Presidents in Retirement: Thomas Jefferson
After his presidency ended, Thomas Jefferson continued to be an influential statesman. He kept up a correspondence with many of the country's leaders (including his two successors, James Madison and James Monroe, each of whom had been protégées of Jefferson. Some historians suggest that the Monroe Doctrine bears a strong resemblance to advice that Monroe had asked Jefferson for in 1823.
One of Jefferson's post-presidential goals was the establishment of a university free from church influences, a place where students could specialize in new areas of learning that were not being offered at other colleges. He believed that education was at the foundation of a stable society, and he advocated for publicly funded schools accessible based solely on the ability of the applicant. Jefferson had first proposed his idea for this type of university in a letter to Joseph Priestley in 1800. In 1819, a decade after his presidency had ended, Jefferson was one of the founders of the University of Virginia. He organized the state legislative campaign for its charter and, with the assistance of Edmund Bacon, he purchased the location. He was also the principal designer of the buildings, planned the university's curriculum, and served as the first rector when it opened in 1825.
Jefferson was a strong admirer of Greek and Roman architectural styles. He equated their design with his image of American democracy. At the University, each academic unit was called a pavilion, and it was designed with a two-story temple front. The library "Rotunda" was modeled on the Roman Pantheon. Jefferson referred to the university's grounds as the "Academical Village." The ten pavilions included classrooms and faculty residences. They were organized to form a quadrangle and were connected by colonnades. Behind these were the student rooms. Gardens and vegetable plots were placed behind the pavilions and these were surrounded by serpentine walls, affirming Jefferson's belief in the importance of an agrarian lifestyle. While most universities of the time had a church at their center, instead Jefferson put the library in that most important location, in order to highlight the institution's secular nature. Not surprisingly, this was a controversial notion at the time.
Jefferson held the post of rector until his death in 1826, when he was succeeded by James Madison in that role. Jefferson bequeathed most of his reconstructed library of almost 2,000 volumes to the university. He is one of two former presidents to have founded a university. (The other is Millard Fillmore, who founded the University at Buffalo in 1846.)
In 1804, Abigail Adams and others attempted to reconcile the rift that had developed between Jefferson and John Adams. Jefferson and Adams ultimately put their past differences behind them and established a lengthy correspondence. Coincidentally, the two men died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. They had once been good friends in the first decades of their political careers, serving together in the Continental Congress in the 1770s and in Europe in the 1780s. The Federalist/Republican split of the 1790s divided them, and Adams understandably resented Jefferson's sponsorship of partisan attacks made against him, such as those of James Callender. Jefferson in turn had been angered by Adams' appointment of "midnight judges" (judicial appointments that were made after Adams' defeat in the election of 1800 but before Jefferson's inauguration.) The two men did not communicate directly for more than a decade after Jefferson succeeded Adams as president. A brief correspondence took place between Abigail Adams and Jefferson after Jefferson's daughter Polly died in 1804, in an attempt at reconciliation unknown to John Adams. But Abigail could not refrain from political criticism of Jefferson and soon that correspondence ended.
Efforts began in 1809 by Benjamin Rush, a mutual friend, to convince the two through correspondence to re-establish contact. In 1812, Adams wrote a short New Year's greeting to Jefferson, at Rush's suggestion, and Jefferson warmly responded. This initial correspondence began what historian David McCullough calls "one of the most extraordinary correspondences in American history". Over the next 14 years, Jefferson and Adams exchanged 158 letters. Subjects included their political differences (though this was mostly raised by Adams), and debating the revolution's import to the world.
When Adams died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, his last words were said to be "Thomas Jefferson survives", though Adams was unaware that Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.
In 1821, at the age of 77, Jefferson began writing his Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson: 1743-1790. He stated that he sought to "state some recollections of dates and facts concerning myself". He focused on the struggles and achievements he experienced until July 29, 1790, where the narrative stopped short. He focused mainly on the revolutionary era, but he also related that his ancestors came from Wales to America in the early 17th century and settled in the western frontier of the Virginia colony. He said that this influenced his zeal for individual and state rights. He also wrote about his enrollment in the College of William and Mary and his election to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1775. He expressed his opposition to the idea of a privileged aristocracy made up of large landowning families loyal to the King, and instead promoted an "aristocracy of virtue and talent, which nature has wisely provided for the direction of the interests of society, & scattered with equal hand through all its conditions, was deemed essential to a well-ordered republic". He wrote about the Declaration and proposed reforms for the government of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson expressed support for those involved in the Greek War of Independence. He saw their case as similar to the American Revolution and he exchanged letters with Greek scholar Adamantios Korais. Jefferson advised Korais on building the political system of Greece by using classical liberalism and gave examples from the American governmental system. What he proposed resembled a state government rather that the US federal system. He also suggested the application of a classical education system for the newly founded First Hellenic Republic. Korais became one of the designers of the Greek constitution and urged his associates to study Jefferson's works.
