WHO WAS THOMAS JEFFERSON?
Thomas Jefferson (1743/04/13-1826/07/04), United States President from March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1809, was not a freemason. On Jan. 31, 1800 he corresponded to his friend, Bishop James Madison, writing: “Barruel s own parts of the book are perfectly the ravings of a Bedlamite” and “As Weishaupt lived under the tyranny of a despot and priests, he knew that caution was necessary even in spreading information, and the principles of pure morality. This has given an air of mystery to his views, was the foundation of his banishment…. If Weishaupt had written here, where no secrecy is necessary in our endeavors to render men wise and virtuous, he would not have thought of any secret machinery for that purpose.” Jefferson s endorsement of what he viewed as the Illuminati s liberal and democratic agenda has led to him mistakenly being labelled an Illuminati.
By Editorial Staff Published February 1993 Thomas Jefferson has been a character of interest lately, with President Bill Clinton often alluding to the third president of the United States as his role model. In October, The Forerunner, ran Cleon Skousen’s article which documented some of the biblical principles which influenced young Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy. As I peruse the pages of this paper each month and am led through the history of this illustrious nation, I find myself asking the same question each time: “Where is the mention of slaves and the intensities of slavery brought upon the minds of our country’s founders?” My silence is broken today, in similarity to the voice of that fiery abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison. When the October issue of The Forerunner mentioned Thomas Jefferson in only flattering terms, I quickly took objection.
Did you know that John Adams had to coax Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence? It’s true. The shy Virginia statesman refused at first, but then went on to author one of our nation’s most important and inspiring documents. The third U.S. president, Jefferson was also an architect, inventor, musician, farmer, and-what is certainly the most troubling aspect of his life-a slave owner. Finally, here’s a biography for kids that unveils the many facets of this founding father’s remarkable and complicated life.
Did you know that John Adams had to coax Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence? It’s true. The shy Virginia statesman refused at first, but then went on to author one of our nation’s most important and inspiring documents. The third U.S. president, Jefferson was also an architect, inventor, musician, farmer, and-what is certainly the most troubling aspect of his life-a slave owner. Finally, here’s a biography for kids that unveils the many facets of this founding father’s remarkable and complicated life. Illustrated by John O’Brien.
A polymath, Jefferson achieved distinction as, among other things, a horticulturist, statesman, architect, archaeologist, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia. When President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962 he said, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” To date, Jefferson is the only president to serve two full terms in office to veto no bill of Congress. Jefferson has been consistently ranked by scholars as one of the greatest U.S. presidents.
