Thomas Jefferson: Author Of The Declaration Of Independence And Third President
## Thomas Jefferson: A Complex Legacy
Thomas Jefferson, renowned as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States, was a paradoxical figure. His brilliance, his deep-seated Enlightenment ideals, and his political leadership stand in stark contrast to his profound contradictions, including his ownership of hundreds of slaves and his alleged affair with Sally Hemings.
### The Enlightenment Champion
Jefferson was a child of the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement that prized reason, individualism, and limited government. His Declaration of Independence, proclaimed in 1776, enshrined the inviolable rights to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of...