In the summer of 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette accepted an invitation from President James Monroe to visit the United States. Jefferson and Lafayette had not seen each other since 1789. After visits to New York, New England, and Washington, Lafayette arrived at Monticello on November 4. According to an account written by Jefferson's grandson Randolph, who was present at the time:
"As they approached each other, their uncertain gait quickened itself into a shuffling run, and exclaiming, 'Ah Jefferson!' 'Ah Lafayette!', they burst into tears as they fell into each other's arms."
The next morning Jefferson, Lafayette, and James Madison attended a tour and banquet at the University of Virginia. Jefferson had someone else read a speech he had prepared for Lafayette, because his voice was weak. This was his last public presentation. After an 11-day visit, Lafayette departed Monticello.
Jefferson was deeply in debt in his final months. It became increasingly clear that he would have little to leave to his heirs. In February 1826, he successfully applied to the General Assembly to hold a public lottery as a fundraiser. His health began to deteriorate in July 1825, due to a combination of rheumatism from arm and wrist injuries, and intestinal and urinary disorders. By June 1826, he was confined to bed. On July 3, overcome by fever, Jefferson declined an invitation to attend an anniversary celebration of the Declaration in Washington.
During his last hours, he was surrounded by family members and friends. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, at 12:50 p.m. at age 83, on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. In the moments prior to his death, when offered laudanum by his attending physician, Jefferson replied, "No, doctor, nothing more." His last words are said to be, "Is it the Fourth?" or "This is the Fourth". The sitting president was Adams's son, John Quincy Adams, and he called the coincidence of the deaths of his father and of Jefferson on the nation's anniversary "visible and palpable remarks of Divine Favor".
Jefferson was interred at Monticello, under an epitaph that he wrote:
HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON, AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
Jefferson died deeply in debt, and was unable to pass on his estate freely to his heirs. He gave instructions in his will for disposal of his assets, including the freeing of Sally Hemings's children, but his estate, possessions, and enslaved persons were sold at public auctions starting in 1827. In 1831, Monticello was sold by Martha Jefferson Randolph and the other heirs.
One of Jefferson's post-presidential goals was the establishment of a university free from church influences, a place where students could specialize in new areas of learning that were not being offered at other colleges. He believed that education was at the foundation of a stable society, and he advocated for publicly funded schools accessible based solely on the ability of the applicant. Jefferson had first proposed his idea for this type of university in a letter to Joseph Priestley in 1800. In 1819, a decade after his presidency had ended, Jefferson was one of the founders of the University of Virginia. He organized the state legislative campaign for its charter and, with the assistance of Edmund Bacon, he purchased the location. He was also the principal designer of the buildings, planned the university's curriculum, and served as the first rector when it opened in 1825.
Jefferson was a strong admirer of Greek and Roman architectural styles. He equated their design with his image of American democracy. At the University, each academic unit was called a pavilion, and it was designed with a two-story temple front. The library "Rotunda" was modeled on the Roman Pantheon. Jefferson referred to the university's grounds as the "Academical Village." The ten pavilions included classrooms and faculty residences. They were organized to form a quadrangle and were connected by colonnades. Behind these were the student rooms. Gardens and vegetable plots were placed behind the pavilions and these were surrounded by serpentine walls, affirming Jefferson's belief in the importance of an agrarian lifestyle. While most universities of the time had a church at their center, instead Jefferson put the library in that most important location, in order to highlight the institution's secular nature. Not surprisingly, this was a controversial notion at the time.
Jefferson held the post of rector until his death in 1826, when he was succeeded by James Madison in that role. Jefferson bequeathed most of his reconstructed library of almost 2,000 volumes to the university. He is one of two former presidents to have founded a university. (The other is Millard Fillmore, who founded the University at Buffalo in 1846.)
