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Thomas Jefferson Was born
Thomas Jefferson is born in Shadwell, Virginia (later Albemarle County), the eldest son of Peter Jefferson, a farmer/surveyor, and Jane Randolph, the wealthy scion of an aristocratic family. -
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Birth to death
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Death of Jefferson's Father
Peter Jefferson dies, leaving his fourteen-year-old son Thomas his slaves and lands. Thomas becomes head of the Jefferson household, but is able to continue his studies thanks to the guardianship of his family's friends. -
Jefferson begins his studies at the college of William and Mary
Thomas Jefferson begins studying at the College of William & Mary. Professor of Moral Philosophy William Small inspires the young Jefferson to consider how private virtue underlies public life. He becomes acquainted with the Lieutenant Governor, Francis Fauquier, and George Wythe, a famous and well-educated lawyer. -
Thomas begins his Law Studies
Jefferson graduates from William & Mary and begins reading law with George Wythe. -
Thomea becomes a part of the Stamp Act
The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act, angering colonists up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Patrick Henry, a Virginia representative, leads the colonial resistance. -
Jefferson becomes a lawyer
Jefferson concludes his studies with George Wythe, is admitted to the Virginia Bar, and moves back to Shadwell. -
Jefferson marries Martha Wayles Skelton
Jefferson marries Martha Wayles Skelton, the recently widowed daughter of the wealthy planter John Wayles Sketlon. Martha is 5 years Jefferson's junior, very cultured, and quite pretty. -
Boston Tea Party
In protest against the newly passed taxes on tea, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Indians, raid the British ships docked in Boston harbor and dump their cargo of tea into the Charles River in an act that will become known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Intolerable Acts
The British Parliament responds to the Boston Tea Party by passing the Intolerable Acts (also known as the Coercive Acts) which close Boston Harbor, strip away many of Massachusetts' self-governing powers, and provide de-facto immunity to British soldiers. -
A Summary View of the Rights of British America
Jefferson authors A Summary View of the Rights of British America to instruct the Virginia delegates to the first Continental Congress. Its publication earns Jefferson a measure of fame among colonial politicians, establishing his reputation as an independence-favoring radical. -
The Shot Heard 'Round the World
The Battles of Lexington and Concord mark the start of the American Revolutionary War. -
Drafting Committee for Declaration of Independence
Richard Henry Lee, delegate from Virginia, introduces three resolutions calling for independence from Britain. Jefferson, along with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and two others, is assigned to the committee charged with drafting what will become the Declaration of Independence. -
Editing the Decleration
The Second Continental Congress adopts Richard Henry Lee's independence resolutions. Jefferson's declaration is received by the Congress, which engages in two days of line-by-line edits. -
The Declaration of Independence
Following substantial edits, Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is approved by Congress. It is immediately published and circulated throughout the colonies and in Europe. -
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Jefferson authors the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, disestablishing the Episcopalian Church as Virginia's state religion and inaugurating the doctrine of the separation of church and state. The statute, later cited by Jefferson as one of his life's greatest achievements, will not pass into law until James Madison shepherds it through the House in 1786. -
Jeffersons first daughter is born
The first child of Thomas Jefferson and Martha Skelton, a daughter named Martha Jefferson, is born at Monticello. She will go by Patsy until she reaches adulthood. -
Governor of Virginia
Jefferson is elected the second governor of Virginia, the previous governor, Patrick Henry, having already served three one-year terms. -
British Invasion of Virginia
British armies led by Benedict Arnold and Charles Cornwallis invade Virginia, forcing Jefferson to evacuate the state government. -
Resignation from Governorship
Jefferson finishes his second term as governor and immediately steps down, leaving Virginia without an executive until his successor is elected eight days later. -
Yorktown
George Washington's victory at the Battle of Yorktown, in tidewater Virginia, results in the surrender of Great Britain's army, effectively ending the Revolutionary War. -
Formal End of Revolutionary War
The Treaty of Paris officially brings an end to the Revolutionary War and confers international recognition on American independence. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention starts to meet in Philadelphia, under the watchful eye of George Washington. Jefferson remains away in France. James Madison, Jefferson's best friend, is the Convention's star, and keeps Jefferson as informed about the details as he can, given the long distances his letters must travel and the Convention's self-imposed secrecy. -
Beginning of French Revolution
The storming of the Bastille prison, in Paris, marks the beginning of the French Revolution. Jefferson supports a moderate, aristocratic faction, lending a hand to the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, issued on 26 August 1789. -
