The Lives and Times of Our Founding Fathers - 8
In this post: Thomas Jefferson, John Witherspoon, Roger Sherman
Founding Fathers Series
Step into history like never before.
Starting today and on a daily basis (Mon thru Fri), we will be posting 2 to 3 videos, about 5 minutes worth of videos, presenting the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the ladies of the American Revolution come alive through vivid, first-person storytelling.
This Series will be tagged on the right column of our blog as Founding Father Series
You may not know some, that does not devalue the contributions they provided in the founding of our country.
Their courage, sacrifice, and triumph unfold in gripping moments that shaped America’s founding.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father and the third President of the United States, was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, into a prominent planter family. He inherited significant land and enslaved individuals upon his father’s death in 1757. Jefferson received a strong education, studying at the College of William & Mary and later practicing law.
Jefferson is widely recognized as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and served as the first Secretary of State from 1790 to 1793, and as the second Vice President from 1797 to 1801. His presidency, from 1801 to 1809, is notably associated with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which significantly expanded the United States’ territory.
Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, at the age of 83. He personally drafted the inscription for his gravestone, which notably excluded his roles as governor, vice president, and president, instead highlighting his authorship of the Declaration of American Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and his founding of the University of Virginia.
Perspectives
Jefferson’s actions regarding slavery were hypocritical and morally problematic
Thomas Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves throughout his life, including Sally Hemings, with whom he had children, despite writing in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.”
His relationship with Sally Hemings was not a love story but rather an exploitative one, as she was a young enslaved girl.
Jefferson feared that emancipating slaves or continuing slavery would destroy the federal union and lead to civil conflict, recognizing the moral contradiction of his position.
Jefferson opposed slavery despite societal norms and worked towards its end
Thomas Jefferson vocally abhorred the practice of slavery, stating that the nation could not live up to its ideals of equality while slavery existed.
He attempted to include an anti-slavery passage in the Declaration of Independence, condemning it as an evil forced upon the colonies by the crown.
Jefferson freed two enslaved individuals during his lifetime and more after his death, although he was unable to free all due to debts
John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, and farmer, who is recognized as a Founding Father of the United States. Born in Yester, Scotland, on February 5, 1723, he received his Master of Arts degree at the age of 16 from the University of Edinburgh, where he continued his studies in divinity. He was ordained into the Scottish Kirk in 1745 and became an evangelical minister. In 1746, he was briefly imprisoned for opposing the Royalist Jacobite uprising, an experience that affected his health but did not deter his ministry. In 1764, the University of St. Andrews awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
In 1768, Witherspoon accepted the presidency of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, and moved to the American colonies. He restructured the college, raised funds, built a library, and reformed the curriculum, transforming the institution from one facing debt and weak instruction. He is also noted for his significant influence on several Founding Fathers, including James Madison, who was one of his students. Witherspoon was an active participant in the Second Continental Congress, and was the only active clergyman and college president to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1776. He also contributed to the drafting of the Articles of Confederation in 1777 and was the only clergyman to ratify the federal Constitution. He passed away on November 15, 1794, at his home in Tusculum, leaving an estate that included two enslaved individuals.
Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman was an American Founding Father, politician, and lawyer, born on April 19, 1721, in Newton, Massachusetts. He is notable for being the only person to sign all four foundational documents of the United States: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. Sherman’s early life involved working as a shoemaker, a trade he learned from his father, William Sherman. After his father’s death in 1741 or 1743, Sherman moved with his family to New Milford, Connecticut, where he and his brother opened the town’s first store, a cobbler shop.
Sherman’s political career included serving as a congressman and later as a senator for Connecticut. He also served as the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, from 1784 until his death on July 23, 1793. During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Sherman played a crucial role in crafting the Connecticut Compromise, which resolved disputes between large and small states regarding representation in the new government. This compromise proposed proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation (two senators per state) in the upper house, a plan that was instrumental in the creation of the Constitution.