ABSTRACT
Thomas Jefferson was the chief writer of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, serving from 1769 to 1774, when he began to oppose British policies toward the American colonists. Thomas Jefferson opposed the financial measures designed by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton because they benefited wealthy northern merchants at the expense of southern and western farmers. Thomas Jefferson became vice president in John Adams's administration, and was elected president in 1801, serving until 1809. Thomas Jefferson's anti-Federalist position led to the formation of the Democratic——Republican Party, forerunner of the present-day Democratic Party. Thomas Jefferson believed that the new republic should be based on an agricultural economy made up of small farmers, and sought new lands for them to cultivate.
