditions to which they had been subjected for many years. With respect to religion,
Jefferson’s Notes emphatically supported a broad religious freedom and opposed any establishment or linkage
between church and state, famously insisting that “it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty
gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
In 1784, he entered public service again, in France, first as trade commissioner and then as Benjamin Franklin's
successor as U.S. minister. During this period, he avidly studied European culture, sending home to Monticello,
books, seeds and plants, along with architectural drawings, artwork, furniture, scientific instruments, and
information.
In 1790 he agreed to be the first secretary of state under the new Constitution in the administration of the first
president, George Washington. His tenure was marked by his opposition to the policies of Alexander
Hamilton which Jefferson believed both encouraged a larger and more powerful national government and were too
pro-British. In 1796, as the presidential candidate of the nascent Democratic-Republican Party, he became vice-
president after losing to John Adams by three electoral votes. Four years later, he defeated Adams in another hotly
contested election and became president, the first peaceful transfer of authority from one party to another in the
history of the young nation.
Perhaps the most notable achievements of his first term were the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 and
his support of the Lewis and Clark expedition. His second term, a time when he encountered more difficulties on
both the domestic and foreign fronts, is most remembered for his efforts to maintain neutrality in the midst of the
conflict between Britain and France. Unfortunately, his efforts did not avert a war with Britain in 1812 after he had
left office and his friend and colleague, James Madison, had assumed the presidency.
Other men would serve as U.S. president and hold the public offices he had filled, but only he was the primary
draftsman of the Declaration of Independence and of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, nor could others
claim the position as the Father of the University of Virginia. More importantly, through these three
accomplishments he had made an enormous contribution to the aspirations of a new America and to the dawning
hopes of repressed people around the world. He had dedicated his life to meeting the challenges of his age: political
freedom, religious freedom, and educational opportunity.
III. Impacts and Contribution to Education
In 1785, Jefferson proposed a system of public schools for the Commonwealth of Virginia in the interest of
"diffusing knowledge more generally through the mass of the people". According to Jefferson, "The ultimate result
of the whole scheme of education would be the teaching all the children of the state reading, writing, and common
arithmetic: turning out [several] annually of superior genius, well taught in Greek, Latin, geography, and the higher
branches of arithmetic: turning out...others annually, of still superior parts, who, to those branches of learning, shall
have added such of the sciences as their genius shall have led them to." As a byproduct, this plan would furnish "to
the wealthier part of the people convenient schools, at which their children may be educated, at their own expense."
The plan was for education of children in three successive stages corresponding with three types of schools: primary
schools, which all children, regardless of their parents' financial ability, would be able to attend for at least three
years; intermediate schools, for students who excelled in primary school, as well as for children whose parents are
willing and able to pay for it; and the university, for students whose parents were willing to pay.
After leaving the presidency, Jefferson continued to be
active in public affairs. He also became increasingly
concerned with founding a new institution of higher
learning, specifically one free of church influences,
where students could specialize in many new areas not
offered at other universities. Jefferson believed
educating people was a good way to establish an
organized society, and also felt schools should be paid
for by the general public, so less wealthy people could
obtain student membership as well. A letter to Joseph
Priestley, in January, 1800, indicated that he had been
planning the University for decades before its
establishment.
His dream was realized in 1819 with the founding of the University of Virginia. Upon its opening in 1825, it was
then the first university to offer a full slate of elective courses to its students.
Jefferson wanted education to be simple enough for the common man to understand but wanted it to be complex so
that they could generate wise people out of universities. This process created more and more professors in the
country and helped further education in the states.
IV. Epigram
When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred. -Thomas Jefferson
It speaks of being mindful about what you are to say or what do you want to express when you’re at the verge of
your emotions. It highlights the value of being sensitive and aware of the possible consequences of your words and
actions.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator
with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -Thomas
Jefferson
These stirring words were designed to convince Americans to put their lives on the line for the cause. Separation
from the mother country threatened their sense of security, economic stability, and identity. The preamble sought
to inspire and unite them through the vision of a better life.
When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property. -Thomas Jefferson
Public trust refers to collective faith that a society reposes on its officials. When a public servant assumes public
trust, he is morally bound to put himself in the shoes of his citizens. Being a public servant is not a vocation. Every
civil servant is morally bound to give back of society. After all, he is just a trustee on behalf of the people.
We never repent of having eaten too little. -Thomas Jefferson
This means that oftentimes people don’t regret doing things when it’s done in a minimal manner, and otherwise
regret when done so excessively. It’s an aphorism. A comment that contains general truth.
V. Contributions to Humanity
Thomas Jefferson’s ideas about politics and government greatly influenced early American history. He believed
that the American Revolution represented a clean break with the past and that the United States should reject all
European versions of political discipline and resist efforts to create a strong central governmental authority. Thomas
Jefferson is remembered for being the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of
the United States. The fact that he owned over 600 enslaved people during his life while forcefully advocating for
human freedom and equality made Jefferson one of America’s most problematic and paradoxical heroes. Thomas
Jefferson matters today because he fought for freedom, he fought for equality, and what he did as president still
affects what America is today. Thomas Jefferson fought for our country's freedom. He made his voice heard against
the tyranny that the British soldiers were placing on the colonists.
Did his/her leadership constitute the Attributes of an Innovative Leader?
I believe Thomas Jefferson has shown what it truly means to be a leader, not just a mere leader but an innovative
one. He has shown in his leadership what it is like to defy the limits and go beyond it. He embodies a strong-willed
leader whose values and vision for its citizens are concrete and achievable. He thinks and does what deems to be
great for his people. He employs methods and actions that are groundbreaking and justifiably remarkable.