3 1 1 thomas jefferson

Thomas
Jefferson

Fascinating Facts
• Thomas Jefferson was a fine violinist. He
played the violin when he took breaks while
writing the Declaration of Independence.

• The name Monticello means “little
mountain” in Italian.

• Jefferson did not seat people at his dinner
table according to their ranks. He considered
every person at the table equal.

Genre

Nonfiction

Comprehension Skill

Summarize

Text Features

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•
•
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Captions

Glossary
Map
Headings

Scott Foresman Social Studies

ISBN 0-328-14837-7

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by Pat McCarthy


In this book you will read about Thomas
Jefferson. He wrote many important papers for
our government. He was the third President of
the United States. He did a lot of important jobs
for our country.

Vocabulary
direct democracy

Thomas
Jefferson

Write to It!

Jefferson believed things should be fair. Is
there something that you do not think is
fair? Write a paragraph about your ideas.

by Pat McCarthy

Write your paragraph on a separate
sheet of paper.

council
governor
responsibility

Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material. The publisher deeply
regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman, a division of Pearson Education.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R) Background (Bkgd)

ISBN: 0-328-14837-7

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the
United States of America. This publication or parts thereof, may be used with appropriate
equipment to reproduce copies for classroom use only.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V0G1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05

Opener: Fred J. Maroon/Photo Researchers, Inc., (Bkgd) ©Stockbyte
2 Chateau de Blerancourt/Dagli Orti/The Art Archive
3 Lee Snider/Photo Images/Corbis
4 Bettmann/Corbis
5 John Neubauer/PhotoEdit
6 ©Joseph Sohm; Visions of America/Corbis
7 Bettmann/Corbis

8 C.W. Jarvis/Corbis
9 Christie’s Images/Bridgeman
Art library
Editorial
Offices: Glenview, Illinois • Parsippany, New Jersey • New York, New York
10 Getty Images
11 Stock Montage Inc. Sales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois
12 William Manning/Corbis
Coppell, Texas • Sacramento, California • Mesa, Arizona
13 Monticello/Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.
14 The New York Public Library/Art Resource, NY


Jefferson Goes to School
Jefferson went to a one-room school. He
learned to read, write, and do math. He learned
French, Latin, and Greek. Jefferson went to
college in Virginia at the age of sixteen.

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson Had Good Ideas
Thomas Jefferson had many ideas. He was
good at writing his ideas down. His ideas helped
form our government.
Jefferson was born April 13, 1743, in Virginia.
Virginia was a colony then. It belonged to
England. England had thirteen American colonies
at that time.
The College of William and Mary in Virginia

2

3


Jefferson married Martha Skelton. He built a
house called Monticello.
Some people in the colonies were unhappy
with the way the British were ruling them.
Jefferson wrote that England should not make
laws for the colonies. People in the colonies
wanted to have a direct democracy.

Jefferson studied law.

Jefferson later studied law with a famous
lawyer named George Wythe. The two men
became friends and stayed friends all their lives.

Jefferson Is Elected to Office
Jefferson became a lawyer. He did not like the
way England ruled the colonies.

Jefferson’s home, Monticello

4

5

The Colonies Say They Are Free
People from many colonies met in Philadelphia
in 1774. This council was called the First
Continental Congress.
The next year, the Second Continental Congress
said that England could no longer rule them.
They chose Jefferson to write a paper saying the
colonies were free. They called this paper the
Declaration of Independence. Jefferson said it told
what Americans were thinking.

Signing of the Declaration of Independence

The Colonies Fight a War
Preamble to the Declaration of Independence

The colonies fought a war to get free from
England. It was called the Revolutionary War.
It took eight years to win this war.
Jefferson wrote an important paper about
religion. It said people could worship in their
own way.

7


Jefferson was elected governor of Virginia.
Jefferson had a lot of responsibility. He
needed to save Virginia from the British. He

did not have enough money or supplies for the
soldiers.

Jefferson Goes Home
Jefferson went back home after being
governor. He wrote a book about Virginia. The
war ended in 1781.
The next year
Jefferson’s wife
died. He was very
sad and stayed in
his room for three
weeks.

Jefferson Serves His Country
Jefferson was later elected to Congress. He
wrote many important papers.
Jefferson went to France to help make treaties,
or agreements, with other countries. He worked
with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
Jefferson stayed in France for five years.

Jefferson wrote many
important things.
John Adams

8

9

George Washington was elected the first
President of the United States. Jefferson was
Washington’s Secretary of State. He helped the
country get along with other countries.
When John Adams was President, Jefferson was
Vice President. Jefferson and Adams had very
different ideas.

Jefferson as President
Later, Jefferson was elected
the third President of the
United States. He worked
hard.

Lewis and Clark explored the new land.

In 1803 the United States bought a very large
piece of land called Louisiana from France.
Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark to explore the land. Lewis and Clark drew
maps of the land and wrote in journals. Many
people moved west to settle on the new land.

Thomas Jefferson

11


After Jefferson Was President

Jefferson went back to Monticello after being
President. He was happy to be home.
Jefferson liked to read. He said, “I cannot
live without books.” He later sold his books
to Congress to start a library in Washington,
D.C. This library is now called the Library of
Congress.

Jefferson invented the turning bookstand.

Jefferson liked to invent things. He invented a
desk he could carry with him. He also invented a
machine to make macaroni.

Library of Congress

12

13


Jefferson is buried at Monticello. He planned
his own tombstone. It says:

HERE WAS BURIED
THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR OF THE
DECLARATION
OF
University of Virginia

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE
STATUTE OF VIRGINIA

Jefferson started the University of Virginia.
He invited all the students to dinner at his house.

Thomas Jefferson Dies
Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. It was
fifty years from the day the Declaration of
Independence was signed. He was eighty-three
years old.

14

FOR
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

15


In this book you will read about Thomas
Glossary
Jefferson.
He wrote many important papers for
our
government.

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thirdmake
President
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a groupHe
ofwas
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did a lot of important jobs
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direct democracy government run by the

people who live under it

Vocabulary

governor a person
as the head of
directelected
democracy
a state in the United States
council
responsibility a duty;
something that

governor
must be done
responsibility

Write to It!
Jefferson believed things should be fair. Is
there something that you do not think is
fair? Write a paragraph about your ideas.
Write your paragraph on a separate
sheet of paper.

Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material. The publisher deeply
regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman, a division of Pearson Education.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R) Background (Bkgd)

ISBN: 0-328-14837-7

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the
United States of America. This publication or parts thereof, may be used with appropriate
equipment to reproduce copies for classroom use only.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V0G1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05

16

Opener: Fred J. Maroon/Photo Researchers, Inc., (Bkgd) ©Stockbyte
2 Chateau de Blerancourt/Dagli Orti/The Art Archive
3 Lee Snider/Photo Images/Corbis
4 Bettmann/Corbis

5 John Neubauer/PhotoEdit
6 ©Joseph Sohm; Visions of America/Corbis
7 Bettmann/Corbis
8 C.W. Jarvis/Corbis
9 Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Art library
10 Getty Images
11 Stock Montage Inc.
12 William Manning/Corbis
13 Monticello/Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.
14 The New York Public Library/Art Resource, NY