Show AM Z 7 x f V V 1 01 j 4 V h i ve W UN U I 1 41 1 MI k 10 4 IV A 7 by JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN UH fourth of july and thorn thom as jefferson Jeff ereon are naturally T ans closely associated in the minds of all good americans ami monticello may now be added t for the reason that a 0 move ment la Is well under way to restore hla his home at charlottesville lottes ville va and make it a national patriotic shrine the memory of jefferson deserves well of hla his country it was he be who made the draft of t the declaration of independence ha ho 0 was the third president of the united states and his other services were man ma yand nyland distinguished jefferson wai was born april 13 1743 it at shadwell va ile he died at monticello july 4 1823 on the fiftieth niniver oary iary of tho the declaration of independence so 80 independence day next year will be the sesquicentennial of the declaration beclar atlon and the centennial of jeffersons fer sons devah jefferson was graduated from william and mary college in and was admitted to the tha bar in ile he was a member of the continental congress 1776 1775 0 6 and signed the declaration in 1770 1776 he was a member of the legislature of virginia and a leader in important legal reforms lie he filled these other positions governor of virginia irig 1779 member of colw ts aln later to france 1784 0 9 secretary of state 1700 1790 4 vice president 1797 1801 president 1801 0 lie founded in 1810 the university of virginia at charlottesville lottes vIlle Is ig to be restored so far ei as possible to the condition in which it haq wa left by jefferson this task has been undertaken jointly by the thomas jefferson memorial Ale morial foundation and the american institute of architects through its committee on the preservation of historic monuments and scenic beauties prof flake fiske chairman of the architects committee hopes not only to restore tie the lawns and gardens to thomas jeffersons fer sons period but also to return to the hili mansion much of the furniture the foundation was established dished on tho the one hundred and anniversary of jeffersons birth april 18 13 1923 1023 the following the foundation by making i payment of took legal title to the heartiful colonial mansion the estate consisting of acres of bf land and pr priceless imless relics when retiring from the presidency jefferson expected to be the hermit of 0 monticello but this was not to be A A continuous stream of visitors came to the place it was said at the time that everyone in the united states of any enterprise sooner or later found his way to this extraordinary hermitage tage ile he himself wrote at one time that an ox lasted only a day or so 90 sometimes lie he had bad to prepare fifty beds for a night ilia his visitors ate win biro out lut of house and home then on top of the gradual tiling of his resources the debt of his cifes estate be came aae due in england and nearly half of his fortune was vas swept away at one wow mow an indorsement endorsement Indor for a friend lost him finally lie he had to sell 11 ll his library and sold it to congress tor for in III order to avert the blow that was rending jefferson petitioned the legislature for permission to dispose of ills his croper property Y fit at it fair valuation by lottery ile he s eald id by this means I 1 can save the monticello house and a farm adjoining to end my days in and bury UY y bones if I 1 not I 1 must sell house hous end d all her here and carry my family to ledford bedford where I 1 have not even a log ont YI t to put my head into there was some opposition in the legislature but the th bill passed NAN 4 il 1 I 1 14 wac fog q na fp 14 E 4 E 10 h 4 1 14 A i 10 3 M x 4 T when the news dews spread public meetings were called and subscriptions for jeffersons uso use were started A to loan or gift from the treasury wits suggested but jefferson would not hear of that plan lie sald said 1 I have spent three times as much money und and given my whole abola life to my countrymen and now they nobly come forward in the only way they can to repay me and save anold an old servant from froin being turned like a dog out of doors tho the action of the public made the lost last days of his ufa life easter easier but the debts still hung over the estate upon his death subscriptions ceased to come in tile the lottery was a farce the executor disposed of the estate the land going as low as aa three to ten dollars an acre the proceeds were not enough to discharge the obligations the executor made up the difference the thomas jefferson memorial foundation Is now engaged la in the task of freeing the estate of movement has the support of men and women of nil all political faiths president coolidge accepting appointment as a member of the board of gover I 1 nors said but I 1 cannot too earnestly assure you of my conviction that your organization Is performing a useful service in encouraging the preservation of those shrines and monuments of american history which roust must bring inspiration to the american public jefferson was vers versatile atil 0 o and ingenious lie he wits was an amateur architect of no mean ability for one thing ue he made the plans for monticello and su per intended ats construction the plans for the university of virginia weri were his As a farmer he was in advance of hla his time ile ho practiced rotation of crops had a fancy for improved live stock and introduced new fruits and vegetables jeffersons early home the house of his father at shadwell near by was burned in 1770 ile he lost all his books and papers a negro servant saved gaved his violin the previous year jefferson had erected it a story and a half brick building which afterward formed tile the southeastern part of ills mansion so lie he moved loved to monticello at once bringing ills mother brother and unmarried sisters ile he not only built bl but was his own interior decorator and landscape gardener A touch of romance Is supplied itt at monticello by a little two story house at the end of the long row of servants quarters the upper room opens upon the lawn made by leveling the mo mountain un slope this was jeffersons bridal chamber new years day 1772 mon cicello was only partly built and a blizzard was waa blowing but the room had its own and was as secluded from fatuity family and ills his bride wits wag martha wayles skelton the marriage wits was happy and gave him one son and ove five daughters ills ilia wife wafe died in 1782 this little house will be restored so will its companion house it a replica on the other side of the lawn tho the first one was later used to accod dodato guests the second one was waa where jefferson had hla hit law office and kept the accounts of his estate tradition says that lie he sometimes used it as a refuge from his hordes bordes of visitors and guests here was thomas jefferson Jeffe raon author of the declaration of american independence of the statute of 0 virginia for religious Irro freedom odom and the father of the university of virginia this wits was the inscription in accordance with jeffersons wish on the original obelisk over his grave congress in 1882 replaced this with one more ornate the original now stands on the campus of tho the university of missouri at Colum columbia columbua bla a site within the louisiana purchase made from france during jeffersons administration thomas jeffersons fame based upon hla his actual service to his country la in secure for this reason the promotion of it a jefferson cult which apparently seeks to ninke make of him a superman in 1 deprecated by many for example jefferson was not the author of the declaration of inde dependence the committee of five appointed by congress s to prepare tho the document instructed him to draft it ne ile put into words sentiments and phrases which were on every mans mana lips lipp as la Is shown by the mecklenburg declaration of may 20 itta the committee revised jeffersons draft congress tan intended ended its revision of hla his draft the Ameri americans cais people articulate through congress was the real author of the declaration of independence again the louisiana purchase from france lu in 1803 of the territory between the mississippi and the was a stepping stone in the march of the american people across the continent but jefferson was a secondary factor only ills envoys to france had authority to buy the mouth of the mis MIR for or napoleon forced them to agree to buy the louisiana territory for the whole deal was unconstitutional jefferson WILB was agh aghast st the east almost seceded from the union but congress had to ratify the purchase to save the territory from great britain which wats waa permanently balked in its designs on this western empire by andrew jackson january 8 1815 at new orleans one of the decisive battles of america and of the world |