There are huge stone statues of four American presidents in Mount Rushmore Memorial National Park.
These are based on the motifs of four of the most successful presidents of the United States, from left to right:George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
This time, let's take a look at Thomas Jefferson, one of the drafters of the United States Constitution and the third president.
One of the greatest presidents
John Fitzgerald Kennedy once invited 49 Nobel laureates to a dinner at the White House.
At that time, he is said to have said the following words.
"I think everyone who gathered today is the culmination of the most outstanding talent and knowledge ever gathered at the White House ... except when Thomas Jefferson ate alone here.
Thomas was born in the Colony of Virginia as the third child of a large farmer. He was a brilliant man who began learning Latin and French at the age of nine, and at the age of fifteen his father died and his two older siblings died, so Thomas had 20 acres of land and numbers from his father. Inherit ten slaves.
He is enthusiastic about studying horns, studying not only language but also history, philosophy, and anything that can be learned with mathematics in various sciences. is doing.
He said he was studying for 15 hours a day at times, and he enjoyed the violin and loved classics such as Homer.
After graduating, he studied law and was active as a lawyer, especially in defending blacks.
Around this time, he built a mansion called "Monticello" in his garden, which was later recognized as a World Heritage Site.
Jefferson is said to have borrowed a large amount of money to build this mansion and settled a large number of slaves here.
Some of the blacks under Jefferson were able to read and write, and were granted some freedom.
Besides his lawyer business, Thomas was also a member of the Virginia Parliament, campaigning against the Stamp Act and other laws from Britain's home country.
He argued that the opposition movement did not use force and that the colonies should be discussed in the Provincial Congress, but in Britain, the colonies were in the British Parliament. I argue against this when I decide only. He leads to the famous "no taxation without representation".
It is said that Jefferson himself had no intention of independence, but in 1775 the Battle of Lexington and Concord began, and the American Revolutionary War was struck down.
Thomas participated as a representative of Virginia at the Continental Congress, was involved in drafting important documents for the King of England, and together with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Constitution, which were the predecessors of the United States Declaration of Independence. Will be.
These eventually became the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and on July 4, 1776, the United States finally became independent of Britain.
In this case, the contents of the original quarter have been deleted, and the item that prohibits slavery that Jefferson put in has been deleted, and this part will remain as a sword until later.
In particular, it became a relationship with John Adams from around this time, and it became a conflict until it was settled in 1812.
After independence, Thomas is busy updating the text of American law. It contains important texts that continue to the present day, such as freedom of religion.
However, the text about the ban on slavery, which Thomas said he most wanted to enter, could not finally be realized due to the opposition of the American privileged class.
Instead, Thomas succeeds in enacting a bill banning slave imports.
Although Thomas was a political success in this way, he escaped when his hometown was occupied by Britain, and he is sometimes ridiculed as the president who fled in front of the enemy. Unlike his military man, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson was a true civilian.
Became an ambassador to France in 1785, stayed in France until 1789, eventually became Secretary of State when George Washington became the first president, established the Democratic Republic in 1790, and subsequently established a leading position in the US Parliament. ..
Eventually, when George Washington quit the three elections, John Adams became the second president of the United States, Thomas became the vice president, and in 1800 he became the third president of the United States.
Jefferson reduced domestic taxes and raised tariff revenues as the basis for his policy. This is what President Trump is aiming for as of 2019.
Surprisingly, during Thomas' term, the United States wages a war called the Barbary Wars with Ottoman-controlled Tripoli, and Thomas himself commands and wins.
Eventually he also founded an army officer's school, purchased Louisiana from Napoleon I of France, and expanded its territory at once.
In addition, he was very enthusiastic about studying, and he is very enthusiastic about the educational business, and he is also founding the University of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson had such a wide range of activities, but on July 4, 1826, just 50 years after the independence of the United States, he quietly died.
Curiously, John Adams, the second president of the United States, also took over on the same day, and it seems that Thomas Jefferson died a little earlier.
He is 83 years old.
Thomas Jefferson was considered to be the wealthiest person in the United States, but he said he was found to have a huge legacy after his death.
Personal evaluation of Thomas Jefferson
He is a very hard-working person, and in his later years he also read the Quran.
He is an American conscience who wants to release slaves while he was born into a wealthy class, and he is a person who will always be named when choosing the greatest American president of the future.
When assessing the president of the United States, we must emphasize the policy of slavery. He has left such a deep-seated problem in American society that it cannot be said that he has truly solved it even in the 21st century.
In that sense, Thomas Jefferson is an undisputed president, and it is reasonable to say that he is one of the greatest presidents of all time.