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https://www.loc.gov/collections/thomas-jefferson-papers/articles-and-essays/selected-quotations-from-the-thomas-jefferson-papers Apr 9, 2024 "Thomas Jefferson was a prolific writer. His papers at the Library of Congress are a rich storehouse of his thoughts and ideas expressed both in official correspondence and in private letters. This brief selection suggests something of what awaits users' own online investigations into the writings of the man who was the third president of the United States, the founder of the University of Virginia, and author of the Declaration of Independence." Library of Congress Collections
https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/jeffersons-gravestone provides details about Thomas Jefferson's "explicit instructions regarding the monument to be erected over his grave."
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/98-01-02-6185 The following would be to my Manes the most gratifying. On the grave a plain die or cube of 3. f without any mouldings, surmounted by an Obelisk of 6. f. height, each of a single stone: on the faces of the Obelisk the following inscription, & not a word more
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
& Father of the University of Virginia.
https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/tje provides numerous articles about Jefferson and his world in these categories: Agriculture and Gardening (60), Art (14), Books (20), Architecture (37), Education (20), Food and Drink (46), Frequently Asked Questions (49), Monticello (Plantation) (45), Monticello (House) (66), Music (9), Objects (198), People (215), Personal Life (82), Places (65), Politics (56), Quotations (30), Spurious Quotations (69), Religion (16), Science and Exploration (80), Slavery (44), Thomas Jefferson Foundation (13), University of Virginia (UVA) (10), and Writings (18).
https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/french-revolution provides a short overview about some of Jefferson's political thoughts about this event.
https://www.americanacorner.com/blog/thomas-jefferson-barrister Mar 4, 2025 "Jefferson was moved by Henry’s delivery and his message. In his autobiography, Jefferson stated the oratory was “such as I have never heard from any other man.” More importantly, Henry’s speech planted the revolutionary seeds in Jefferson’s mind that he was an American, rather than a British subject. These seeds would germinate and be reaped in 1776 in Jefferson’s masterpiece, the Declaration of Independence.... Jefferson opted to bypass the county courts and try for admittance to the General Court right away believing that it to be the only place where law as a “science may be encouraged.” He was accepted and, at age twenty four, joined a small group of attorneys much older than Jefferson and considered the best the colony had to offer, men such as George Wythe, Edmund Pendleton, Peyton Randolph, John Blair, and Richard Bland.... The recognition Jefferson gained by his hard work paid dividends in 1768 when the twenty five year old Jefferson was elected to the House of Burgesses, filling the seat his revered father, Peter, had once held." Americana Corner
https://www.nps.gov/articles/thomas-jefferson-s-plan-for-the-university-of-virginia-lessons-from-the-lawn-teaching-with-historic-places.htm Jun 26, 2023 "Although Thomas Jefferson did not begin the effort of designing the University of Virginia in Charlottesville until late in his life, the education of the common man had occupied his thoughts for decades. He believed ignorance to be the enemy of freedom, and he wanted to correct what he considered to be the defects of educational institutions modeled on European settings and curriculum. He imagined that an "academical village" clustered around a tree-lined lawn would provide an ideal setting in which to pursue higher education. The focal point of such a village would be a Temple of Knowledge that would house the university library." National Park Service
Before his death, Thomas Jefferson left explicit instructions regarding the monument to be erected over his grave. In this undated document, Jefferson supplied a sketch of the shape of the marker, and the epitaph with which he wanted it to be inscribed:
"... on the faces of the Obelisk the following inscription, & not a word more:
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
& Father of the University of Virginia
"because by these," he explained, "as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered."
https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/jeffersons-gravestone Monticello
By U-T San Diego Editorial Board
JULY 4, 2014
Between the nation’s spotty recovery from the Great Recession, its anguish over Iraq War deaths possibly being for naught and a dozen other troubling news narratives playing out across America, this Fourth of July might seem less than a propitious time to celebrate a holiday built on the pride we feel over the noble origins of our nation.
But such a glum take isn’t just inappropriate because we want holidays to be a happy time. It’s inappropriate because it is far too downbeat.
In the big picture, America is poised to continue to lead the world throughout the 21st century, thanks to our dominant position in nanotechnology, biotechnology and related life sciences — fields with the promise to transform energy, medicine, manufacturing, transportation and nearly every field of human endeavor. San Diego is poised to be at the center of these coming tech revolutions.
A key reason for our leadership is that the United States remains a powerful magnet attracting the best and brightest scientists and entrepreneurs to join the brilliant folks already here. It is no stretch to believe this leadership is related to the enduring power of the animating sentiments of the Declaration of Independence that was signed 238 years ago today. With the possible exception of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, no words resonate more through our history than the declaration’s preamble:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government ... .”
The declaration’s author, Thomas Jefferson, declared there was nothing particularly original about any of these sentiments. But the declaration’s concise identification of individual happiness as a national goal, its affirmation of the necessity of the consent of the governed and its focus on what philosophers call the natural rights of mankind struck a chord around the world.
There are of course chapters in American history — sometimes long ones — where we can fault ourselves for not living up to our ideals, a list that starts with the awful historical stain of slavery. But ever since 1776, in fits and starts, we’ve been striving to do better.
And Americans’ greatest asset in this effort has been a founding document that identifies the government’s core purpose as being the protection of individual liberty. As long as that protection endures; as long as our government is controlled by the governed; as long as we remain a nation where people can actively and eagerly pursue happiness, we shall remain a vibrant and successful nation that is a beacon to the world.
So have a happy and safe Fourth — and consider a toast to Thomas Jefferson.
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