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Thomas Jefferson: The Virginia Statute For Religious Freedom

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Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1773 his birth place was Charlottesville, Virginia right outside the western edge of Great Britain’s empire. Thomas Jefferson was born into one of the most prominent families in Virginia. Jane Randolph Jefferson his mother, was a member of the Randolph clan. Peter Jefferson his father was a very skilled farmer and cartographer who created the first accurate map of the Province of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd born out of ten siblings. When Thomas Jefferson was a young boy his favorite activities were playing in the woods, practicing the violin and reading.
At the age of nine his formal education started by studying Latin and Greek at a local private school run by William Douglas. At the age of 14, in 1757, he took up more study of the classical languages and literature and mathematics by James Maury. In 1760 Jefferson left home to attend the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Three years at William and …show more content…
The other four members were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson was responsible for writing the first draft—within 17 days, the draft document was written, reviewed and revised by the committee, and presented to Congress. Jefferson considered The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom to be one of his greatest accomplishments. This document, which was introduced into the Virginia General Assembly in 1779, declared freedom of religion a “natural right” and became a model for the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Jefferson served as the country’s first Secretary of State under President George Washington. In this office, he advocated for each state to pay its own portion of the Revolutionary War debt and supported France in its war with Britain, though he believed the United States should maintain neutrality in the

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