"Notes on the State of Virginia" is the only full-length book by Thomas Jefferson published during his lifetime. Jefferson first published the book anonymously in a private and limited-edition printing in Paris in 1785 while he was serving as a trade representative for the new American government. "Notes on the State of Virginia" was later made available to the general public in a 1787 printing in London by John Stockdale. Jefferson's detailed description...

The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American

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Barbara B. Oberg, senior research scholar and lecturer with the rank of professor at Princeton University, is general editor of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Volume 38 opens on 1 July 1802, when Jefferson is in Washington, and closes on 12 November, when he is again there. For the last week of July and all of August and September, he resides at Monticello. Frequent correspondence with his heads of department and two visits with Secretary of State...

The United States Declaration of Independence (formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America) is the pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. The Declaration explained why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule. With the Declaration,...

During his remarkable lifetime, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) served his country in many capacities-among them, as President of the United States. But ultimately, this great and talented man-an accomplished architect, naturalist, and linguist-wished to be remembered primarily as the author of the Declaration of Independence. In his autobiography, begun in 1821 at the age of 77, Jefferson presents a detailed account of his young life and the period...

"Let us re-adopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it, the practices, and policy, which harmonize with it. ... If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union: but we shall have saved it, as to make, and keep it, forever worthy of the saving." – Abraham Lincoln

J. Jefferson Looney is editor of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, which is sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Charlottesville, Virginia. The 526 documents printed in this volume run from 28 November 1813 to 30 September 1814. During this period Jefferson reviews the extant sources on the 1765 Stamp Act crisis to aid William Wirt, a Patrick Henry scholar; records his largely positive impressions of George Washington;...

Soon after the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, the Thirteen Colonies proclaimed their independence from British rule and became the United States of America. The written word proved vital in shaping America's new identity, laying the groundwork for societal principles and political doctrine alike. From Thomas Jefferson and the members of the Second Continental Congress, to Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, the authors...

Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams and as the first United States secretary of state under George Washington. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism,...

"I cannot live without books." "Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." "I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United...