Description: When asked, "Why do we care about Thomas Jefferson? What's Important to understand about him?" historian Natalie Bober responded: "Jefferson changed the world, not only by the words that he wrote but by the way in which he lived his life". She added that those words -- the Declaration of Independence -- have "ruled and shaped our lives to this day". Jefferson was a paradox -- he wrote about liberty yet owned hundreds of slaves; as president he expanded the fledgling United States through the Louisiana Purchase, sounding the death knell for huge numbers of Native Americans. He was an architect, a diplomat, a revolutionary, and a thinker -- the "Father of the University of Virginia" -- who wished to be remembered as such, in addition to the author of the Declaration and of the statute of Virginia for religious freedom.

Critical Lives: Thomas Jefferson explores the historical, political, intellectual, and cultural significance of our third president -- who he was, what he did, why we remember him in a way we don't remember many of his contemporaries.
-- Jefferson the country boy who traveled to the big city -- Williamsburg, Virginia
-- The revolutionary -- a "silent member" of the Continental Congress whose pen spoke for him
-- The politician -- Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, U.S. President
-- The philosopher of Monticello, who thought his real legacy to the nation would be in education and architecture
-- Jefferson the man -- and the lover/master of Sally Hemmings?

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