Thomas Jefferson Day – April 13, 2027

History of Thomas Jefferson Day

We can only understand the significance of Thomas Jefferson Day once we understand how significant he was in the building of the United States. As a political philosopher, Jefferson associated himself with many intellectual leaders in Britain and France. Jefferson advocated for the separation of the church and state and wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.

Jefferson was renowned as, among other things, a horticulturist, statesman, architect, archaeologist, author, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia! In the early stages of his career, Jefferson practiced law and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1794, Jefferson wrote A Summary View of the Rights of British America. This was intended as instructions for the Virginia delegates to a national congress. The pamphlet was a powerful argument for American independence. The summary also stated why Britain should relinquish its powers. The summary helped speed up the path to independence and marked Jefferson as one of the Founding Fathers of the new nation. Since Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and a significant contributor to American political and civil culture, it was decided that Jefferson would write the first draft of the Declaration. Later on, the draft underwent some alteration but remained largely Jefferson’s work.

After Jefferson retired from public office, he founded the University of Virginia. Jefferson passed away on Independence Day, July 4, 1826. This day was also the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.