by Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson's life was closely intertwined with the birth of the United States as a nation. When he wrote the Declaration of independence, he was not just writing an eloquent document; he was laying the groundwork for a new political era in the former colonies and around the world. At age thirtythree Jefferson had been given the job of defending the most radical political act of his time-the separation of the American colonies from Great Britain.

Events in History at the Time of the Document

Rising frustration with British rule. The colonists decided to declare their independence after more than a decade of hostility against their mother country. Most of this tension dated back to the early 1760s, after King George III had come to power in England. The French and Indian War-a conflict fought on North American soil...