Family history video biography of thomas jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, one of America's most revered Founding Fathers, is best remembered for his role in writing the Declaration of Independence and serving as the third president of the United States.

However, less is known about his formative years. From his privileged upbringing on a Virginia plantation to his intellectual awakening under the tutelage of Enlightenment-influenced thinkers, Jefferson's early life helped lay the groundwork for his philosophy and political career.

His father Peter Jefferson was a successful planter and surveyor, and his mother, Jane Randolph, was a member of one of Virginia's most distinguished families.

It also helps explain the fundamental contradiction between his publicly stated moral convictions and his lifetime of owning, and being cared for, enslaved people.

1. He grew up on a Virginia plantation. 

Born on April 13, , in colonial Virginia, Jefferson grew up in a world of wealth and privilege on his father’s Shadwell plantation near the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Spanning thousands of acres, it became the largest estate in Albermarle County, supported by the work of at