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Thomas Jefferson's Contributions To The American Revolution

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Thomas Jefferson, born in Virginia in 1743, began his early political life in 1769 when he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. He then later was elected a legislator for Virginia from 1776 until 1779. “During Jefferson’s time as a legislator he gained beneficial knowledge on the leadership characteristics needed to direct a country through a reconstruction era.” Although Jefferson was unable to keep the British from invading Virginia, he did successfully guide the state through the American Revolution. Jefferson served as Vice President to John Adams. As his time as Vice President, he took a stand against the Alien and Sedition Acts. He believed them to be unconstitutional. Jefferson, along with James Madison, then wrote the Kentucky …show more content…

When he became president, nearly all of the United States population resided within fifty miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Jefferson decided that it was time to explore the rest of the continent. He chose Meriwether Lewis, his former secretary, to lead an expedition. Lewis was disciplined and had extremely valuable skills due to him priorly being a captain in the United States Army. Lewis knew that if he wanted to successfully navigate the territory, he was going to need certain scientific skills. Lewis traveled to Philadelphia in the spring of 1803 to study with scientist Andrew Ellicott. Here Lewis was taught mapmaking skills and surveying. He was tutored in botany by Smith Barton, mathematics by Robert Patterson, astronomy by Caspar Wistar, and he was taught medicine by Benjamin …show more content…

The forests began to end and wide open prairie was visible. Lewis and Clark entered in their journals, “Several wild Goats Seen in the Plains they are wild & fleet Elk & Buffalow is verry plenty, Scercely any timber in Countrey except a little on the river in the Points.” On October 26, 1,600 miles away from Camp Dubois, they arrived at more Indian villages. Whitehouse, one of the men from the expedition, wrote in his journal, “ This morning we had clear & pleasant Weather, We set off early, at 10 oClock we came too, where a party of the Mandan Indians were hunting, & they were encamped in a River bottom which was cover 'd with heavy Timber, on the South side of the

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