In 1804, Abigail Adams and others attempted to reconcile the rift that had developed between Jefferson and John Adams. Jefferson and Adams ultimately put their past differences behind them and established a lengthy correspondence. Coincidentally, the two men died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. They had once been good friends in the first decades of their political careers, serving together in the Continental Congress in the 1770s and in Europe in the 1780s. The Federalist/Republican split of the 1790s divided them, and Adams understandably resented Jefferson's sponsorship of partisan attacks made against him, such as those of James Callender. Jefferson in turn had been angered by Adams' appointment of "midnight judges" (judicial appointments that were made after Adams' defeat in the election of 1800 but before Jefferson's inauguration.) The two men did not communicate directly for more than a decade after Jefferson succeeded Adams as president. A brief correspondence took place between Abigail Adams and Jefferson after Jefferson's daughter Polly died in 1804, in an attempt at reconciliation unknown to John Adams. But Abigail could not refrain from political criticism of Jefferson and soon that correspondence ended.
Efforts began in 1809 by Benjamin Rush, a mutual friend, to convince the two through correspondence to re-establish contact. In 1812, Adams wrote a short New Year's greeting to Jefferson, at Rush's suggestion, and Jefferson warmly responded. This initial correspondence began what historian David McCullough calls "one of the most extraordinary correspondences in American history". Over the next 14 years, Jefferson and Adams exchanged 158 letters. Subjects included their political differences (though this was mostly raised by Adams), and debating the revolution's import to the world.
When Adams died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, his last words were said to be "Thomas Jefferson survives", though Adams was unaware that Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.
In 1821, at the age of 77, Jefferson began writing his Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson: 1743-1790. He stated that he sought to "state some recollections of dates and facts concerning myself". He focused on the struggles and achievements he experienced until July 29, 1790, where the narrative stopped short. He focused mainly on the revolutionary era, but he also related that his ancestors came from Wales to America in the early 17th century and settled in the western frontier of the Virginia colony. He said that this influenced his zeal for individual and state rights. He also wrote about his enrollment in the College of William and Mary and his election to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1775. He expressed his opposition to the idea of a privileged aristocracy made up of large landowning families loyal to the King, and instead promoted an "aristocracy of virtue and talent, which nature has wisely provided for the direction of the interests of society, & scattered with equal hand through all its conditions, was deemed essential to a well-ordered republic". He wrote about the Declaration and proposed reforms for the government of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson expressed support for those involved in the Greek War of Independence. He saw their case as similar to the American Revolution and he exchanged letters with Greek scholar Adamantios Korais. Jefferson advised Korais on building the political system of Greece by using classical liberalism and gave examples from the American governmental system. What he proposed resembled a state government rather that the US federal system. He also suggested the application of a classical education system for the newly founded First Hellenic Republic. Korais became one of the designers of the Greek constitution and urged his associates to study Jefferson's works.
In the summer of 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette accepted an invitation from President James Monroe to visit the United States. Jefferson and Lafayette had not seen each other since 1789. After visits to New York, New England, and Washington, Lafayette arrived at Monticello on November 4. According to an account written by Jefferson's grandson Randolph, who was present at the time:
"As they approached each other, their uncertain gait quickened itself into a shuffling run, and exclaiming, 'Ah Jefferson!' 'Ah Lafayette!', they burst into tears as they fell into each other's arms."
The next morning Jefferson, Lafayette, and James Madison attended a tour and banquet at the University of Virginia. Jefferson had someone else read a speech he had prepared for Lafayette, because his voice was weak. This was his last public presentation. After an 11-day visit, Lafayette departed Monticello.
Jefferson was deeply in debt in his final months. It became increasingly clear that he would have little to leave to his heirs. In February 1826, he successfully applied to the General Assembly to hold a public lottery as a fundraiser. His health began to deteriorate in July 1825, due to a combination of rheumatism from arm and wrist injuries, and intestinal and urinary disorders. By June 1826, he was confined to bed. On July 3, overcome by fever, Jefferson declined an invitation to attend an anniversary celebration of the Declaration in Washington.
During his last hours, he was surrounded by family members and friends. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, at 12:50 p.m. at age 83, on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. In the moments prior to his death, when offered laudanum by his attending physician, Jefferson replied, "No, doctor, nothing more." His last words are said to be, "Is it the Fourth?" or "This is the Fourth". The sitting president was Adams's son, John Quincy Adams, and he called the coincidence of the deaths of his father and of Jefferson on the nation's anniversary "visible and palpable remarks of Divine Favor".
Jefferson was interred at Monticello, under an epitaph that he wrote:
HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON, AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
Jefferson died deeply in debt, and was unable to pass on his estate freely to his heirs. He gave instructions in his will for disposal of his assets, including the freeing of Sally Hemings's children, but his estate, possessions, and enslaved persons were sold at public auctions starting in 1827. In 1831, Monticello was sold by Martha Jefferson Randolph and the other heirs.