Return to America
After Patsy threatens to convert to Catholicism and become a nun, Jefferson returns to the United States to put his daughters into a more wholesome environment. He fully expects to return to France. However, when Jefferson arrives in Norfolk, Virginia he finds a letter from President Washington congratulating him on his appointment as secretary of state. -
Deal with Hamilton and Madison
Jefferson helps broker a deal between Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, and James Madison, now the most powerful man in Congress, to allow the federal assumption of state debts in exchange for the location of the permanent capital on the Potomac River. -
Hamilton vs. Jefferson
France begins mass conscription as the European wars escalate in scale. Back in the United States, France's decision fans the flames of the fight between the Federalists and the Republicans, to new heights, as Hamilton, a Federalist, supports Britain, while Jefferson, the leader of the Republicans, supports France. Increasingly frustrated with Hamilton and the divided cabinet, Thomas Jefferson pressures President Washington to let him resign. -
Divisions between Federalists and Republicans
France begins mass conscription as the European wars escalate in scale. Back in the United States, France's decision fans the flames of the fight between the Federalists and the Republicans, to new heights, as Hamilton, a Federalist, supports Britain, while Jefferson, the leader of the Republicans, supports France. Increasingly frustrated with Hamilton and the divided cabinet, Thomas Jefferson pressures President Washington to let him resign. -
Resignation and Return to Monticello
Jefferson resigns as secretary of state and goes home to Monticello to tend to his fields. Unbeknownst to him, Madison begins to plan Jefferson's presidential campaign for 1796. -
Election of 1796
George Washington's farewell address marks the start of the first contested presidential campaign in American history, pitting Federalist John Adams against Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams will win the election by 3 votes in the Electoral College. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Adams administration sponsors the Alien and Sedition Acts, leading to the imprisonment of a number of Republican newspaper editors critical of the government. Jefferson feels the acts to be unconscionable violations of basic rights, and works with Madison to author, in secret, a pair of protests, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. -
Hamilton vs. Adams
With George Washington's death, the Federalist Party divides between its two most prominent remaining leaders, heralds John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. The two publicly attack each other in embarrassing acts of character assassination, undermining their party's appeal. -
Revolution of 1800
Jefferson defeats Adams to win the presidency as Republicans sweep elections nationwide. What will come to be known as the "Revolution of 1800" marks the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another in American history. -
Jefferson Inaugural
Jefferson is sworn in as the third president of the United States in the new capital city of Washington, D.C., becoming the first president to take office there. Historians believe that his inaugural address is the first speech he has ever delivered in public. -
Marbury v. Madison
Supreme Court Justice John Marshall establishes the principle of Judicial Review with his landmark ruling in Marbury v. Madison. Jefferson, not a fan of the Federalist Marshall, finds the ruling undemocratic. -
Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson purchases the 800,000-square-mile Louisiana Territory from French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte for $15 Million, or roughly 4 cents an acre, effectively doubling the size of the United States overnight. -
Lewis & Clark Expedition
Jefferson charters the Lewis and Clark expedition—led by his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis—to survey the new Louisiana Territory, establish friendly relations with the American Indian tribes living inland, and search for a Northwest Passage allowing easy travel to the Pacific. -
Second Inaugural
Jefferson is inaugurated into a second term in the presidency, following a landslide victory in the election of 1804. His second inaugural address is, as far as we know, the last public speech of his life. -
Embargo Act
Responding to increasingly fraught relations with Britain, Congress enacts Jefferson's embargo act, halting all trade between the United States and Great Britain. The act does little to change relations with Britain, but nearly destroys the American economy. -
Correspondence with John Adams
Jefferson reconnects with his old rival John Adams, as the two begin a famed correspondence. They will write to each other often for the next 14 years of their lives, until their deaths on the same day—4 July 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of American independence. -
Jefferson Oversees Launch of UVa
The University of Virginia accepts its first class of students. Thomas Jefferson, who has designed the campus, hired the faculty, and even written the syllabi, is elated. -
Illness
Jefferson's health begins to fail. -
Death of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson dies in his bed in Monticello, on the same day as John Adams, fifty years to the day after the publication of the Declaration of Independence. On his deathbed, John Adams famously declares, "Thomas Jefferson survives." Adams is, alas, wrong: Jefferson passes away five hours or so before Adams, at roughly 12:50 in the afternoon.
