Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Virginia. He grew up on a large farm called a plantation. As a young man, he studied law and loved science and books. He read in several languages. When the American colonies decided to break free from England, the leaders needed someone to explain why. They chose Jefferson. He was only thirty-three years old. In 1776, he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Its most famous line says that all people are created equal. Yet Jefferson himself owned more than six hundred enslaved people during his lifetime. He knew slavery was wrong but never freed most of them. After helping found the country, Jefferson served as the third president. He negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which doubled the size of the United States. He also started the University of Virginia. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the Declaration was adopted. His life shows both the promise and the contradiction of early America.